By Jennifer Johnson
Editor: Patrick Adams
Marisa Waldrop doesn’t watch CNN, listen to NPR or point her browser to any Web site to get her daily news.
Like many Americans, Waldrop is sticking close to home when it comes to choosing her newspaper.
“It’s what comes to my door,” said Waldrop, a Gainesville State pre-nursing major. “I like it because anything national that affects me is covered on a local-level."
Readers are investing their time in community newspapers because they provide information that they are unlikely to get anywhere else. Instead of filling their pages with information already available on the Internet, community newspapers are specializing their coverage, focusing on important events in their town or county.
"We’re what we call ‘hyper-local,’ so we don't cover anything outside the county line," said Walter Geiger, owner and publisher of the Herald-Gazette in Barnesville, Ga.
With a circulation of 5,000, the weekly has served as Barnesville's hometown newspaper since 1869. The Herald-Gazette posts two-paragraph teasers of every major story on their website, but restricts access to full-length articles and images to newspaper subscribers. It’s this business strategy that Geiger credits with his newspaper’s continued success.
“Large daily newspapers are getting their ass kicked because they’re giving away their content,” said Geiger.
His friend and former colleague John Greenman agrees — to an extent.
"I think that Walter Geiger's observation is influenced by timing," said Greenman, a former publisher of the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga., and current journalism professor at Grady College at UGA. "A lot of the smaller newspapers began their Web sites later than the larger ones and learned from their perceived mistakes."
Since Jan. 13, when the Herald-Gazette's Web site became blog-oriented with comment fields, they’ve had 1.9 million page views.
"It has become more than a newspaper," said Geiger. "It's become a forum for grateful parents to thank ER staffs for taking care of their kid's broken leg or citizens to complain about potholes on their street."
Journalists are now finding more work at community newspapers than they are in the city, said Georgia Perimeter College journalism professor Col. (Ret.) Robert G. Knowles.
“Used to be large newspapers were a mecca for journalists escaping small-town newspapers,” said Knowles. “Now, because the big guys are failing so quickly, they’re running back to the one-stoplight towns to report on the Methodist Church’s bake sales.”
Even advertisers are recognizing the value in smaller newspaper markets. According to a survey by the Inland Press Association, advertising revenue in daily newspapers with a circulation of less than 15,000 rose by an average of 2.5 percent in 2008, while ad revenue dropped 25 percent at dailies with greater circulations.
"It’s a timing issue more than anything," said Greenman. “It will happen, but newspapers in smaller markets just haven’t yet been hit by the same kind of forces that the larger markets have been hit by.”
These forces include the consolidation of traditionally large advertisers like department stores and the rise in popularity of online sites for real estate, automobiles and jobs.
"If I’m an employer, I'm not going to advertise my job in Cumming, Ga. with [online sites] Monster or Career Builder when I'm really looking for a local person," said Greenman. “I’m going to go to my local newspaper.”
Citizens in smaller newspaper markets continue to place their trust in their hometown newspapers.
"I’ve always felt like they have my interests at heart," said Mary Quinn of Winterville, Ga., who reads the Athens Banner-Herald every day. "I don't feel that way when I pick up newspapers like the AJC [Atlanta Journal Constitution] or the Wall Street Journal."
As a kid growing up in Savannah, Geiger had an Atlanta Journal Constitution paper route and had read it all his life. Now that the newspaper has ceased home deliveries to his community, he’s stopped reading.
“They used to say that the AJC covered the Dixie like the dew,” said Geiger. “Now it’s like the ‘don’t.’”
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
[Patrick Adams Final Draft] Falling Print Readership In Relationship to Advertiser Dollars
By Patrick Adams
Editor: Jennifer Johnson
Ivy King, a senior social work major, rarely reads newspapers anymore. She picks up a few headlines from her Blackberry phone, but does not generally rely on print.
“I just don’t want to buy them except for the Sunday paper for coupons,” King said.
She belongs to a current trend of citizens becoming further alienated from news print media. Newspapers are failing to bring in new readers, like King, and losing advertiser dollars at the same time.
