Focus on the Internet

Predicting the future of journalism is a daunting task. I can’t imagine how a journalist would have answered that question 100 years ago, let alone 10 years ago. The industry is evolving and progressing rapidly just as it is holding on for its life.

It’s easy to pinpoint some of the reasons for change, (technology, synergy, the mediated society and increasing media options), but it is much more difficult to pinpoint ways to combat them. Of all these changes, synergy is often hard to understand and debatably good and bad for journalism. I will examine the Chicago Tribune’s roller coaster attempt at synergy later.

So, what is our role? It is the same as it was 100 years ago?

Yes. We inform, educate, entertain, document history and let our communities see the rest of the world.

If the job remains the same, the problem lies in how we’re organized and how we deliver it. The media is still needed and it is still being consumed.

Tom Wolzein and Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. did a study on home media capacity. They compared 1975 and today. Their findings aren’t surprising, but they are staggering. The interconnected web of media in 1975 is easy to read and the lines are distinct. Today information is coming at us from every direction and the web is illegible to the viewer. The addition of mobile devices and the internet/bloggers has revolutionized the media.

Another study from the PowerPoint slide shows that the image of the Internet is incredibly better than that of newspapers. The Internet won in all six categories. Those were “trustworthy, up-to-date, ‘news I can use,’ useful way to learn, entertaining, and when I want it. However, the findings may be misleading. Many people get their news from Internet versions of the newspaper. People are going to the Internet before the newspaper, the television or the radio. This fact, again, should not be surprising. We just need to capitalize on it to continue our success.

So, that is where the media is headed. The Internet, personalized to each viewer’s specific needs.

The Tribune Corporation is a worldwide media conglomerate that tried to stay ahead of the curve. To ensure lasting and increasing advertising revenue while producing the news at lower costs, the Tribune bought media outlets in markets across the nation. Tribune successfully bought newspapers, television networks and radio stations in the top three U.S. markets, New York, Chicago and L.A. The goal was that revenue would increase because advertisers could gain viewers across the nation.

Rachel Smolkin did a great article on the Tribune in the American Journalism Review. She took an in-depth look at why it hasn’t lived up to expectations. Tribune did not receive the advertising revenue they predicted, they didn’t organize themselves well, and Newsweek was in the process of hidden financial problems. But, most importantly it was hard to be perceived as a local and respected news source when the company is being run from a downtown Chicago tower. The bottom line=profits. The conglomerate wasn’t cohesive and the economy was sliding. The idea was sound but the execution lacked.

So, here we are. The 21st century before us. Where does journalism go from here?

Synergy is not dead. The Tribune is trying to make it work. May be trying to hard. Other companies are conglomerates as well. The Internet age is here to stay, so I believe this is the place where newspapers have to make their money if they want to succeed for the rest of the 21st century and beyond. Don’t worry, print is not dead, but it must be supplemented.

Now, I want to tell you that the number one objective of a news source is to inform the citizenship. But, in reality the owners need to make money or there is no way of providing the news. It is sad the bottom line comes first, but there is no avoiding reality. We need to bring more money in to survive.

I believe newspapers should provide free web versions of the paper with home subscriptions. For those free loaders out there; it’s time to subscribe or pay for the online edition. With the Internet viewers documented, it’s time to evolve the Internet ad revenue. If the ‘hits’ are there then the advertisers will pay.

Also, I see a big market in advertising to the out of town crowd. College students leave their hometowns every fall to go away to school. The majority of those students still look in on the hometown paper. The same goes for those moved for work purposes. I know from living in Chicago that the city’s culture transcends the state of Illinois. Food, sports, culture and travel could all be sources of ad revenue for those who miss their hometown.

I do. And I would pay for it.

These are rough ideas to expand the use of the Internet for newspapers. They might be possible; they might struggle, like synergy. But I do know that adding revenue from this source is essential to continue.