Newspapers--The Future Live forever? Or not for long?

Some predict the demise of newspapers to online news sources…  But don’t write off newspapers quite yet. They may be losing readers but they remain very profitable business enterprises.  Our text points out that in 2004, profit margins, on average, were still hovering above the 15 percent mark, compared to about a 12 percent margin for all industries. But, yes, there are threats on the horizon to this robust profitability.

Newspapers Still an Advertising Giant  Look at Sunday’s Charleston Post and Courier—this one paper represents tens of thousands of dollars, if not low hundreds of thousands of dollars in paid advertising  Advertising accounts for 80 percent of a newspaper’s income with circulation (subscriptions and single copy sales) making up 20 percent.

Why are newspapers so profitable?  American Journalism Review article American Journalism Review article American Journalism Review article  Belief in newspapers as an effective advertising vehicle to reach a desirable audience. Look at Ten Top Reasons to Advertise in Newspapers Ten Top Reasons to Advertise in NewspapersTen Top Reasons to Advertise in Newspapers  Look at Post and Courier’s 2003 “227,000 daily customers” ad “227,000 daily customers” “227,000 daily customers”

No competition=lots of $$$ ► Post and Courier revenue: $50M annually? ► So said a Charleston City Paper investigation in 2002 So said a Charleston City Paper investigation in 2002 So said a Charleston City Paper investigation in 2002 ► The Post and Courier is part of a large Charleston- based media empire ► Evening Post Publishing posted revenues of $180 million in 2001, according to the City Paper

Charleston’s $300 Million Media Market* ► Direct Marketing$80 million ► Newspapers$75 million ► Television$35 million ► Yellow Pages$25 million ► Radio$20 million ► Cable TV $5 million ► Other (mags, billboards, Internet) $60 million *Source: WCBD-TV sales executives/July 2002 *Source: WCBD-TV sales executives/July 2002

Will newspapers go the way of dinosaurs? ► Yes, readership is declining, especially among young people—any number of studies support this, including the Pew Research Center’s bi-annual media habits survey.Pew Research Center’s bi-annual media habits survey. ► Plus, there is ever increasing competition for advertising from TV, billboards, direct mail, and Web sites, according to our text which also points out… ► Newspaper’s share of the total amount of money spent on advertising was 29 percent in the late 1970s. But by 2003 that figure had slipped to about 18 percent.

Online on the Rise ► Print newspapers are also losing readers to online media. In 2003, more than 25 percent of the U.S. population went online at least once a week to get their news. ► Surely this figure is even higher in ► Compare this to 1995, when about 4 percent of the population went online once a week for news.

Newspapers going paper-less? (Trees would be happy!) ► So-called tablet PCs may be developed and become popular. Newspapers could deliver their news to the public via small portable devices weighing only three pounds that are an inch thick and about the size of a sheet of 8 ½ by 11 paper. ► Tablet PCs can display text and graphics and can play both audio and video clips. Content can be updated throughout the day. ► And, oh yes, it could be read in the bathroom, unlike other electronic newspapers.

A Newspaper’s Online Initiatives ► Look at Post and Courier’s electronic version. Must be a subscriber to receive this version. Link is located along main page’s left side ( ► Look at P-C’s Multimedia link which features slide shows and audio—scroll down to bottom to see haunted house ► Look also at P-C’s staff written blogs. Go to Multimedia then Postscripts.

The future is here? ► In Tampa, Fla. Media General, a large media conglomerate, owns the daily newspaper, a top local TV station and a popular Internet website/browser. ► News coverage comes out of one newsroom, blurring the lines between print and broadcast reporters and photographers ► Media General also owns WCBD-TV here in Charleston ► The website at wfla.com is an example of media convergence wfla.com ► But the government, the courts and general public have resisted loosening media ownership restrictions that would allow cross media ownership similar to that in Tampa