More Americans are losing interest in quality journalism, according to Conrad Fink, director of the Cox Institute of Newspaper Management Studies, and current journalism professor at the University of Georgia.
“I believe that Americans have disengaged from serious consideration of the compellingly important political, social and economic issues of the day,” said Fink.
Consumers are increasingly going online to find their news instead of buying the print version. The digital shift is a problem for newspapers primarily due to a lack of interest from advertisers.
Newspapers typically draw 75-80 percent of their revenue from advertising rather than sales and subscriptions, said Fink. Advertisers depend on newspapers largely because of their ability to penetrate households fitting into specific demographic categories. Advertisers want to reach people that might buy their products.
Newspapers traditionally attracted great business from advertisers, but news print has been losing that ability recently.
“Advertising is moving away from newspapers – that’s for sure,” said Dr. Dean Krugman, advertising professor at the University of Georgia.
Readers who are switching to online publications are now spending very little time viewing news before they move on to other Web sites.
“New York Times users are coming on for about 28-30 minutes monthly, meaning just seconds daily,” said Fink. “Users at other newspapers are coming on for much less time.”
Readers traditionally spent 28 minutes daily reading the print product, but this is a decreasing trend, according to Fink.
Citizens who now prefer to go online for their news complain the major reason for not reading the newspaper is that there simply isn’t enough time in the day.
Citizens are receiving less value from reading newspapers thoroughly than doing other things with their free time. Dr. Fink believes that news print management is somewhat at fault.
“By cutting costs, we [newspapers] were losing journalistic value,” said Fink.
The newspaper industry spent too much effort cutting costs in order to adapt to an ailing economy that they began neglecting valuable journalism, according to Fink. If newspapers fail to provide quality reporting, advertisers are not going to reach the right audiences and will give their business to newsprint’s competitors.
“The [Athens] Banner-Herald is still profitable as a newspaper, but they have lost paid advertising and paid circulation,” said Cecil Bentley, former executive editor of the Athens Banner-Herald, and current Director of Career Services and Corporate Relations at Grady College at the University of Georgia.
Paid advertising has been falling for years along with paid circulation, according to Bentley.
Bentley didn’t think there had been much variation in total market coverage during his three years at the Athens Banner-Herald, but much of the audience had shifted towards the digital publication. However, the advertising revenue gained from the Banner-Herald’s Web site did not adequately compensate for the advertising revenue lost on the print side of the spectrum, according to Bentley.
Much of the losses in advertising revenue could also be attributed to the poor state of the automobile, real estate and help-wanted sectors who are all big contributors to classified advertisement revenue, Bentley said.
The future of the newsprint industry will largely depend on its ability to reconcile print with online publication in an efficient manner to create greater household penetration. Greater household penetration will bring in more money from the advertising industry, according to Fink.
Editor: Jennifer Johnson
Ivy King, a senior social work major, rarely reads newspapers anymore. She picks up a few headlines from her Blackberry phone, but does not generally rely on print.
“I just don’t want to buy them except for the Sunday paper for coupons,” King said.
She belongs to a current trend of citizens becoming further alienated from news print media. Newspapers are failing to bring in new readers, like King, and losing advertiser dollars at the same time.
More Americans are losing interest in quality journalism, according to Conrad Fink, director of the Cox Institute of Newspaper Management Studies, and current journalism professor at the University of Georgia.
“I believe that Americans have disengaged from serious consideration of the compellingly important political, social and economic issues of the day,” said Fink.
Consumers are increasingly going online to find their news instead of buying the print version. The digital shift is a problem for newspapers primarily due to a lack of interest from advertisers.
Newspapers typically draw 75-80 percent of their revenue from advertising rather than sales and subscriptions, said Fink. Advertisers depend on newspapers largely because of their ability to penetrate households fitting into specific demographic categories. Advertisers want to reach people that might buy their products.
Newspapers traditionally attracted great business from advertisers, but news print has been losing that ability recently.
“Advertising is moving away from newspapers – that’s for sure,” said Dr. Dean Krugman, advertising professor at the University of Georgia.
