By Paul Bernish
Stop the presses! It’s not a good time to be in the newspaper business.
This is surely not news; the impending death of daily newspaper journalism has been talked and written about for years. But as recent events demonstrate, print versions of news providers are definitely on life support.
The question now is not whether newspapers will survive, but should they?
First, a quick glimpse of the current media landscape. Publishers have been scrambling to devise new business models that shift the bulk of resources — reporters, editors, marketing budgets — to digital. In recent weeks, three major media conglomerates, Gannett, Tribune Cos. and E.W. Scripps, spun off print and digital/broadcast assets into separate companies. Tellingly, the three companies’ announcements emphasized how the spinoffs would “free” their digital and broadcast properties from the increasing dead weight of print. Little, in fact, was said about the future of the print spinoffs, which will become public companies, although it’s difficult to say what the level of investor interest will be.
Wall Street encouraged — some would say forced — these spinoffs. The investment community is notoriously unencumbered by sentimental feelings about the once robust role newspapers played in our democratic society. It has frowned upon print-dominat companies for years and advocated that these assets be removed from media companies so that management could better focus on more lucrative opportunities online. If the new print publishing companies, which include such notable brands as the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune, can’t turn around declining circulation and ad revenues and come up with consistent earnings, the Street is saying, well, time to fold.
As a one-time reporter and editor, the demise of daily print journalism is not something I have relished. But in truth, newspapers’ days have been numbered for some time. Radio put an initial dent into the market for readers and subscribers, television dramatically accelerated the process, and digital has essentially taken over content dissemination. Digital news outlets, of which there are now thousands on the web (most without print counterparts), have exploited the fundamental weakness of print media: its lack of timeliness. After all, you can only print a daily once a day.
By contrast, online is not just a 24-7 repository of news, it’s also where the action is, which is to say, where you see the innovation, the energy and new forms of content burgeoning. The online versions of print papers are notable for their better graphics, more video, and extensive feedback and reader comment sections. The Guardian of London, the New York Times, and the Washington Post online versions are clearly more robust, with helpful and illuminating graphics and video that add to understanding and comprehension. Like this from the Times:
No printed paper can compete against such dynamic content.
That’s not to say that all is well in the online world. Ad revenues to date have been disappointing. Digital ads have become an increasingly intrusive, jarring presence that have turned off many consumers. Publishers also have found that persuading consumers to pay for online news is a slow go. Looking for additional revenue streams, the venerable “Chinese wall” separating news and editorial from advertising is being obliterated through “native advertising” that is market-driven content camouflaged to look like real news. Buzz Feed, to mention one obvious example, blends professional reporting with “sponsored” copy produced by marketing and ad agencies. A related concern is the reliability of online content; newspapers could and did make mistakes, but at least readers knew where the articles came from and who wrote them. That’s not always the case online among many digital-only sites. So-called content farms spew out anonymous “news” that is not much more than corporate or organizational propaganda.
More broadly, there’s also the worrisome phenomenon of the “filter bubble,” in which consumers (readers, listeners and viewers) seek out and rely upon only the content that reinforces their beliefs and opinions. Daily journalism for generations acted as the “fifth estate” to monitor and assess government, business, courts and culture. But this role of objectivity and truth-seeking is eroded when the marketplace for news and information is so segmented that cohesion and trust give way to isolation and suspicion.
Back in the newsroom, editors are putting on a brave face, arguing that “long-form” articles and expert analysis freed from deadline constraints will save the print version’s bacon. But such content already is widely available online whenever someone wants it. Social media platforms, especially Twitter and YouTube, have cornered the market for breaking news, which has eroded the competitiveness of not just print outlets but also broadcast media.
Given these trends, is it time for the journalism industry to face facts, and let their printed newspapers slip off into the sunset, like the telegraph and the typewriter before them? They surely will be missed by older generations who were raised on the ritual of the morning newspaper. On the other hand, today’s news consumers — like my children — have never held a newspaper, and wouldn’t notice if the New York Times shut down its printing presses. Everything they need to know or find interesting, they can find online.
But before falling into permanent despair, perhaps it’s wise to keep in mind that trends in one direction over time reverse themselves. Things look glum for print now, but who’s to say that future generations won’t find themselves overwhelmed with too much online content, and begin pining for quiet time when then can sit down, as with a good book, and peruse a well-crafted, relevant and interesting news journal — even one home-delivered by drone. The online news spigot is like a fire hose; in time, news hounds may may prefer journalism that is more thoughtful and less top ten lists of this or that. That could be just the niche for print: a product that is less urgent, frenetic and ephemeral — something readers can dwell over, ponder, and save. Such journals could survive not in competition with the digital realm, but in stark contrast to it.
Navigating the current malaise in print is the overhwhelming challenge facing print media. I, for one, hope that the day for daily newspapers to call it a day is a long way off.
