

Internet: 1 Newspapers: 0 - keltecp11
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6271317/The-internet-will-devour-newspapers.html

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thaumaturgy
That article was -- to put it bluntly -- masturbatory.

First, let's get some numbers out of the way: the newspaper industry still has
massive amounts of ad revenue, although those numbers are declining. [1] To
put it into some perspective, it eclipses aggregate web advertising revenue
... which is also declining. [2]

Newspapers -- and magazines -- have a couple of problems, and the web isn't
really one of them. Their first problem is that their revenue model relies
most heavily on both subscriptions and advertising. In the case of
advertising, a market saturation is probably in effect, with advertising
revenue falling for multiple industries and media. People are spending less
right now, so advertising is less effective; however, people are also getting
sick of being bombarded by non-relevant ads on billboards, bus stops,
magazines, the newspapers, their mail, their email, and their websites. (Hey
TechCrunch: by the way, could you possibly fit a few more jumpy/blinky/changey
ads on your site? Thanks.)

Subscriptions are down too, and this is where the web does hurt them: they're
expected to put their content online, for free. So, why should consumers pay
for a newspaper if they can get the same items over their computer for free?

Attempts so far to carry the subscription model over to the web have been, if
not unsuccessful, then not successful either. Large numbers of people balk
even at the New York Times' registration requirement for much of its content.

The web isn't nearly as de-centralized as this article would like to dream;
although there's plenty of political news available from Wonkette or Daily
Kos, the bulk of current events journalism is still funneled through
publications which have the resources to pay for journalists. Although the
quality of investigative journalism can be debated, its cost cannot: it is
expensive, beyond the reach of most bloggers or content aggregation startups.

Readers, meanwhile, are definitely pushing for more interactive content -- the
ability to leave comments on news stories, for example -- as well as the
ability to concentrate their news feeds to select subjects or other criteria,
as a natural result of the information overload that some people are suffering
from.

So, news publications need a new revenue model, and they need to improve their
services for readers. Readers want more up-to-the-minute content, better
quality in their content, and narrowed to certain subjects or other interests,
and they want it for free.

And advertisers need something that consumers might actually want to look at
once in a while.

[1]:
[http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/newspaper_industry_ad_revenue.p...](http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/newspaper_industry_ad_revenue.php)

[2]: [http://www.dmnews.com/first-half-web-ad-spend-
down-53-to-109...](http://www.dmnews.com/first-half-web-ad-spend-
down-53-to-109-billion-say-iab-pricewaterhousecoopers/article/151505/)

