Print versus digital newspapers continues to plague the news world. There are still newspapers that are experiencing great layoffs or closings due to declining ad sales and readership. And, according to Editor & Publisher magazine (August, 2009) there are at least six newspaper companies in bankruptcy. There is good news. Many newspapers are finally finding a light at the end of the black hole that has seemingly sucked in the daily newspaper.
Survival of Newspapers
One of the oldest consumer produced products, the daily newspaper has seen major changes in the last decade, with the last few years being the hardest years to stay in business much less grow. Change is always hard and for an industry that has virtually conducted business the same way for over three hundred years, change has really taken time and a toll.
Newspaper companies are rallying their resources to keep the presses running. Editor & Publisher magazine gave its readers a list of the ten newspapers that have made the change and are surviving.
Remaking the Newspaper
Just a few of the ten survivors include Las Vegas Sun, Sioux City Journal, The Post-Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.) and Star Tribune (Minneapolis). How have these newspapers turned print sales around? By doing some or all of the following:
- Continued to demonstrate a passion for print versions of the newspaper
- Made size and design changes from broadsheet to compact
- Added localized sections in the Sunday edition
- Kept circulation prices low for newsstand and delivery
- Focused on the core product – the newspaper
Digital Newspapers
Most newspapers including dailies and weeklies have some sort of a digital profile to supplement the print edition. The New York Times has to be one of the ultimate models for digital and print. The paper continues its daily print version but it has delved into the digital world in almost every aspect one could think of. Its online version has blog sections and allows readers to post comments, it has a Facebook page and it has a Twitter account.
Editor & Publisher listed USA Today as one its “Magnificent 10” because of the ways the newspaper uses social media by niche sections for social networking and implanting an iPhone app.
Newspapers Respond to Readers
The death of the printed newspapers to date has been somewhat greatly exaggerated. The future is looking better. Nonetheless, there is still a lot of transitioning to be done. One thing that is for certain, newspapers have seen the writing on the wall (or Internet) and have started to respond to readers. New designs, pricing, more localized news both in print and online, all make a better business environment for newspapers to survive.
Marketing Newspapers
After all of the discussions over the past few years of what will happen to the printed newspapers, how reporting the news has to change, and how 24/7 online news is king, revamping the print editions may well all come down to marketing. Listening and responding to consumer needs and demands through product, price, promotion, and place might be the perfect formula for a turnaround.
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