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Yes and no. The core market was indeed still there, and there is in fact still a very significant core market for print products. I don't think the sales channe

Yes and no. The core market was indeed still there, and there is in fact still a very significant core market for print products. I don't think the sales channel was 'murdered,' and frankly, telemarketing (and 'house ads,' for that matter) are not the only sales channels. Radio, television and outdoor advertising are all channels that newspapers, in my experience, are reticent to utilize, preferring their own in-house methods instead. Also, the one major flaw in this argument is that the article states: "As a result of the registry, newspapers have cut that figure down to 50 or 55 percent..." from 60-65% Significant? Sure. Dead? If newspaper executives let a 10-15% drop in ONE method of obtaining subscribers kill their business, they probably shouldn't be a newspaper executive.

darien 17y ago
I think you won me over. I'm not a journalist, but I do work as a web analyst for a conglomerate of local newspapers. Not having access to real financials, I've always convinced myself that there had to be a definitive reason behind the decline of print newspapers, apart from the growth of the internet. But the collapse does seem to be a complex cause. If I may ask, what are your expectations for the newspaper industry in the next 5 years?
- jrwoodruff 17y ago
  Yea. If there is one definitive cause, I would vote for the internet, or even more broadly, the information revolution. The newspaper model was profitable because of scarcity. Before, say, 1995, the primary information channel was the newspaper. Need to sell used car? Newspaper classifieds. Need to sell a widget to everyone in town? Newspaper display ad. Need to buy a car? newspaper. Need to find out when a city council meeting is? newspaper. Problem is, information isn't scarce anymore. We can do all that and much much more online. Businesses can publish their own information and sell their widgets around the world online, consumers can buy and sell on craigslist, advertisers can advertise cheaply and effectively on AdWords and many other sites... add it all together and the monopoly newspapers held on a relevant and unique information pipeline is gone. They're simply hanging on by the thread of the luddites who haven't jumped to the information era. Yet. As for the next five years I think major newspaper companies will be sold off and split up. Watch for more individual newspapers for sale. Smaller papers might make the transition, particularly smaller independent papers. They've likely maintained local ties, have a good reputation in the community and are able to react to change quickly. The deciding factor for them will be whether or not they react and how. Unfortunately, many of the luddites I mentioned earlier seem to be running these organziations. Otherwise, I think in a year, maybe two, there will be a LOT of heavy competition from very serious local-news web sites. They'll be lean, quick, aggressive and employ some of the reporters currently getting laid off in droves right now. The smart ones will use technology as a tool and competitive edge instead of tripping over it and outsourcing their development. Industry-wide, it'll look more like the 1920s publishing landscape than the 1980s.

darien 17y ago

I think you won me over. I'm not a journalist, but I do work as a web analyst for a conglomerate of local newspapers. Not having access to real financials, I've always convinced myself that there had to be a definitive reason behind the decline of print newspapers, apart from the growth of the internet. But the collapse does seem to be a complex cause. If I may ask, what are your expectations for the newspaper industry in the next 5 years?

jrwoodruff 17y ago
Yea. If there is one definitive cause, I would vote for the internet, or even more broadly, the information revolution. The newspaper model was profitable because of scarcity. Before, say, 1995, the primary information channel was the newspaper. Need to sell used car? Newspaper classifieds. Need to sell a widget to everyone in town? Newspaper display ad. Need to buy a car? newspaper. Need to find out when a city council meeting is? newspaper. Problem is, information isn't scarce anymore. We can do all that and much much more online. Businesses can publish their own information and sell their widgets around the world online, consumers can buy and sell on craigslist, advertisers can advertise cheaply and effectively on AdWords and many other sites... add it all together and the monopoly newspapers held on a relevant and unique information pipeline is gone. They're simply hanging on by the thread of the luddites who haven't jumped to the information era. Yet. As for the next five years I think major newspaper companies will be sold off and split up. Watch for more individual newspapers for sale. Smaller papers might make the transition, particularly smaller independent papers. They've likely maintained local ties, have a good reputation in the community and are able to react to change quickly. The deciding factor for them will be whether or not they react and how. Unfortunately, many of the luddites I mentioned earlier seem to be running these organziations. Otherwise, I think in a year, maybe two, there will be a LOT of heavy competition from very serious local-news web sites. They'll be lean, quick, aggressive and employ some of the reporters currently getting laid off in droves right now. The smart ones will use technology as a tool and competitive edge instead of tripping over it and outsourcing their development. Industry-wide, it'll look more like the 1920s publishing landscape than the 1980s.