Comments on: Why the local daily will never die. Or, maybe not. http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not Con maldad hacias sombreros rojo. Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:07:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dan http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not/comment-page-1#comment-1612 Dan Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:06:21 +0000 http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not#comment-1612 Billy Dennis, A couple of questions for you: How would an online news organization differ from a local newspaper in terms of how news is gathered? Can local newspapers, as they are currently structured, survive by simply getting their readers to migrate from print to screen, or is an entirely different business model required? Until about a year ago, I rarely visited the SJ-R’s Web site, because I read the print version. But they’ve done a lot to enhance their online content and now I visit the site a few times a day. It seems as if the transformation is in progress, but if they cut staff and cut back on local coverage, then they’ve lost the exclusive content that makes them a viable Web presence. Billy Dennis,

A couple of questions for you:

How would an online news organization differ from a local newspaper in terms of how news is gathered?

Can local newspapers, as they are currently structured, survive by simply getting their readers to migrate from print to screen, or is an entirely different business model required?

Until about a year ago, I rarely visited the SJ-R’s Web site, because I read the print version. But they’ve done a lot to enhance their online content and now I visit the site a few times a day. It seems as if the transformation is in progress, but if they cut staff and cut back on local coverage, then they’ve lost the exclusive content that makes them a viable Web presence.

]]> By: Billy Dennis http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not/comment-page-1#comment-1610 Billy Dennis Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:39:47 +0000 http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not#comment-1610 Newspapers cannot survive in the long run doing what they are doing to ensure maximum profits in the short run. Corporations that operate like GateHouse Media (corporate owners of the S J-R and the Peoria Journal Star) have based their survival on being able to continue to pay heavy dividends funded by raising more money than they spend. Eventually, they will run out of places to cut without cutting the muscle and bone they need to make their products attractive to advertisers and readers (and remember, no readers, no advertisers). Eventually, it will collapse. The future in online media, and I'm not talking blogs. I'm talking about online news organizations not burdened with a huge pile of debt that employ people who go out and get the news. Newspapers cannot survive in the long run doing what they are doing to ensure maximum profits in the short run.

Corporations that operate like GateHouse Media (corporate owners of the S J-R and the Peoria Journal Star) have based their survival on being able to continue to pay heavy dividends funded by raising more money than they spend. Eventually, they will run out of places to cut without cutting the muscle and bone they need to make their products attractive to advertisers and readers (and remember, no readers, no advertisers).

Eventually, it will collapse.

The future in online media, and I’m not talking blogs. I’m talking about online news organizations not burdened with a huge pile of debt that employ people who go out and get the news.

]]> By: Hugo http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not/comment-page-1#comment-1609 Hugo Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:31:53 +0000 http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not#comment-1609 The main surprise is that these folks have been able to stick around as long as they have under the circumstances they were forced into. This debacle was rather predictable if anyone took a look at Gatehouse Media's SEC filings before the purchase. They have little expertise in the daily news business and started by buyng a lot of small mom and pop papers in the East. It was obvious that they would be paring the SJ-R staff to the bone and outsourcing as much writing as possible. Local coverage was bound to suffer, as it has. It's a shame to see a very competent, respected and valuable daily paper with a long history having it's bones picked over like the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving. One can only hope that Gatehouse collapses under the weight of it's massive debt and mismanagement so the paper is sold to someone who cares. The main surprise is that these folks have been able to stick around as long as they have under the circumstances they were forced into.

This debacle was rather predictable if anyone took a look at Gatehouse Media’s SEC filings before the purchase. They have little expertise in the daily news business and started by buyng a lot of small mom and pop papers in the East. It was obvious that they would be paring the SJ-R staff to the bone and outsourcing as much writing as possible. Local coverage was bound to suffer, as it has.

It’s a shame to see a very competent, respected and valuable daily paper with a long history having it’s bones picked over like the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving. One can only hope that Gatehouse collapses under the weight of it’s massive debt and mismanagement so the paper is sold to someone who cares.

]]> By: Kath http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not/comment-page-1#comment-1595 Kath Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:39:46 +0000 http://blogfreespringfield.com/why-the-local-daily-will-never-die-or-maybe-not#comment-1595 I had to do a content analysis of newspaper coverage of urban teachers for what my program at TC calls our "capstone" project. To bolster my assertion that newspapers are still an essential news source, I turned to The Pew Research Center for People and the Press and found in their report "Online papers modestly boost newspaper readership" (2006) the following: Newspapers continue to be a primary source from which the public gets its news. Although newspaper readership has declined(down from 50 percent ten years ago to 43 percent in 2006) since the advent of online newspapers and broadcast outlets, and the proliferation of 24-hour TV news channels, readers continue to turn to print versions of newspapers for in-depth reporting. Online versions of newspapers serve as a mostly supplemental source in combination with traditional news sources. I had to do a content analysis of newspaper coverage of urban teachers for what my program at TC calls our “capstone” project. To bolster my assertion that newspapers are still an essential news source, I turned to The Pew Research Center for People and the Press and found in their report “Online papers modestly boost newspaper readership” (2006) the following:

Newspapers continue to be a primary source from which the public gets its news. Although newspaper readership has declined(down from 50 percent ten years ago to 43 percent in 2006) since the advent of online newspapers and broadcast outlets, and the proliferation of 24-hour TV news channels, readers continue to turn to print versions of newspapers for in-depth reporting. Online versions of newspapers serve as a mostly supplemental source in combination with traditional news sources.

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