Two years ago, on my old blog, I did a post about trends in the newspaper publishing business. Thinking papers might be benefiting from an improving economy and that they may be learning new tricks, I researched the internet, finding the following interesting developments.
- Many newspapers are experimenting with groupon-like deals
- social networking sites surpassed Google for the first time ever in 2010 (Google has responded with its Google +
- the launch of the i pad opened new doors for content creators’ use in developing new platforms
- online readership of print media has soared
- Many newspapers have put up paywalls (Rupert Murdoch’s publications) to increase revenue
- Others, such as the Atlantic Monthly, have torn down paywalls and are trying to obtain more ad revenue
- National Media experts say there is an emerging trend of buyers and investors looking at newspapers as more of a civic enterprise than a money-making opportunity. But in a commitment to journalistic integrity the buyers and investors must make it clear that their influence does not extend to the news pages.
- Saginaw State University in Michigan has started a for-profit student paper, selling classifieds
- Staffing at online media firms has been increasing, albeit slowly
- Publications such as the New Yorker and Economist offer a choice of digital, print, or digital and print subscriptions – online subscriptions avoid cost of mailing and printing and are more friendly to landfills and the environment
- Online editions have expanded beyond computers to smartphones and tablet devices
- With growing market fragmentation, publications now exist to aggregate blogs into a single publication which finds articles (giving attribution) and publishing a third party’s blog or article that publication’s blog. I am doing this with my new “paper” titled Passing Through…
When I published my blog on this topic two or so years ago, the Texas Tribune (www.texastribune.0rg) was just up and running. It relies on classified ads and donations from readers and other supporters. It seems to be doing well.
Passing Through . . . . 