Washington Post Article Examining the State of Journalism

Full Article

Patricia Sullivan of the Washington Post has summed up the impact of the internet on news media and where the future of journalism is headed in her article "As the Internet Grows Up the News Industry Changes Forever". This is the most concise, exciting (for convergence people), petrifying (for print people) article on the force of new media I have seen. Coincidently, a group of interns and I had lunch today with Kinsey Wilson, who is Deputy Editor of the new converged newsroom at USATODAY. For your reading benefit, I have sliced up this article -since it is long- and taken the best parts while adding commentary from Wilson and myself. Hopefully, this will serve as an open forum for everyone to comment on this issue facing our industry. Sorry for the length of this blog but it is pouring rain here in D.C. and I am sort of bored.

"News consumption has fractured and fragmented in the United States over the past 30 years, but the demand for news is strong. Network morning, evening and news magazine shows, cable news and public broadcasting audiences, combined with the explosion of growth in the digital media, are bathing consumers in more news and information than ever before."
-- True, but the question is what medium will lead the future of the industry or will it be a combination of all these forms. In my opinion it is a combination but Wilson was insistent that each medium will serve its own purpose and it is up to online folks to give the audience something unique. See Sullivan's opinions later on.

"Newspapers, the biggest and oldest segment of the mainstream media, are built on the work of creative, contentious and quick-witted people, but also of curmudgeons who resist change."
-- Couldn't have said it better myself. When Wilson was speaking with us this afternoon he had to whisper when certain "print" folks were around. He said he has to watch what he says because there are still traditionalists who like a good sea-faring captain plan on going down with their ship. Except in this case the ship may be an entire industry as we know it.

"Newsrooms shrunk by layoffs and battered by bloggers, are seeing their traditional audiences shrink. Daily newspapers lost 1.2 million readers in the six months that ended in March, down to 45.5 million. Online newspaper readership grew to 56 million."
-- No surprise here. At a USATODAY meeting headed by President and Publisher Craig Moon, the question was asked by a print person to Moon about how they could increase circulation on the print side. Moon shrugged off the question saying that the company's focus was not on increasing circulation for print but to increase viewer ship online. The revolution is in full swing, and the people at the top know it.

"So, barring a genius who creates a new revenue stream, the online news business is left to rely on advertising."
-- Maybe the geniuses are the students in the media convergence sequence. We are already way ahead of the game. Cocky, no, just confident.


"While print advertising revenue is nearly flat, advertising spending for newspapers' online editions in the same time frame shot up 35 percent. The actual revenue, at $613 million, is just a fraction of what the print version collects, but that fraction has been increasing steadily over time."
-- According to the rumor mill in my department at USATODAY.com, the USATODAY print edition will be abandoned in two to five years. That's correct, the largest circulated print newspaper in the country may no longer be in existence in two to five years. These figures are the reason why.

"Thirty percent of Americans say they are spending less time with newspapers and magazines because of the time they're spending online; 13 percent watch less TV and 19 percent listen to less radio."
-- Interesting numbers, but I think more research needs to be done. For example, how many people are watching video/TV online, through phone or on their ipod?

“For now, newsrooms are trying to find the ideal balance between providing the instant and interactive news that readers clearly crave and the serious, in-depth journalism that makes a difference in society. Business managers are trying to increase online advertising revenue without cannibalizing the ad income for the original publication. Executives are trying to foresee the shape of the industry and calculate how to beat everyone else there. And consumers, for the moment, have the best of all worlds.”
-- That sums it up.

Please feel free to respond to this. I am hoping this results in a free forum or ideas and thoughts. Peace.