Newspapers Launch PR Campaign Pleading for More Readers
-By Warner Todd Huston
A large grouping of newspaper publishers have joined together and launched a public relations campaign to inform readers that, yes, newspapers are still relevant — despite the financial hardships and layoffs of thousands of employees industry wide.
Unfortunately, the PR campaign does not seem to recognize that one of the main problems that newspapers are having is with their own content, not just the economy and the Internet.
A new ad funded by some 300 of the nation’s newspapers informs readers that 100 million newspaper customers forms a larger audience than that of the Super Bowl. Additionally, this cooperative of newspapers created a website called Newspaperproject.org to further the cause. There, the group will post pro newspaper industry stories and further ads to encourage readers to stick with newspapers as an important news source.
But, it seems that at least one of the industry’s troubles is not being addressed: catering to readers’ interests. “The crisis has to do with revenue, not with audience,” said Donna Barrett, director of The Associated Press. This seems to miss the important issue of content and also seems to say that the newspaper industry is ignoring one of its chief failings.
Many people are turning away from newspapers, not just because of a bad economy or a new reliance on the Internet, but because they no longer trust newspapers as a legitimate news source. The slanted, leftward bias hidden behind a thin veil of legitimate reportage is getting readers fed up. People are just sick and tired of the faux stance that these papers are “unbiased” or unpartisan. Readers too easily see through the veneer to the leftward bias informing much of what newspapers publish.
Many would not mind so much if these papers simply admitted their obvious bias. At least then the lies and obfuscation that goes with pretending at being non-ideological would be dispensed with. And there would be ample precedent for such an admission. After all, there was no such thing as any assumption of an “unbiased” newspaper until the 1960s. For much of our nation’s history, each newspaper in each town in America had an open and admitted viewpoint that was vigorously pursued.
Heck, in the 1800’s politicians even had their own newspapers to promulgate their own policy ideas and viewpoints as well as their own candidacies. No one expected to pick up Speaker of the House Henry Clay’s campaign newspaper and read an “unbiased” story! Everyone knew that people reading Clay’s newspaper was a Clay man.
In any case, PR campaign or no, it doesn’t seem like many of these newspapers understand why they are losing readers. It isn’t only because the Internet is replacing them as the chief mode of getting the news for Americans today. It is because they just aren’t held in very high regard by the reader. Until this seminal problem is addressed, not doubt the PR campaign will not bear much fruit.
(Graphic credit: Colorado State University)
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Posted by Warner Todd Huston on February 5, 2009 6:22 am
» Filed Under Journalistic Malpractice, Liberal Media/Bias, Liberal World, News, liberalism
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3 Responses to “Newspapers Launch PR Campaign Pleading for More Readers”
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Another challenge also comes internally from newspaper executives who cannot get their arms around the idea that if they go completely digital, the term “newspaper” will be more of a token since there will no longer be “paper” in their production. The purists in the newsroom may end up sealing their own fate by continuing to buck the marketplace where younger readers prefer a digital product. I suspect there will be a few, perhaps many either by choice or procrastination, that will go down with the ship instead of jumping into the lifeboat of a full digital transition.
Newspapers are supported by display and classified advertising revenue. I think you misinterpreted the cause behind the woes of newspapers. The reason for declining revenues — and failing newspapers — is not because newspapers have failed to be relevant to their readers. It is because now there is significantly more competition for advertising dollars. Radio stations and television stations are also suffering. Do you think liberal bias is affecting the economic health of the entire media industry? No. It’s not about relevance; it’s about the Internet.
Circulation figures are down, in general, but not for all newspapers. Circulation figures are up or holding steady for U.S. News and World Report, and Wall Street Journal, for example.
And decreasing circulation figures can also be attributed to the fact that we now have more news options. At one time, we had television news in the evening on three broadcast channels and the newspaper for our source of news and features reporting. Most households had one TV and one radio. Now households may have several televisions and radios, and there are hundreds of cable stations, satellite radio, tv and radio news broadcasting 24-7, the Internet and its many news and reporting outlets. There are news updates on tiny televisions at grocery check out lines, gas stations, doctor’s offices, banks, and in elevators. You did not see that ten years ago. Naturally, there is more competition for eyes and ears, and newspapers were bound to feel the competition, although they are moving online to meet the consumer demand for immediate news coverge.
Newspapers used to be the main deal. Classified advertisers who used to solely use newspapers for advertising cars for sale, yard sales, and homes for rent and sale now use Craigs List, websites, eBay, and a number of other online websites. Not that long ago, marketers used to have a budget that relied on newspaper advertising and direct mail (and for some, broadcast advertising). Now they have to split that budget into PPC, online display advertising, online promotions, online video production, website production, email marketing, and blogs. Even the cost and effort associated with producing direct mail and some print advertising has decreased and become more streamlined, with the advent of new technologies. Campaigns that used to require a week’s worth of effort by a staff of four or six people ten years ago can now be accomplished by a single person in a few hours.
Because of the economy, marketers have fewer marketing dollars to spend, so they tend to choose less expensive and more targeted advertising options, such as email marketing campaigns, which wasn’t even an option for marketers only a few years ago.
So, the availability of new, more targeted, and less expensive advertising options is a relatively new trend is diverting cash away from the newspapers, and newspapers are quickly restructuring to have an online presence with revenue generating capabilities. But that kind of development takes money — and without the display ad and classified revenue — you have major cutbacks in staff, and even some papers failing entirely.
What a shame you resorted to rhetoric to forward you unsubstantiated view that fewer people are reading newspapers because of some alleged liberal bias. You can’t make a generalization like that without hard evidence. Your point would have been stronger if it was not just a personal opinion, but if you had substantiated your assertion with find data — an opinion poll for example, as well as survey of circulation figures — to support your claims.
The Washington Times is a conservative newspaper and its circulation decreased nearly 7% last year.
One advantage that newspapers will always have over 90% of bloggers out there is that at least you can count on a professional reporter to fact-check their articles.
I didn’t “misrepresent” anything. In FACT, I never made ANY claims about how they are supported. I merely said they ignore ONE of the big reasons they are losing $$. I did NOT say it was the only reason!@