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The state of newspapers today

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by old_tony, Nov 9, 2007.

  1. Tommy_Dreamer

    Tommy_Dreamer Well-Known Member

    Just makes me feel even more confident I'm making the right decision getting the hell outta Dodge.
     
  2. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    I'm seriously looking, too, Tommy. I just wish I'd have had something lined up before the buyouts expired.
     
  3. Tommy_Dreamer

    Tommy_Dreamer Well-Known Member

    Well, I've got a good situation I'm heading in to. I don't have a job yet, but I have a place to stay and money saved up to rest, relax and recuperate. Oh yeah, and watch some football!
     
  4. PHINJ

    PHINJ Active Member

    If people aren't willing to pull a quarter or two out of their pockets to buy a paper on the newsstand and if they aren't willing to pay a heavily discounted price to get home delivery of a newspaper, what makes you think they are going to pull their credit cards out to pay for online content that doesn't delivery many of the features that people actually buy newspapers for (comics, inserts, coupons)?
     
  5. silentbob

    silentbob Member

    Newspaper management and publishers screwed this up at the beginning, failing to see the potential of the internet. ... Charging for the internet now -- as others have pointed out -- only will send readers elsewhere. My hometown paper charges and I'd love to read it to see what's going on back home, but I'll be damned if I pay for it. ...
     
  6. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    What kind of information? Nobody else has the resources to cover local news like a newspaper does.

    And discerning readers know that, imperfect as newspapers may be, no one has the credibility that a newspaper has.

    Just because there's free product available doesn't mean people won't pay for quality. There's plenty of free porn on the Net, but people still buy it.
     
  7. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    Is there another source for that local news or do you just go without? You refuse to pay -- fine. But for people who feel they need local news, and going without isn't an option, there is no place else to get it.
     
  8. BLOGS!

    Not perfect but free. And the minute you charge for internet access, you know a bunch are going to pop up.
     
  9. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    Did you check out that new online paper in Minneapolis? These are professional, big-city journalists doing it. And it looks it, too. Except it's a bit THIN. So are blogs, so are radio and TV newscasts. It's kind of silly to think anyone can compete with a paid daily newspaper's newsroom.
     
  10. It's not silly. Not at all. An online publication doesn't need the same resources to operate - so it doesn't need the same revenue just to break even.

    It's more of a parasitic relationship. It gobbles up whatever consumers the paper don't or can't get to. It doesn't need to break all the stories, just enough to keep people coming back. And they will - especially if the paper-paper has a paid site.
     
  11. Almost_Famous

    Almost_Famous Active Member

    So does anyone have a solution?
     
  12. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    Keep people coming back to what? There's not much there. It's like a little boutique. Nice stuff, but the masses want WalMart.
     
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