Readers who are switching to online publications are now spending very little time viewing news before they move on to other Web sites.
“New York Times users are coming on for about 28-30 minutes monthly, meaning just seconds daily,” said Fink. “Users at other newspapers are coming on for much less time.”
Readers traditionally spent 28 minutes daily reading the print product, but this is a decreasing trend, according to Fink.
Citizens who now prefer to go online for their news complain the major reason for not reading the newspaper is that there simply isn’t enough time in the day.
Citizens are receiving less value from reading newspapers thoroughly than doing other things with their free time. Dr. Fink believes that news print management is somewhat at fault.
“By cutting costs, we [newspapers] were losing journalistic value,” said Fink.
The newspaper industry spent too much effort cutting costs in order to adapt to an ailing economy that they began neglecting valuable journalism, according to Fink. If newspapers fail to provide quality reporting, advertisers are not going to reach the right audiences and will give their business to newsprint’s competitors.
“The [Athens] Banner-Herald is still profitable as a newspaper, but they have lost paid advertising and paid circulation,” said Cecil Bentley, former executive editor of the Athens Banner-Herald, and current Director of Career Services and Corporate Relations at Grady College at the University of Georgia.
Paid advertising has been falling for years along with paid circulation, according to Bentley.
Bentley didn’t think there had been much variation in total market coverage during his three years at the Athens Banner-Herald, but much of the audience had shifted towards the digital publication. However, the advertising revenue gained from the Banner-Herald’s Web site did not adequately compensate for the advertising revenue lost on the print side of the spectrum, according to Bentley.
Much of the losses in advertising revenue could also be attributed to the poor state of the automobile, real estate and help-wanted sectors who are all big contributors to classified advertisement revenue, Bentley said.
The future of the newsprint industry will largely depend on its ability to reconcile print with online publication in an efficient manner to create greater household penetration. Greater household penetration will bring in more money from the advertising industry, according to Fink.
Economy creates vicious cycle for magazine industry
Ashley Carroll
Editor: Lauren Costley
Sifting through any number of magazines, readers trudge through pages upon pages of advertisements before even reaching an article. Although many find this task annoying, it is necessary for the survival of America’s magazine industry.
Without these ads, magazines would cease to exist.
With the economy at an all time low and companies cutting back on spending, the magazine world is finding it hard to thrive. It is not only the print industry that is suffering, but the business world as well. The closures of major magazines such as Blender and Vibe have caused consumers to question the longevity of the magazine industry.
“I feel like every time I hear about magazines or newspapers in the news it’s about one closing. When I hear this, I can’t help but think about how much longer magazines are going to be around,” said Emily Jackson, 19, a psychology major from Atlanta.
The public may believe the decline of the magazine industry is due to consumers and their readership. According to the Magazine Publishers of America, this is not the case. Circulation was down only by 0.4 percent in 2008 from the previous year.
The closing of magazines is “more closely aligned to the economy and advertiser demand than consumer demand,” said an article, “Misperceptions about Magazine Closings”, on MPA’s Web site.
The relation of the economy and the print industry are closely related. With consumers decreasing purchases, businesses must cut back spending as well. In turn, advertisements are axed causing magazines to lose profit and inevitably shut down. Even though the number of magazines closing has increased, the number of magazines being published has also increased. The total number of magazines being published rose by at least 1,000 from the previous year.
According to the MPA’s 2009 Handbook, more than four out of five adults in the United States read magazines. Although many magazines are closing, it is not due to the lack of readership, but due to the business side of the industry.
The total number of magazines is on the rise; the number of advertisements being bought has declined. A report released by the Publishers Information Bureau states the total revenue for advertisement spending in the first quarter of 2009, which is January to March, was down 20.2 percent from the previous year. With businesses and companies having to cut expenses, it would seem logical to cut advertisements first rather than lay off employees.
“If I were a business owner I would definitely try to cut my expenses else where, such as advertising and unnecessary expenses rather than fire my employees,” said Jeremy Paul, 21, from Columbia, Tenn., “there are other ways to save money.”
