Where Are Newspaper Readers Going?
Newspaper circulation continues to decline in the U.S., according to a story in the New York Times. In the six-month period ended Sept. 30, average daily circulation for 770 newspapers fell 2.8%, while circulation for Sunday papers was down 3.4%. So where are all these newspaper subscribers going? Is it the Web that's capturing their attention or DVDs or iPods or their PVRs? An optimist will suggest many (some?) readers are going to newspaper Web sites rather than having the paper delivered. In theory, this means newspapers could generate more advertising revenue online. A pessimist will suggest newspaper readers are moving online (but perhaps not to newpaper sites) and dying off. Before anyone hits the panic button that newspapers are doomed (other than tree-loving environmentalists), the reality is newspapers are just being squeezed by a new medium - much like radio suffered but didn't disappear when TV appeared on the scene. The challenge for newspapers is adjusting their operating and economic models to account for more competition for the attention of advertisers and readers.
Update: Circulation among Canadian newspapers is also down, highlighted by major declines at the National Post.
October 31st, 2006 at 4:06 am
Where Are Newspaper Readers Going?
they are going here
October 31st, 2006 at 9:59 am
Newspapers are the department stores of media. They try to deliver too much to an indifferent audience - indifferent not only to the overwhelming volume of information, but to the environment in which they present it. Theirs is an austere, demagogic voice with which readers can only disagree (or agree) silently.
I think blogs (and honestly, my experience with my own site) have shown us that well-crafted language and presentation isn't anywhere near as important as us writers pretend it is - the intellectual superiority that media relied on (I include TV vs YouTube here) is dissolving. THATS the model that has changed, and that's where readers are going. They want digestible, accessible ideas that they can converse about, or at least lurk near.
Would the way Mark posed this question be acceptable in a newspaper? Nope. Could Joe six-pack ask this question? Yep. So why pay for a paper?
It's a different story online. Papers really have a chance to innovate into portals and leverage their brands before networks like B5 mature and overtake them. But they don't. They are still run by people who live offline and think that controlling the message is how they retain power and audience. The best example I can give is Canadian Business' website. No, it isn't a newspaper, but they are a shining example of people who just don't get it.
Christ I'm ranting! Sorry about that. What the hell do I know.
November 1st, 2006 at 1:19 pm
I still read newspapers, but increasinly they are only useful for local news and events.
As Anonymous says, by the time the paper comes out I've already read about signficant news events several times online.