Gunpowder Chronicle posted on November 5, 2007 7:12 PM | Rating:
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Editor and Publisher are reporting pretty serious declines in circulation at some of the nations's major papers. As "news" becomes more of a commodity, newspapers will continue to see their circulations decline if they don't change their business models.
Newspapers suffer from three major issues:
1) Declining advertising revenue is kicking them square in the keister. Sites like Craigslist are taking huge chunks of classified ad revenue away from newspapers. This is the bread and butter for newspapers.
2) Declining major advertising revenues is kicking them square in their other keisters. The rise of web advertising -- which is much more targeted, much more dynamic, and much more compelling than newspaper advertising -- is killing the printed paper. Moreover coupons, which were a huge part of the advertising in Sunday prints, are declining as store affinity programs provide easier and BIGGER discounts.
3) News is becoming a commodity. Anybody with an inkjet printer and a laminator can make a fake press pass, put up a website, and declare themselves "press". More importantly, as news organizations have become more agenda driven, the quality of reporting has fallen off the cliff. As a result, readers have turned elsewhere for their news.
Until newspapers significantly change their business models, they will continue to lose subscribers. Just like buggy-whip makers, gas-lamp lighters, and cotton pickers (the paid labor, not the slaves), newspapers need to adjust to changing technology or see their entire businesses disappear forever.
By the way... there is a term for it. It's called "creative destruction".