Comments on: Newspapers' Bleak Future

By: melmel

melmel — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 04:51:51 +0000

“…Cole believes many newspapers will disappear over the next 30 to 40 years (Yikes!). ..” Guess you will retire by then? I agree with you, james, abert…I also believe that newspaper will stay. (If it is supported by authorative articles about the negative effects caused by spending long-hours in front of PC monitor and reading from small digital screens, probably that 30-40 years will be extended! )
But new business models, new format(s), and aggressively restructure and build their operations (both on and off-line) that will leverage and integrate well with new delivery methods are necessary. However, this 'how' will need some time and through testing and monitoring in order to become a valid and profitable formula that is also flexible to meet future challenges, as challenges also come at a speed like new technology!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 18:28:04 +0000

As you work for a newspaper, I can understand your bias around its changing role. However, this trend is pretty basic and has been going on for a bit. Having some so called expert declare this trend as something other than obvious diminishes his credibility. Jeff Cole should be providing insightful perspective on “what's next”? This does not appear to eminate from any of his speeches.
The interesting piece is how newspapers evolve. Their brand will not go away but delivered differently. How will this be done? What current tools are fads and what has long term staying power and why? Are the changing reading patterns of the population temporary or permanent or most likely, they will evolve. What will they be and why? There is a lot more here to discuss than building out online operations using the various tools available leveraging the brand. The hard and interesting part is providing a view on the future with a rationale. Jeff Cole sounds like a consultant to me. To quote an old joke, did he ask if he could borrow your watch?…

By: aberthoff

aberthoff — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 14:37:50 +0000

Great post, Mark. Obviously, in my line of work, public relations, the topic is of great interest. Personally, I think that newspapers will exist, but the “paper” part will change significantly. Major dailies have huge brands and tremendous credibility supporting them. No matter what, credibility is key when it comes to forming opinion. Journalists professionally gather and sift information, and then present unbiased, objective and balanced stories to their readers. Whether they do that on paper or electronically to me does not matter. Although youth may not read print papers, they are as intelligent and savvy as any generation, and intelligence is attained by seeking out and detecting credible sources to help form opinions. Cheers.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:08:53 +0000

Demographics are a real key to the Newspaper's demise. The industry will have no choice but to do a complete rethink on their business model and more importantly, the very definition of what a newspaper actually is. News on paper is dying. It must turn into something else, if it is going to survive the Echo generation. I wrote a post on my blog about how I think newspapers may need to evolve.
Mario Garcia and The Future of Newspaper Design

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 21:50:03 +0000

There is no question that media revenues are dropping and will continue to do so because of competitive channels for advertisers dollars. But technology has brought huge changes to the cost structures for the media as well.
As a relatively new blogger, it seems to me that the challenge for viewers of new media is in filtering through the vast amounts of material to find the voices that are authoritative and trustworthy.
The fact that everybody can publish their own site means that there are a lot of new voices that can be heard. Unfortunately, many of the loudest voices are ones that don't deserve a large audience.
The media, newspapers, magazines, radio and TV have historically provided the audition function for their viewers. Most portals today are still wide-open. Is there a role for papers in new media in providing quality assurance to information and commentary?