Newspapers Covering the Future of Newspapers

I wrote my post yesterday about the future of newspapers before discovering the Globe & Mail had published a lengthy feature looking at the future newspapers.

A few thoughts:

1. The G&M story the kind of journalism that newspapers need to do because it offers insight and perspective (aka tell me what it means) about an issue that’s been attracting a lot of news coverage recently.

2. It’s interesting to see newspapers enthusiastically wave the flag about how the industry’s demise would be a blow to society and how politicians behave. This suggests other information platforms such as blogs won’t have the same influence or impact.

3. It puts the spotlight on the quality of work that professional journalists produce, and how much bloggers rely on this content. To me, this is one of the crucial issues going forward: how can top-quality journalism be maintained at a time when news organizations are under financial pressure, and reporters need to focus on quantity (print, blogs, video, podcasts, etc.) as much as quality.

4. If you read the G&M’s story (the newspaper version), it puts the spotlight on a major problem, which is that many people believe there are few things worth reading within a newspaper.

For an important story focused on the future of newspapers, it’s interesting the G&M article is a uninspiring wave of text. There are black and white photographs and some text boxes but there are no graphics or charts that illustrate the state of the newspaper industry visually. The story could have used, for example, a chart showing the most popular online news sites, or even a chart showing some of the new places that people are getting their news.

We live in a world where video games, Twitter, blog posts and free commuter newspapers such as Metro have shrunk our collective attention spans. To get someone to pay attention, the news needs to be compelling and accessible visually. It you can marry that with top-notch writing, your chances of getting someone to read an article are that much higher.

Here are some personal observations about newspaper readership:

- I’ve been taking public transit a lot recently. Few people are reading newspapers. Of those people, many read free commuter newspapers rather than broadsheets (Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, National Post) – and most of these people are men. Women are more likely to read a book than a newspaper.

- The iPod has become an engrained part of commuter culture. Whether it’s music or video, about half the people commuting are using an iPod or MP3 player. For newspapers, it suggests maybe there’s an opportunity to create three to five minute video episodes that tell people the news of the day, as well as places (print and online) where they can get more information.

Finally, I wonder how much of an impact electronic paper would have on newspapers and newspaper readership. For years, people have talked being able to have e-paper that would display a wide variety of content. You could stuff e-paper in your briefcase, read in on the couch and other places within the home, and take it on public transportation.

Is e-paper the newspaper industry’s salvation or a key part of the survival solution?

More: The Guardian has a thought-provoking story on the significant downsizing happening within the U.K. newspaper market.

Technorati Tags: newspapers