Much has been said about the hardships of the of the hardcopy media industry.
Fewer people are turning to printed publications and are instead flocking to the internet to get their news. The reasons for the change are too numerous to list.
Americans love their news bite sized (USA Today), so demand for elegantly written prose on global events has fallen. The internet is faster, more efficient, and has endless, endless outlets of information.
Have I told you my newspaper idea? If I bought the Union Tribune, I would license nothing but blog content. Yes, my paper would be noting but updated blog posts – and beat reporters to cover local events. That’s it, no Associated Press, no expensive editorial trips to Washington DC and I would permanently ban Garfield from the comics.
Craigslist has left the biggest scar on newspapers.
Classified ads were a huge revenue engine for newspapers and it seems absolutely illogical to pay $50 for 30 words and a promise that your item will sell in 30 days.
I put my 1995 Acura Integra on craigslist and I received my first interested phone call 15 minutes later.
The car sold in 4 hours.
4 hours or 30 days?
Sunday circulars are also a money maker for newspapers and it seems as if the fliers are going the way of the internet as well. Office Depot announced last week that the chain was going full internet and that its weekly hardcopy publication would be delivered online only. While Office Depot is the first chain to announce such a move, we can’t help but notice that others may be doing the same. This Sunday’s Union Tribune was as skinny as movie star.
gap intelligence continues to collect hardcopy advertisements around the country and we also rely on the internet to gather advertising data from zip codes around the country. Though we won’t miss our fingers turning black from newsprint, I will miss my local paper.
If you don’t have one, call your paper and subscribe – the local paper is good for your community and the country.
And my blogs-paper idea has legs. It really does.
