Losing the News

1. Losing the News Chapter Seven Newspapers on the Brink By Alex Jones

2. The problem is not that newspapers are going to disappear – it is whether or not they will be able to keep news as their central mission. 1 • Newspapers are starting to focus more on what people want to read, rather than more newsworthy stories that are not as interesting to the public. • Jones expresses his worry, writing, “I fear that newspapers are trending toward . . . what people want, and all but abandoning anything that does not make money or draw eyeballs.” • Generally, family-owned newspapers are being bought out by bigger companies. These companies are more concerned with making big profits than offering people the best news possible.

3. Technology and the economic downturn has contributed to the fall of newspapers. 2 • In 2008, the Dallas Morning News’ stock had been selling for over $18 per share. A year later, it dropped nearly 90 percent – to about $2.50 per share – due to the economic downturn. • Jones describes the newspaper’s attempt to compete with the Internet, saying, “It would seem that the nation’s newspapers are in imminent jeopardy of closing their doors, unable to escape the ravages being wrought by the Web.” • In today’s day and age, life is centered around technology. People listen to the news on the T.V. or radio, and often they would rather read the news online than subscribe to a newspaper. With every passing generation, less and less people are reading newspapers.

4. Newspapers are trying to cope with their financial problems with three basic tactics: 3 • Reinventing the newspaper both online and on paper to keep old readers and attract new ones. • Creating completely new products, usually having nothing to do with the news. • Cutting costs – majorly.

5. Reinventing the Newspaper • Newspapers have embraced the concept of “hyper-localization”, which emphasizes the use of local news, and “reader engagement”. By printing local stories instead of more newsworthy foreign news, and by inviting people to comment on their online paper, newspapers draw in readers. • Even such prestigious papers as the Boston Globe are following suit. It recently closed all of its foreign bureaus, eliminated the position of foreign editor, and pursued more local issues. • Jones comments on the sudden scramble for Web space, writing, “Every newspaper in the nation is experimenting with how to fashion a Web presence that will solve the thus far intractable difficulty of replacing online the revenues that are being lost in the print edition.” • Papers are striving so hard for online editions mainly to attract younger readers.

6. Creating New Products • Newspapers are creating products that have nothing to do with the news, in an effort to attract people who don’t read the news at all. • In reference to Dean Singleton, head of MediaNews Group, Jones wrote, “He has been . . . pursuing the invention of “products”, such as magazines aimed at young people or tourists or any other niche that will make his company money.” • In an effort to raise revenue, the Denver Post created Biasdotcom.com, which was aimed at youth culture. The site was presented in a very vulgar fashion, promoting drinking, sex, and stupidity. Unsurprisingly, the fact that the Denver Post was a parent to the new online magazine was kept as quiet as possible.

7. Cutting Costs • Creating an online presence, reinventing a print newspaper, and expanding into ancillary businesses costs a lot of money – inevitably causing huge budget cuts. • The drastic cuts in budget reflect a lack of commitment to serious news. • Often, the people who are being laid off are the best and most experienced journalists . . . AKA, the highest paid. • The remaining journalists often struggle to keep their sense of mission – they are asked to do more work for less money, and are forced to produce news of lesser quality. • Journalist Bill Shein expressed his frustration in an article about ‘the very last reporter,’ writing, “With no reporters to pay, America’s media organizations are likely to invest even more resources in upbeat, news-free, advertiser-friendly features” such as “. . . Puzzles. Lots and lots of puzzles.”

8. The Decline in the News BusinessAffects Us All 4 • Newspapers have been hit hard all around the country – and close to home. In 2006, Avista Capital bought the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In the first month, big cuts in staff were made, prompting speculation that the newspaper was going to be ‘harvested’. Though Avista denied it, the paper continued to struggle and filed for bankruptcy in 2009. • Many journalists, across the country and here at home, have grown depressed and despondent about their futures. The decline of ‘newsworthy news’ directly and personally affects the lives of those who report it. • Being a journalist requires a passion for the work, and many have an emotional attachment to the news. David Shribman, a journalist, said, “. . . We got into the business the way people go into marriage – mostly as young people, for better or for worse . . .”