So I checked out the fantastic Romemesko blog today–the place where all the journalism geeks go to get their media-news fix.
And what I found was depressing. Among today’s postings, the headlines included:
Mercury News editor asks staff to stay focused on journalism (amidst job-cut rumors)
Blade: Our staff had to swallow hard and accept pay cuts
Meanwhile, rumors are running rampant that the Star’s asking reporters to work fewer hours; the San Francisco Chronicle is hacking its staff; etc., etc.
Most of these cuts (although not necessarily all of them) are typical of the dumb-ass greed of today’s newspaper companies. It happens all the time: A newspaper has an off quarter or year, profits-wise (they’re still profitable, mind you, just not AS profitable as shareholders or management wants); they respond by cutting staff/resources to keep profits high; the paper’s quality invariably suffers; readers/advertisers notice this and stop reading/buying ads; a newspaper has an off quarter or year, profits-wise; repeat cycle.
This is slightly oversimplifying, yes, but the fact is that GREED–not Craigslist or the Internet or these young whippersnappers today who have short attention spans–will kill off most newspapers as we know them by 2020.
It’s sad. I just hope newspaper shareholders and owners get their heads out of their asses and realize that innovation and reinvestment, not insane budget cuts, are the keys to the future. I am not optimistic.
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 6, 2007.
Agreed. But barring another O.J., will really take until 2020?
I think 2020 is pretty close. After all, most newspaper companies are still very profitable, and 13 years for them to eat away at those profit margins until they reach oblivion sounds about right.
Haynes Johnson in his book “The Best of Times” goes some of the way to telling us how we got here (corporatism, technological change, demographics, blah, blah). Maybe it’s about finding a niche, adapting, you know. If it means layoffs/hours reduction at da Star, then maybe less from them about how to buy a bra won’t upset O.J. too too much. Does The Tucson Weekly have a secret plan?
If the newspapers die, who will be the watchdogs of local government and businesses? Will local websites really be able to pick up the slack?
I was bothered, too, by the Mercury News layoffs. They had big layoffs last fall, IIRC.
Where was it I was reading about a newspaper in Pasadena that is outsourcing some of its reporting to India? The plan is to have the Indian employees stay up late listening to live feed of city council meetings and then write up articles based on what they hear. I suppose they can also make a lot of phone calls. No, I am not making this up. Maybe Jim Nintzel and Jimmy Boegel can be replaced by Talvin and Kumar.
Cheer up butter-cup!
I seem to recall the predictions of “All newspapers replaced by web” about 20 years ago. Then there was this goof “electronic paper” idea just a couple years later. Well, I’m that much closer to my death-bed and I have yet to see the demise of newspapers. Oh sure, American newspapers are getting real shitty. Laying off journalistic talent can’t help.
Although every single USA resident has hi-speed internet access and gets their entire life delivered digitally, there’s about 4.3 billion other earthlings that would support a newspaper in their community. There’s a huge market right down in Mexico. Once we seal the border those Mexicans are going to need something to read. How else will they keep up with the continuing Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan saga? I know there’s been dozens of journalists killed over there in the last year, but I call those “growing pains”. Besides, isn’t the Free Press worth fighting (and dying) for?
Poor people need newspapers! The mega-corps that own our newspapers are the problem. But they don’t have to own them! That’s right. When the profits from their newsprint (investments) run dry, they’ll bail.
According to some publishing trade magazines, the healthiest segment of newspaperin’ is the mid to small sized product anyway. While you may not be able to buy that (daily) paper when it’s sold, you have your opportunity to create some competition. Of course starting a newspaper takes money, no shit. If you talk to many, many, many self-started publishers they’ll tell you they had to beg, borrow, and nearly steal to get start-up cash. Don’t let the big corps and predictions of doom for the industry discourage you. Sure, the days of two crappy daily newspapers being supported by a Joint Operating Agreements (JOA) are gone, as they should be. But perhaps the life-spans of newspapers should be 10 to 20 years and not 100. Start a newspaper. Save money by printing in Mexico. Run it for ten, fifteen years. Just remember young publishers, the difference between driving a Range Rover or a Toyota Landcruiser is about the yearly salary of a journalist.
Let’s start a newspaper!
James Nintzel, you can always go work for the Rocky Point Times. Word is your spanish is !Muy bueno!
What Newspapers Need to Do — To Survive
We have to break the cycle. We cannot continue to cut at the core of our business simply to feed an irrational need for high margins. We must grow revenue, and we won’t do that by slashing expenses. –By John Rung
Rung opened his 12th para with, “Secondly,…”
Really, the only problem with this business is that it worries too much about itself in the wrong way. It’s money.
And now the good news. Jobs for everyone!
ADVERTISING INSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Tucson Newspapers 06/04, Tucson, AZ
Legal Sales Coordinator
Tucson Newspapers, 06/04, Tucson, AZ
Advertising Auto Sales Representative
Tucson Newspapers, 06/04, Tucson, AZ
Newspaper Advertising Sales
Tucson Newspapers, 06/04, Tucson, AZ
Advertising Product Manager
Tucson Newspapers, 06/04
That’s right. You CAN work for Tucson’s favorite journalistict juggernaut!
Just not as a journalist.
Morning,
There is an semi-internal site on Lee’s site for the newspaper positions. (It’s not internal, but not easily findable on Starnet, is my understanding.)
Post eleven is a list of jobs in the publishing biz that’s delivered to me twice a week. That’s the entire Tucson posting from Sunday 06/04/07
This Lee character, is that your boss of bosses there at TW?
Our corporate bosses are Wick Communications, headquartered in Sierra Vista. Our publisher is Tom Lee, no relation to the knuckleheads in charge at the Star.
Oh, good! I kinda threw up in my mouth, a little, at the thought.
On the other hand, holy shit! Them Wicks own like a thousand papers!
It’s more like 30-something, and we have the largest circulation of all of them by far. But they’re good people. They leave us alone to do our thing.