Print Media in Digital Age Discussed at Milken Global Conference
Former Wall Street Journal Publisher Gordon Crovitz phrased the problem facing newspapers succinctly: "Print revenue has declined much faster than online can be built up," he told the audience at the Milken Global Conference. "We’re trading newspaper dollars for online nickels."
The newspaper business is a microcosm of the dilemma faced by all traditional media: How do you move to a new medium you know is your future, when the financial model isn’t worked out?
Philadelphia Inquirer Publisher Brian Tierney, for example, told how he traded a $700 two-day ad in the newspaper ad for a $300 online spread for a week — and explained that it was the right decision because the client and readers were better served.
So how will he stay in business?
First, "focus like a laser beam" on costs. He’s cut 40 or 50 journalists from the staff as well as a number of ill-defined positions, eliminating about $40 million in costs along the way. (I wonder, though, if that’s an example of curing the problem and killing the patient).
Second, know his market and push it aggressively online. "When you read about Philly, we want to dominate that market," he said.
By being that kind of local resource, he estimated, the Los Angeles Times has generated more than $100 million in ad revenue. It’s "not a pipe dream" to push the Inquirer’s online ad revenue from $25 million to $75 million.
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This post was written by Michael Stroud on April 29, 2008
