Considering my looming graduation as a jobless journalism major, I found this article about European newspapers as a role model for United States publications to be extremely interesting. With constant news concerning the “death” of print media, it was refreshing to read about successful newspapers found in Europe. Perhaps there is hope for our newspapers after all—that is, if we’re willing to try out some new methods of generating revenue to keep these publications afloat.
Of all the methods outlined, I found the separation of the online and offline teams at Verdes Gang to be the most interesting proposition. The editor, Espen Egil Hansen, explains, “the whole idea of merging newsrooms is a catastrophe. When you merge that old, strong culture of newspapers with this new culture that doesn’t know where it is headed, the old media will always win.” I had never thought about this before, and his reasoning has a lot of truth in it. Publications in the United States clearly need to be open to new suggestions to keep their businesses afloat, and I wonder if anyone has ever tried this model shown at Verdes Gang.
The article also describes publications that rely heavily on support from readers, versus “fickle” advertisers. I agree that this is a good idea in principle, yet I think it would be hard to reorganize our media structure to implement such a method—it’s likely that Americans are too used to receiving their information for free, and would be reluctant to pay for subscriptions or bundled packages. Do you agree, or should this method be considered?
Article can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/technology/30iht-papers30.html
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I agree that it would be hard to make that transition. Even though many Americans still buy magazines and newspapers from news stands or through subscriptions, it has become increasingly common to look to the internet for free information.
ReplyDeleteFor example, if I want an update on the drug wars in Mexico, I don't need to run out and buy the New York Times. I can google nyt Mexico and have the information in front of me in a matter of seconds, at no charge.