Posted by Defne on November 6 at 2:54 PM
It has been a tough week for print media.
Last Week, Christian Science Monitor, in print for over 100 years, announced that it was becoming the nation's first national newspaper to convert to an entirely web-based format.
Today, the Washington Post reported that US News & World Report, the nation's third newsweekly after Time and Newsweek, will reduce frequency for the second time this year. Earlier in the year, the magazine went to a bi-weekly format from weekly. Now, it is reported to be moving to a monthly format. The monthly magazine will focus on consumer reports, not on news - likely content like USNWR's currently most popular features are annual rankings such as America's "best colleges" or "best hospitals".
Why now?
Weekly and daily news in print has been most affected by the instant delivery of news online, for free. Circulations have been shifting online for a few years now. Newspapers and weeklies have been investing heavily on their websites, while cutting staff to battle the financial problems that resulted in circulation decline. The model is shifting slowly from a print circulation one to one with higher share of ad revenue model based on online audiences.
What's in the future?
It will be interesting to watch what happens next year, when the advertising spike from the elections level out and financial worries force circulations down and costs up. I think major brands will survive, but online will be the new normal. Those who build strong and dynamic news brands online which offer choices will be the future of news: engaging audiences beyond the printed word, with multi-media and customizable delivery methods.
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3 Comments so far...
Unfortunately I think it will take more than building a dynamic news brand online for traditional print news outlets to survive. Already, in addition to the print media deaths you cite, established online outlets are already beginning to cut back in preparation for the anticipated advertising spikes (e.g., Gawker Media's massive cuts to its editorial staff several weeks ago, etc.). So I think it's not only a matter of building solid online outlets (which print media is getting better at, finally, but few have truly embraced online dissemination as they should have before this crisis in their industry occurred), but exploring and establishing entirely new business models, as well, that will (hopefully) allow them to stay afloat.
Posted by Atherton Bartelby on November 6 at 9:02 PMInteresting that pulling back was happening, while it was also one of the biggest week's for print (the rush to get the OBAMA New York Times, USA Today, etc.,) Good discussion of that is here:
http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/in-defense-of-print.html
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on November 9 at 11:14 AMIf reading a newspaper article at your desktop is akin to reading the newspaper on the train or while sipping your morning coffee, then I agree with you.
You raise a good question about what is in the future.
I think a temporary shift to online, yes. But ultimately, someone has to think about the experience and perhaps develop a delivery method, similar to the Kindle, for newspapers. Foldable electronic paper?
As for advertisers, they followed before and they will follow again.
Posted by Nii on November 17 at 3:56 PM