In case you haven't noticed, the newspaper business is undergoing a rapid transition. According to a survey published by the Pew Research Center in December 2008, 40 percent of respondents said the Internet was a prime source for national and international news. Only 35 percent said the same about newspapers. That’s a steep rise from 2007, when just 24 percent relied on the Internet more than newspapers.
So, for the first time in history, more people turned to online for their news instead of turning the pages to their favorite newspaper. And this is just the beginning. Newspapers are in a free fall.
As of today the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is a 100% online publication, with the final print run of its paper edition already complete. The Post-Intelligencer's revenues from both sales and advertising have fallen so much that the paper had a loss of $14 million last year. The Hearst Corporation was forced to close the paper's printed edition, making it the largest newspaper in the U.S. to go 100% online.
In addition to the Rocky Mountain News that folded in February, here is a list of others newspapers that 24/7 Wall St says is most likely to go out of business next. The Philadelphia Daily News, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Miami Herald, Detroit News, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, New York Daily News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Our own Cedar Rapids Gazette is in the process of laying off 100 employees and has repackaged the print edition in an effort to reinvent itself. I hope they make it. This is not for the faint at heart.
For me, I enjoy sitting down to read my morning newspaper with a cup of coffee. But here's the problem. By the time the paper is printed and delivered to my door step the news is already old! I've already read much of the news the day before online.
I get major headlines as well as local news via RSS feeds on My.Yahoo.com homepage. The best of both worlds for me will be when The Gazette begins to publish a Kindle edition. Delivered right to my Kindle each morning, the news will be up to date. There's no reason why breaking stories couldn't even be delivered to me throughout the day! No more hunting around in my bushes by the door on a cold winter morning for the news. I will be able to enjoy it with a good cup of coffee while I sit in my favorite chair.
Steve Rubel is a guy that understands the digital domain. Here is what he has to say!
"By January 2014 I will wager that in the US almost all forms of tangible media will either be in sharp decline or completely extinct. I am not just talking about print, but all tangible forms of media - newspapers, magazines, books, DVDs, boxed software and video games."
Wow! Quite a statement. Here is what Steve has to say about the Kindle and the impact that it will have on print media.
"The Kindle, like the iPod, is an emerging critical mass device that actually encourages people to pay for content rather than get it for free. When Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, people were skeptical that people would shell out cash for music they could snag for free from file sharing networks. They did. The same was true when Apple, and later others, rolled out movies. However, today millions rent or buy movies online."
"The Kindle offers a similar experience in a much larger market - text. This one is tougher to monetize. In the digital age books have managed to remain premium content. However, beyond books, magazine and newspaper content is available in abundance online for free. Yet, I still believe that people will pay to receive some of their favorites on their Kindles or their Kindle-enabled phones. Meet them there now while you can."
"So, media companies, please jump in now. Embrace the Kindle. Subsidize it. Create value-added content for it, such as e-books. Or even partner with advertisers to offer advertorials. This could be your last shot at getting people to pay for your content. Don't miss the next iPod."
The news is not going away. It's here to stay. But the way it's delivered is undergoing a profound change. All of us will be impacted in one way or another. A new age is being ushered in. Printing press, welcome to the digital world.
2 comments:
Does Steve Rubel say how our students will learn? Will textbooks become obsolete as well? High School and college libraries will become extinct? This is hard for me to grasp! And yes, I still love to have the newspaper at my door and read it "the old fashioned way"!
Steve Rubel is referring to the fact that he doesn't think there will be new tangible media. In that regard, libraries will still be around. It's just that fewer and fewer people will be checking out dvds, cds, books on tape, and printed books. Instead people will be downloading mp3s, electronic books, and digital movies. Libraries will probably always exist as a place to display treasured classics, much like museums do today. It's just if you want up to date information, you won't be going to a library in the future. You will go online.
And the same goes for newspapers. I too enjoy my morning newspaper. But in the future we will get our breaking news online or delivered onto an electronic reader of some kind. It won't be delivered to our door. And text books? In the future they will be delivered electronically too. Way cheaper, easier to make updates and more convenient.
I'm not sure if all this will happen by 2014 as Steve Rubel says, but I know it will happen.
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