hankscott

Can Anything Save Newspapers?

Indeed it is like the buggy whip situation. Buggy whip manufacturers went out of business because they didn't understand they business they were in. They weren't in the buggy whip business, they were in the acceleration business. If they'd understood that, they would have started making accelerators for the newest form of conveyance (the automobile), and probably they'd be sitting around waiting for Congress to bail them out, but that's another story.

Newspaper publishers aren't in the news business. I know that sounds radical. But they really are intermediators whose business is assembling an audience for advertisers. They assemble an affluent and well-educated (albeit declining) audience by providing daily news on print. The question today is what new methods can they develop to aggregate audiences that aren't interested in print, or aren't interested in daily news.

Newspaper companies have assets -- relationships with advertisers, skilled staffers, powerful brands. So they need to learn to use those assets to aggregate audiences other than those who want to read news daily on paper. Which is not to say they shouldn't address that audience as well -- it's still more attractive in many ways than the mindless hordes who get their news from blogs about "Gossip Girl" etc.


On Dec 11 10:45 AM notsosmart wrote:

> its like the buggywhip-no need for it anymore.whats the big deal.when
> something no longer serves a purpose or is needed it goes away.anybody
> miss the coal fired steam engine?hard rubber tires?etc.i haent bothered
> with the ny times since they endorsed castro in the eisenhower years.
> i managed ok.