Do Newspapers Still Make Sense?

[Reacher]

The Phillies won a big game vs. the Dodgers last night. It ended at about 12:30 a.m. When I opened my Philadelphia Daily News almost 12 hours later to read at lunch, all I got from the game was a full-page third-inning black-and-white photo of Chase Utley. The Inquirer had a feature on 34-year-old journeyman pinch-hitter Andy Tracy in the game story spot.

The question I have is: Do newspapers still make sense?

Consider also what had to happen to get that newspaper on my lawn. It had to be printed on expensive newsprint and delivered by gas-guzzling, Teamster-driven trucks at $3.50 a gallon to the convenience store.

How can late news that costs a fortune to produce compete with the immediate, electronic Internet? Isn't newsprint all but obsolete as a way to communicate information. And if so, how can newspapers still make sense, especially considering that the advertising that has always supported them is quickly disappearing?

I am not trying to be a troll. I just want to know if you think the newspaper model can still make sense, if you step back and look at it objectively. What do you think?

 

[RedSmithClone]

Personally I think newspapers - all of them, should go back to PM papers.

This will change the idea of newspaper reporting to more features, analysis and breaking news from the morning cycles.

I still love sitting back and reading the paper later in the afternoon. I've never been a fan of the morning edition, and with the internet and TV joining the 24-hour news cycle, the morning paper has everything we already see on TV at night or on the internet at any time.

IMHO. a PM paper makes more sense in these times.

 

[BTExpress]

Let's say your city proposed a big property tax hike and also announced the date and site of a hearing in which the subject of the hike (vs. cutting services) would be debated.

Where would you likely get that information, if not the newspaper?

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

Newspaper Web site.

 

[DanOregon]

I wonder how long it will be before the biggest newspaper in town has fewer reporters than the biggest tv station.

 

[Reacher]

Don't really have an answer, but here's another question:

You said you opened your Philly Daily News around noon to read about the game. Did you check the Internet any time in those previous 12 hours to find out more?

I was working on volleyball previews and following the game online in real time.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Personally I think newspapers - all of them, should go back to PM papers.

This will change the idea of newspaper reporting to more features, analysis and breaking news from the morning cycles.

I still love sitting back and reading the paper later in the afternoon. I've never been a fan of the morning edition, and with the internet and TV joining the 24-hour news cycle, the morning paper has everything we already see on TV at night or on the internet at any time.

IMHO. a PM paper makes more sense in these times.

Standout idea. News (and gamers) on the web, features and enterprise in the afternoon. Leader in the clubhouse for Best Idea To Save Newspapers when the SportsJournalists.com awards come around.

 

[RedSmithClone]

Personally I think newspapers - all of them, should go back to PM papers.

This will change the idea of newspaper reporting to more features, analysis and breaking news from the morning cycles.

I still love sitting back and reading the paper later in the afternoon. I've never been a fan of the morning edition, and with the internet and TV joining the 24-hour news cycle, the morning paper has everything we already see on TV at night or on the internet at any time.

IMHO. a PM paper makes more sense in these times.

Standout idea. News (and gamers) on the web, features and enterprise in the afternoon. Leader in the clubhouse for Best Idea To Save Newspapers when the SportsJournalists.com awards come around.

That's exactly what I was aiming for. I wasn't sure if I came across well enough, but I guess I did.

Thanks

 

[editorhoo]

Personally I think newspapers - all of them, should go back to PM papers.

This will change the idea of newspaper reporting to more features, analysis and breaking news from the morning cycles.

I still love sitting back and reading the paper later in the afternoon. I've never been a fan of the morning edition, and with the internet and TV joining the 24-hour news cycle, the morning paper has everything we already see on TV at night or on the internet at any time.

IMHO. a PM paper makes more sense in these times.

Standout idea. News (and gamers) on the web, features and enterprise in the afternoon. Leader in the clubhouse for Best Idea To Save Newspapers when the SportsJournalists.com awards come around.

Exactly my thoughts. I definitely could see putting gamers on the Web site, and with the cost of paper, ink, delivery, etc., publishing a print edition, say, once a week to put it all into perspective.

This, of course, is speaking purely from a sports point of view.

 

[shotglass]

Red, I am so with you there. Great thought, and it could be all that would save them in the long run.

 

[Tom Petty]

bookmark

 

[agateguy]

There is not yet a "killer app" device, readily available to everyone for a cheap price, that allows you to surf the web online from anywhere you choose to go, nor is there the internet infrastructure for free, high-speed wireless Internet accessible to all, even the poor.

If that happens, newspapers will die or survive by migrating online.

 

[jps]

I'm a big fan of p.m. papers ... as it is, I kick the a.m. out of my way out the door on my way to work, like most people, I think, and pick it up when I get home. but the freak out would be so huge by this change that no one is going to try it for fear of cranky seniors railing on about the change.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

capitol times tried going to a true p.m. format a few years ago, pushing back delivery until 2 p.m. or later. maybe it was the market (though i'd think in an academic market like madison, there'd be demand for this), but we all know how that story ended -- greatly reduced print presence, layoffs from the newsroom when they went online heavy.

 

[fishwrapper]

The problem with PMs is the same problem that has always plagued PMs.
The production cycle. Deadline is between 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for afternoon delivery. So the idea that a PM could react to the current day's newscycle comes from people who have never worked at a daily PM.

 

[pseudo]

The problem with PMs is the same problem that has always plagued PMs.
The production cycle. Deadline is between 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for afternoon delivery. So the idea that a PM could react to the current day's newscycle comes from people who have never worked at a daily PM.

Strong coverage of 9/11 made it into the local p.m. I subscribe to.

Anything after 11:00 p.m. the night before doesn't make it into the local a.m. I don't buy.

And that, along with the a.m.'s crappy sports section, is precisely why I buy one and not the other.

 

[Editude]

A previous stop was an AM/PM hybrid (too much good stuff, I guess) that only lightly remade the paper in the morning. For this to work, the delivery would need to be timed to be near the late afternoon, after people have stopped surfing at work. That said, in big cities traffic would be a concern for timely delivery.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

Of course newspapers still make sense.

Try covering a table with your laptop next time your child wants to finger paint.

Let me tell you, it makes one hack of a mess.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

what about a later p.m.?

say, timed for delivery about 6 p.m.

you are dealing with rush-hour traffic concerns in big cities, but nothing a few wacky bicycle couriers couldn't avoid.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The problem with PMs is the same problem that has always plagued PMs.
The production cycle. Deadline is between 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for afternoon delivery. So the idea that a PM could react to the current day's newscycle comes from people who have never worked at a daily PM.

"News cycle" stuff goes online where it belongs. Features, entertainment and enterprise goes in the PM pub, along with a quick roundup of the day's news to that point.

I think what Red suggested could be done. He's not talking about a "breaking news" PM paper in most cases. And I have worked at a couple of daily PMs.