Editors and leaders from 60 countries gathered urgently in Athens. The goal was to find ways to leverage Internet resources and strategize on how to “attract” readers back.
Print newspapers are facing a global crisis due to fierce competition from television and online news outlets. “This is a very difficult time,” stated Mike Smith, Executive Director of the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, during the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) seminar.
“We always view Google as a giant King Kong, weighing hundreds of tons and ready to crush anyone,” Smith remarked, referencing the search engine’s remarkable success in providing links to breaking news. “However, it also presents a tremendous opportunity for print newspapers to adapt and succeed.”
To illustrate his point, Smith emphasized that many newspapers in North and South America have wisely embraced the Internet and turned it into an effective way to attract more readers. Las Ultimas Noticias, a newspaper in Santiago, Chile, has chosen to post each page of the newspaper online for readers to click and view. Meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News has hired young journalists to write articles on very “teen” topics like hip-hop music in a blog style.
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Weblogs have led to the emergence of a generation of “citizen journalists” worldwide |
Jim Chisholm, a strategic advisor for WAN, praised the exploitation of human resources. Recently, with the rise of blogs as a new media genre, millions of “citizen journalists“—a term referring to bloggers—have emerged. This group is ready to contribute articles to newspapers as well as self-publish their stories on blogs. “Instead of having an editorial team of 50 people, you could have about… 50,000 contributors. Why not take advantage of that?”
The increasing appeal of online news sites also means that print newspapers are struggling more and more to attract advertising. This is compounded by a new competitor looming on the horizon: cable television. The advantage of cable TV is that they can report to advertisers how many viewers tuned in overnight, and advertisers always prefer “cash on the barrel.”
In some parts of the world, such as Africa and most of Europe, print newspapers are not yet in such dire straits. However, many have begun to change due to pressure from television. “Today’s youth have no interest in reading their parents’ newspapers,” said Eric Le Boucher, editor-in-chief of the French daily Le Monde. This month, Le Monde launched a new edition featuring more colors and larger text. “We need to attract readers who are younger. If a person doesn’t read a newspaper by the age of 20, they will likely never pick it up again in their lifetime.”
Other speakers suggested changing the newspaper format to be more user-friendly for bus and subway passengers, as well as shrinking the size to fit comfortably in teenagers’ backpacks. Following this path, the British newspaper The Guardian recently resized its edition with the slogan “So you can welcome it without… straining your hands.”
However, many opinions still affirm that print newspapers have hope for the future, as no modern technology can replace their convenience and ease of use. “Easy to read, easy to carry, inexpensive, and recyclable – these are undeniable advantages of paper newspapers.”
Therefore, WAN’s conclusion remains: “Be bold in utilizing the Internet; don’t fear being consumed by it.”
Cầm Thi
