Technology excites top news executives
WASHINGTON — The people in charge of putting out the news are thrilled that technology is giving them new tools for their craft. But they are still searching for ways to slow the erosion of revenue that threatens many media companies.
That was the message that came across at the American Society of News Editors annual conference this past week.
To cap four days of sessions on everything from e-readers to nonprofit news groups, the organization had a panel of media executives who tried to answer the question: Where do we go from here?
"There has never been a better time to tell the story of the news," Reuters Managing Director Christoph Pleitgen said. Community Newspaper CEO Donna Barrett added: "From a content point of view, we’re kids at Christmas."
Even as the Web upends the business models newspapers used to rely on, it has opened up possibilities. The Internet lets newspapers get news to their readers all day instead of waiting for the next morning’s edition — after television and radio reporters have already had their say.
It also offers new ways to tell stories, with video and graphics that readers can manipulate, for instance. A new pool of sources, expert and everyman, are available on Twitter and Facebook and in blogs.
But, said Barrett, "Revenue is a different story. It is extremely difficult and challenging because the economics of it are different than what we’re used to in print."
Indeed, as Associated Press CEO Tom Curley pointed out, the newspaper business’ annual ad revenue is expected to be $30 billion lower in 2013 than it was in 2007. That means "Where we go from here?" is largely a question of trying to win at least some of the revenue back.
Newspapers have tried to make the transition to the Web largely by relying on advertising, which traditionally covered most of the costs of doing business in print. But advertisers have been willing to spend just a fraction of what they used to pay for print promotions on digital ads.
That daunting reality, plus the recession, has put a tremendous strain on most newspapers.
Opinions differ on how to reverse things.
Executives at ASNE were split, for instance, over how much money news websites could bring in by charging readers for access. Some specialized newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal, or locally focused publications such as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette have done well by restricting Web access to subscribers. But the move risks driving readers — and then advertisers — away. The New York Times plans to begin a "metered" Web system, with nonsubscribers getting only so many articles for free.
Filed under: economics by Pascal