It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here; I’m writing more consistently at NAA’s “Opportunopoly” blog site, but I couldn’t pass this one up.
Three CT lawmakers have actually appealed to the Commission or the state Department of Economic & Community Development in Hartford to act to forestall the closure of two Journal Register newspapers, the New Britain Herald and the Bristol Press. Besides the loss of jobs, they write, “We are equally concerned about what the loss of these newspapers would mean for our communities. There are many, many important ways that a locally-based newspaper is a central point of information and record about a city.” How can a community rebuild economically without the help of its local press? they asked. “Having a locally-based newspaper is important for public accountability,” as well. “As elected officials, ourselves, we want [the] pubic to have access to independent news about what is going on in government and our communities. We share the sentiments of our nation’s leaders who wrote [in] the Bill of Rights that a free press is an essential part of democracy.” (Letter posted at narbosa.com.)
Certainly the lawmakers need help in editing their letters; maybe they can employ someone from the papers, should they perish, as personal correspondents? But, seriously, a bailout? Does no-one worry about a too-close connection to government of an entity that would be beholden to the deep pockets of the very folks making the policies that the public demands it critique? Why aren’t the locals themselves supporting a free press? Do they not care about democracy?
We on the online side of newspapers have long raged against the machine that is the “mainstream media,” but the conundrum of the small town newspaper is especially taxing. Companies that have endeavored to elevate these markets to the level of a national network have largely failed, mostly because of their too great attention to preserving the print edition in lieu of leveraging both print and online for what they each do best. It takes too much money to sustain the kind of print operation that has existed to date; the news is important, as are the ads, but the delivery is all wrong, and it’s too costly and too cumbersome to continue in its current form.
In light of taxpayers being asked to bailout Detroit, think of it as the economic developers being asked to support their father’s Oldsmobile in lieu of a sleeker, more “fuel efficient” newspaper.
If these papers truly are on the chopping block, what does Journal Register have to lose? Sell the printing press to a local printer and outsource the delivery of a weekly shopper. Use the last edition to announce the sale of a subscription-supported email or even e-Edition newspaper, published twice daily, with optional text alerts for breaking news. Say good-bye to the press guys. (Sorry. Unemployed myself, so I share your pain in the loyalty you bear this industry.)
Make money the hard way, by delivering audience where they live and work. Start now by hosting seminars training your most loyal subscribers how to get the news they need, without the wrapper. Put classifieds online, turning them into personalized alerts, and deliver coupons, ads and everything else possible into people’s inboxes. Charge $4.99/month for an iPhone ap that grants one-touch access to the mobile edition.
And leave the government supported news biz to VOA.
As a couple of side notes, the non-profit Wikipedia is halfway to its goal of raising $6 million in donations to keep the doors open. Meanwile, among the Net’s best, NYTimes.com’s Vivian Schiller leaves to join NPR as CEO. There’s something here to the tune of, where your heart is, your wallet will follow.
