I really hope the Rocky Mountain News, Baltimore Examiner and New York Sun have all gone to a better place; a place where there are millions of smart, informed readers, exciting, breaking news, world class journalists, and of course, many high-paying advertisers. At least that’s the kind of newspaper heaven I envision. (Feel free to leave your own versions of newspaper heaven below.)
Today I read about another newspaper that is shutting down and will switch to a semi-annual magazine format. Which newspaper? Why it’s none other than my hometown’s award-winning Warrior’s Word high school newspaper.
I understand the problems that caused Warrior’s Word to “adjust” are a bit different than those of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, but if the economy and budgets are so bad that a high school newspaper is closing, we have to ask ourselves: What’s the solution?
It’s no secret that blogs and online news videos are entertaining, informative and can provide a surprisingly high level of journalism. Hell, sometimes I’d rather read Gawker, The Huffington Post or watch Philly D. than read an article in the New York Times, but that doesn’t change how important newspapers are to our society.
We need professional journalists and news organizations that have the resources to uncover scheming politicians, and the column inches to educate people about tough issues like health care. We need journalists who report the news accurately and fairly, despite their personal views and opinions. In short, we need the type of in depth, professional reporting our newspapers currently provide.
So, what’s the solution?
While there are a lot of people who love ink stained fingers, the “paper” in “newspaper” may have to go. If newspapers cut the cost of a printed product they will have more money to invest in their online product. The Capitol Times in
Moving the focus entirely online gives newspapers the opportunity to bring their content to another level. Here are a few things newspapers could do to enhance their online content:
- Show full video interviews to supplement stories
- Award a local blogger the chance to write a story every month
- Increase investigative reporting
- Create hyper-localized text message offerings. Is the power out in your neighborhood? Wouldn’t it be great if you could sign-up for text message alerts (which include a link to a story) that tell you this type of news?
- Hire news staff to be on the clock 24/7. The harsh reality is newspapers are competing with all media outlets. When news breaks on Twitter you want readers to go to JSOnline.com, not WISN-TV or WISN.com.
Better and more diverse online content will continue to increase online visitors, not to mention the increase in web traffic from people who used to read the “paper” version (let’s be honest, 99 percent of them are online anyway).This all increases ad revenue and eventually profit.
I know these few ideas are probably not going to save our newspaper industry, but it’s a start. After all, if Perez Hilton can sustain over 2 million unique visitors a month, our newspapers should be able to do the same, if not better.
What are your thoughts? Where do you see the newspaper industry going?
A lot of traditional media outlets in Milwaukee have recently started Twitter accounts. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (@NewsHub) and the Business Journal Serving the Greater Milwaukee Area (@BizJournalMke) are two that I follow. And I have to say that NewsHub kicks BizJournalMke's ass. Here are five reasons why.
- Followers - BizJournalMke does not follow anyone! In contrast NewsHub follows two thirds of the amount of people who follow them. Can you guess who is engaging their followers?
- Tweeting Hours - BizJournalMke tends to tweet only during normal business hours. Twitter is all about immediacy and last time I checked news happens 24/7. In contrast NewsHub tweets at all hours. Guess who's getting scooped on stories?
- Community Engagement - If you don't follow anyone it's pretty hard to engage in any type of discussion. NewsHub frequently retweets, direct messages and @Replies. They also link to other Wisconsin media outlets for more coverage and stories. If I have a news question or breaking news tip you bet I'm letting NewsHub know. They provide value to me, so I will return the favor. Plus, it's clear they will receive it!
- Current Events - In addition to talking to followers, NewsHub also engages in larger conversations. For example, last night NewsHub used the #Obama hashtag to talk to the Twitterverse about Obama's speech in real time. Where was BizJournalMke? With all the articles about the economic stimulus package they should have been contributing.
- Character - Finally BizJournalMke just lacks character. Ninety nine percent of their tweets are simply their headline and link to their news story. NewsHub's tweets are catchy and playful. You can tell an actual human is behind them. For example, one tweet said, "Puff daddy, ahem, that is Michael Phelps, commits to making comeback meet May 14." The actual headline was "Olympic hero Michael Phelps to return from 3-month suspension at swim meet in Charlotte." Which one would get you to click the link?
