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Print will survive, change |
| Posted by Elisabeth Kemmerer (ekemmerer) on Apr 05 2010 |
College and high school students learned that the newspaper industry was not dead despite dismal reports for fewer newspapers, fewer readers and fewer pages due to shrinking revenues.
Every seat was filled in room 220 of Northampton Community College's College Center March 25 to hear why newspapers would continue to exist and how their publishers and editors planned to compete with the many other news sources used by today's readers.
To address the topic, "Thinking the Unthinkable: No Newspapers," four panelists were given four minutes each to comment the on the state of the newspaper industry. Comments were followed by a question and answer period.
Tim Kennedy, the Morning Call's publisher, president and CEO, disagreed with the decline of newspaper readership. The paradox, Kennedy said, is that while readership is strong through the print and Web editions of the paper, more competition from other sources has contributed to the paper's profitability. Since 2005, Kennedy's publication lost $13 million in help-wanted ad revenue. Kennedy said he saw the newspaper industry of today as a start-up company rather than an established mature business.
"Print will change; it will not go away. We will evolve and develop new products," Kennedy said of the industry he described as being in the early stages of digital innovation.
Tim Potts, founder of Democracy Rising PA, agreed with Kennedy and the importance of newspapers to co-exist with the internet. But more importantly to develop a more customized product based upon the customers' needs. Potts said it was difficult to be an environmentalist with the amount of newsprint he does not use as a daily reader of two or three newspapers. In addition to the ability to choose articles to read without wasting paper, Potts said the importance of newspapers was the ability to report on local news. He referenced a website that delivers news by neighborhood every day.
Owned by MSNBC.COM and complete with iPhone applications, EveryBlock.com's website describes itself as "a local news website with a twist: it offers news down to the block level. Enter any address in one of the supported cities, and you'll see news atricles, blog coverage, crime reports and a wide variety of other local information, all updated throughout the day."
Print newspapers with their ability to have reporters covering local metings and local events can build a relationship of trust with their readers, said Potts. "Make sure people know you're after facts, not spin," Potts said in describing why newspapers need to continue to exist.
Panelists state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh and Northampton counties, and public advocate Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV) both supported the importance of the newspaper to get the word out. While it is more difficult to get reporters to follow up on a news tip, newspapers are the most important partner in the work of beating up the bad guys and informing the public of new legislation, they said.
Boscola said it was the daily newspaper's investigation of the Bethlehem Area School District's swap option's financial difficulties that let to the state's auditor general's investigation and the pending bill, sponsored by Boscola and State Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh County, to ban swaps as too risky for investing tax payers' dollars.
While newspapers need to stay focused on their role as the watchdog of the public interest, in order for them to evolve and adapt, they need readers. Eric Chiles, the topics' moderator and an NCC adjunct professor and former Morning Call editorial writer, said it's important for the public to do its job: "It's a two-way Street."
The majority of the audience were newspaper readers on a daily basis. But Jim Deegan, managing editor of the Express-Times, said he was amazed at the number of young journalists who sought employment at his company and did not read a newspaper. "Reporters are the bread and butter of journalism," Deegan said, "but they need to be more than a writer, photographer and videographer."
Last changed: Apr 05 2010 at 2:02 PM
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