The newspaper industry is not what it used to be. As much as any journalists like to deny it, print is the expensive past and the Internet is the free future. The Internet’s new trends have impacted newspaper companies greatly in recent years.
The financial losses from a decreased interest in newspapers has cut jobs and reorganized the news industry.
Many papers have found it cheaper to produce all their content online and have subsequently cut the paper altogether. The Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post Intelligencer both ended their 100-year publications in 2009. Today it’s about page views, not subscriptions.
The ease and access of the Internet has established a push/pull mechanism between people who read the paper and people who get their news online. Newspapers would push content at its readers, while the Internet allows readers to pull whatever news they want.
This could be problematic for journalists who want important stories to be read that may not be as interesting online. As Ken Doctor, the author of “Newsonomics,” writes, “We have now become our own gatekeepers.”
Journalists are beginning to realize that generalized newspapers are not cutting it anymore. The Internet has taught readers that they can easily find and read about their interests. Writing for a certain audience is one of the smartest things a journalist can do to survive in the digital age.
To keep up with online, journalism has become a juggling act. Articles, blogs, videos and tweets have become daily tasks for the average beat writer. Ten years ago, there were reporters, photographers and a staff that produced the website. Now, a single journalist has to know how to do it all for the same pay as before.
Large news corporations like Gannett have felt the impact from new media. In the past three years, Gannett’s USA Today, once a popular national newspaper, has lost 20 percent of its circulation, according to an article in The New York Times.
Gannett, which also owns The Arizona Republic, has forced all employees to take week-long furloughs in recent years.
Gannett’s president of community publishing announced once again that all employees would have to take furloughs for 2011. Craig Dubow, Gannett’s chief executive, agreed to take a 17 percent pay cut.
The sacrifices have not been quite as difficult for Dubow, however. He agreed to take a pay cut right before receiving a $1.75 million bonus. And during Dubow’s five-year tenure at Gannett, the company’s number of employees has dropped from 52,000 to 32,000, according to the New York Times.
Doctor says that Gannett’s strategy for survival has involved consolidating and cutting jobs while adding some digital aspects.
Gannett is being proactive in keeping the company afloat at the expense of journalists’ careers. But it has not thought twice about the hefty bonuses top officials receive.
Though changing media have changed how we read news, they are starting to impact traditional news media and the good journalism that comes with them.
Contact Justine at jrgarci8@asu.edu
