I subscribe to an online journal aimed primarily at photojournalists, The Digital Journalist. It’s a great source for cutting edge photojournalism around the world as well as information of equipment new and old. They’ve run a very interesting editorial by Mark Loundy concerning the (lack) of a future for newspapers. The cure to what ails print news is eliminating the printed product – according to Loundy it is a good 80 percent of the cost of producing a newspaper – the cost of producing the content is 20 percent – and that’s where the draconian slash and burn staff reductions and consolidations are taking place, further hastening the demise of the already life support dependent newspaper business model.
Newspapers are trapped between two worlds. They can’t offer a viable online service because they can’t spend enough on staffing. Meanwhile, they’ve lashed themselves to a sinking ship that they’re bailing out by tossing journalists overboard. Of course, this drives readers away, causing the ship to sink faster.
The print product isn’t just expensive, it is massively so. Writing in the Silicon Alley Insider, Nicholas Carson pointed out that for the cost of producing the print product, The New York Times could buy every one of its subscribers a Kindle. Make that two Kindles.
Publishers are terrified of throwing away the large print-based ad revenues. But they will also be axing their titanic printing costs. They could spend part of this saving on improving local coverage.
One of the biggest barriers to the success of online is the continued existence of the warm, comfortable print product. Fundamentally, most people resist change. Many continue to subscribe simply because that’s what they are used to. Without the choice of the printed paper, readers who currently say that they prefer the traditional product would suddenly find out that the digital water is just fine and getting rapidly better.
Perhaps something that the Oregonian could consider as they make yet another round of buyouts.