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All The News That’s Fit to Download

EContent, May 2009 by Lopresti, Michael J

The Print Media Must Evolve or Face Extinction

amid wall-to-wall news coverage about banks, insurance companies, auto manufacturers, and other pillars of the American economy that are buckling under the oppressive weight of the global financial crisis, the fact that the print media outlets reporting that news are themselves on the verge of financial ruin may be lost on readers.

Within the past few months, such venerable daily newspapers as The Cincinnati Post and the massachusetts auto insurance quotes Rocky Mountain News have ceased to exist, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has changed its format to an online-only publication, and rumors have swirled that the San Francisco Chronicle is next on the chopping block. These headlines behind the headlines serve as stark reminders that the publishing industry is changing dramatically and that print news outlets will need to learn how to adapt if they want to survive.

A new report from California-based research firm Outsell, Inc. outlines the problems with the publishing industry’s current business model and offers some advice on how to weather the economic storm. The firm’s “Information Industry Outlook 2009: No Guts, No Glory” has a cheeky title, but it aims to deliver some sobering news to media and information companies.

Outsell CEO Anthea Stratigos, citing research from the report, says that many news outlets have suffered because they’re stuck in between the two viable market positions for information companies. She uses a retail metaphor to describe the two positions. The first is the Wal-Mart model. This category is composed of those few news outlets that have the resources and capacity to compete on the largest possible scale. Successful news aggregators and wire services – such as Google News and Reuters-occupy this end of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum is the Tiffany’s model: boutique-style media outlets that aim to capture a focused readership by providing specialized information. ESPN and regional or local periodicals occupy this space.

One problem that may be plaguing beleaguered papers such as the Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle-Post Intelligencer is a reach that is too broad without enough boutique specialization