Small business owners are definitely crunching numbers to make ends meet. Advertisements are a necessary expense for owners, but some businesses are cutting back. Jen Edwards, owner of a small gift shop business in Buford, Ga., understands the cycle of the economy.
“I’ve noticed a significant decrease in customers,” she said. “I’ve had to cut back on everything to make up for it. Buying less stock for the store, advertising, and even freezing bonuses and pay increases for my employees. I don’t want to do it, but it’s necessary.”
Since businesses are tightening their budgets, in turn magazines are feeling the pinch of the economic situation.
Lisa Wagner, 24, a previous summer intern for At Home Tennessee Magazine from Alpharetta, Ga., noticed firsthand the hesitance from business owners to shell out money for ads.
“Businesses were very reluctant to pay for advertisements in the magazine,” she said. “To have a full page ad would cost anywhere from $ 2,800 to $ 3,400 for an ad on the cover.”
To pay such a price for small business owners is hard and in turn magazines suffer continuing the cycle.
Editor: Lauren Costley
Sifting through any number of magazines, readers trudge through pages upon pages of advertisements before even reaching an article. Although many find this task annoying, it is necessary for the survival of America’s magazine industry.
Without these ads, magazines would cease to exist.
With the economy at an all time low and companies cutting back on spending, the magazine world is finding it hard to thrive. It is not only the print industry that is suffering, but the business world as well. The closures of major magazines such as Blender and Vibe have caused consumers to question the longevity of the magazine industry.
“I feel like every time I hear about magazines or newspapers in the news it’s about one closing. When I hear this, I can’t help but think about how much longer magazines are going to be around,” said Emily Jackson, 19, a psychology major from Atlanta.
The public may believe the decline of the magazine industry is due to consumers and their readership. According to the Magazine Publishers of America, this is not the case. Circulation was down only by 0.4 percent in 2008 from the previous year.
The closing of magazines is “more closely aligned to the economy and advertiser demand than consumer demand,” said an article, “Misperceptions about Magazine Closings”, on MPA’s Web site.
The relation of the economy and the print industry are closely related. With consumers decreasing purchases, businesses must cut back spending as well. In turn, advertisements are axed causing magazines to lose profit and inevitably shut down. Even though the number of magazines closing has increased, the number of magazines being published has also increased. The total number of magazines being published rose by at least 1,000 from the previous year.
According to the MPA’s 2009 Handbook, more than four out of five adults in the United States read magazines. Although many magazines are closing, it is not due to the lack of readership, but due to the business side of the industry.
The total number of magazines is on the rise; the number of advertisements being bought has declined. A report released by the Publishers Information Bureau states the total revenue for advertisement spending in the first quarter of 2009, which is January to March, was down 20.2 percent from the previous year. With businesses and companies having to cut expenses, it would seem logical to cut advertisements first rather than lay off employees.
“If I were a business owner I would definitely try to cut my expenses else where, such as advertising and unnecessary expenses rather than fire my employees,” said Jeremy Paul, 21, from Columbia, Tenn., “there are other ways to save money.”
Small business owners are definitely crunching numbers to make ends meet. Advertisements are a necessary expense for owners, but some businesses are cutting back. Jen Edwards, owner of a small gift shop business in Buford, Ga., understands the cycle of the economy.
“I’ve noticed a significant decrease in customers,” she said. “I’ve had to cut back on everything to make up for it. Buying less stock for the store, advertising, and even freezing bonuses and pay increases for my employees. I don’t want to do it, but it’s necessary.”
Since businesses are tightening their budgets, in turn magazines are feeling the pinch of the economic situation.
Lisa Wagner, 24, a previous summer intern for At Home Tennessee Magazine from Alpharetta, Ga., noticed firsthand the hesitance from business owners to shell out money for ads.
“Businesses were very reluctant to pay for advertisements in the magazine,” she said. “To have a full page ad would cost anywhere from $ 2,800 to $ 3,400 for an ad on the cover.”
To pay such a price for small business owners is hard and in turn magazines suffer continuing the cycle.
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