Newspapers killing themselves over Internet
At some point in the last couple of years, it has become apparent that newspapers are going to die. At least that is what they keep telling everyone in an effort to keep themselves afloat. The print is going away, and what was once in hard copy will now have to be consumed online if it is to exist at all.
Rather than figure out a way to adapt to the changing world of media, news conglomerates decide to throw up their hands, cough up their lunch monies and ride a wave of 20 to 30 percent profits until shutting down the hard copy paper.
This self-fulfilling prophecy comes at a price that the American public can ill afford. It threatens the very fabric of American society. The freedom of the press is a Constitutional right that cannot exist if the only press that is left is one of partisan politics, innuendo, lies and punditry.
The newspaper may still be able to save itself if it can rise to meet the challenge, the question is only one of innovation and willpower.
The first thing that newspapers will have to overcome is corporate ownership. Family papers of the past were happy with a 3 to 5 percent profit margin. Corporations will not stand for that type of paltry earning, especially if there is no growth in that profit margin.
The second thing that newspapers will need to do is look at the history of media. In every age, the newspaper has been targeted to go with the rise of a new medium, and those media were targeted to go when something else was invented.
Newsreels were a threat. Newspapers survived. Radio was a threat. Newspaper survived. Television was threat. Newspapers survived.
In fact, USA Today not only survived but thrived because it changed the way the news was delivered. It designed newspaper boxes that looked like televisions and created content that felt like television. By innovating to become something that people were comfortable with, USA Today became one of the most read newspapers in the nation.
Now the Internet has become a threat, and newspapers are going belly up? In media circles, television did not destroy movies. Walt Disney actually used television to help him build the Disney Empire. There are no reason for newspapers to fail, except for the greed of a few newspaper companies and the inability to innovate and change by employees that report the news.
Rather than figure out a way to adapt to the changing world of media, news conglomerates decide to throw up their hands, cough up their lunch monies and ride a wave of 20 to 30 percent profits until shutting down the hard copy paper.
This self-fulfilling prophecy comes at a price that the American public can ill afford. It threatens the very fabric of American society. The freedom of the press is a Constitutional right that cannot exist if the only press that is left is one of partisan politics, innuendo, lies and punditry.
The newspaper may still be able to save itself if it can rise to meet the challenge, the question is only one of innovation and willpower.
The first thing that newspapers will have to overcome is corporate ownership. Family papers of the past were happy with a 3 to 5 percent profit margin. Corporations will not stand for that type of paltry earning, especially if there is no growth in that profit margin.
The second thing that newspapers will need to do is look at the history of media. In every age, the newspaper has been targeted to go with the rise of a new medium, and those media were targeted to go when something else was invented.
Newsreels were a threat. Newspapers survived. Radio was a threat. Newspaper survived. Television was threat. Newspapers survived.
In fact, USA Today not only survived but thrived because it changed the way the news was delivered. It designed newspaper boxes that looked like televisions and created content that felt like television. By innovating to become something that people were comfortable with, USA Today became one of the most read newspapers in the nation.
Now the Internet has become a threat, and newspapers are going belly up? In media circles, television did not destroy movies. Walt Disney actually used television to help him build the Disney Empire. There are no reason for newspapers to fail, except for the greed of a few newspaper companies and the inability to innovate and change by employees that report the news.
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