Newspaper Symposium on Individualized News
Sharing Ideas for the Evolving Digital World
Jun 27, 2009
A gathering of representatives of major newspaper met to discuss how to save newspapers in the age of instant and targeted news.
Newspaper Industry Problems
Newspapers have been closing as print ad revenue fell $7.8 billion in 2008 according to the Newspaper Association of America. Print ad sales were down by $6 billion in the first quarter of 2009 alone. The American Society of News Edited has reported that more than 6,000 newspapers journalists have lost their jobs.
A Symposium Exploring Evolving Newspaper Model
At a two-day symposium sponsored by the Washington Times on June 25-26, 2009, discussed “individualized news” which is already being used by that newspaper. The “Individuated News Conference” was attended by 70 news executives including representatives from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Politico and Gannett.
The Model
The symposium explored what was billed as “the evolving newspaper model” including:
- Hyperlocalized newspaper content
- Targeted advertising opportunities
- Innovative spin-off products
- Flexible payment options
Using Internet Driven Technologies
In speaking to the group, John Solomon, executive director of the Times, said, "The great challenge for the news industry faces is the need to develop new distribution platforms that provide our consumers with the news they want, when they want it, and where they want it."
According to Peter Vandevanter, vice president of targeted products for Denver-based Media News Group, "There are two kinds of content now. You choose it, or it’s chosen for you. The idea here is a self-selection of news, delivered to any platform, at any time."
In speaking to the attendees, Mr. Solomon said, "The individuated newspaper experiments by Media News and the Washington Times open a new opportunity for delivering custom news products to paying customers in cost effective ways. We have an enormous fire hose of content and this gives us an exciting new way to deliver slices of that news content to the very people who choose it."
According to Mr. Vandevanter, the public is already conditioned to the personalized experience offered by Pandora, which offers customized music, and Amazon that offers book choices targeted to distinct tastes.
Bill Mitchell, director of News Transformation and International Programs at the Poynter Institute, explained that newspapers are facing a two-fold challenge: figuring out what works in the long haul, and what will keep the newspaper going for now.
Faced with the competition from online and broadcast sources, in order to survive, newspapers will have to seek multimedia ways to deliver individualized content. Those that are not able to adapt to the rapid changes may simply fall by the wayside.
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