Will the Washington Blade maintain Internet presence?

The demise of the newspaper began long before the recession, and it will continue afterward. Newspaper publishers are finding it harder every day to compete with digital media. Window Media, which was the country’s largest publisher of gay newspapers, has shut down.

Window Media published the Washington Blade, a Washington, D.C., publication that celebrated its 40-year anniversary last month. Window Media owned several other publications, too, including the Southern Voice and David, both based in Atlanta, The Southern Florida Blade and 411 Magazine.

A dramatic exit

Apparently Window Media employees didn’t see this coming, and they showed up for work Monday only to find the locks changed and notes saying the newspapers would no longer operate and they could come back Wednesday to collect their things.

Rumor has it the Small Business Association had given Window Media’s biggest stakeholder, Avalon Equity Partners, $38 million in guaranteed loans. When Avalon failed to come up with half that amount in private investments, the SBA placed Avalon in receivership.

Fuzzy details

SBA said Avalon was in receivership in February, and in July, Window CEO David Unger quit. There was some speculation that Unger was forced out by the SBA. It’s not clear exactly how Window media came to the decision that it should cease operations.

The Washington Blade staff reportedly will meet tomorrow to discuss a new venture, headed by the Washington Blade’s current editor, Kevin Naff. Members of staffs on the other Window-owned publications also have said they will try to continue to provide news on the gay communities in their areas.

State of the newspaper

Newspapers all over the country have been shrinking or shutting down in pretty high numbers for a few years now. The country’s biggest publisher, Gannett, completed huge layoffs this year.

This pattern will continue until newspapers can figure out a way to adapt their business models to capitalize on the Internet. It’s a rough transition for a very old industry, but necessary if news publications want to survive.

Image from blogspot.

Newspapers are continually trying to come up with ways to improve their online presence. Mostly they do this for the purpose of keeping their businesses afloat, but for those newspapers who still are concerned about improving reader experience, I’ve got a tip for you.

Tell the world where you are. Remember, the Internet is everywhere. Google Alerts linking to stories on your web site are being sent to people in other states and other countries. For instance, I get Google Alerts on robberies at stores that give payday cash advances from Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, California, everywhere in the country.

Breaking tradition

I have worked at a local newspaper before. I know it’s customary not to waste space and words on identifying the state where your newspaper is based. Journalists hate redundancy. To be clear, I am not saying reporters or web editors should go into stories and add the state after every mention of the city. I am saying newspapers need to include the state at the top of every page.

Newspapers also hate messing with their mastheads. Oh, they hate it a whole lot. However, newspapers could save online readers in faraway places a lot of frustration if they’d just add the city and state to their online masthead. It could be in tiny print below the regular masthead, but it should really appear on every page.

Breaking it down

In case you don’t see why this is important, let me give you a little scenario. Today, I got a Google Alert about a payday loan store robbery, and the story was from the Superior Telegram. If you click on that link, you’ll see nice and big at the top “Superior Telegram.” Great, now we know the name of your newspaper.

A web surfer looking at that gets virtually no information whatsoever. Is this telegram superior to other telegrams? Or is that the name of a city? If you work for a newspaper and you are reading this, I know what you are thinking (besides “eek! italics! and exclamation marks! unnecessary!) You are thinking “Hello, you stupid person, the state is right at the bottom in the address.”

Guess what. That’s not good enough. That’s not how web surfers operate. A graphics designer at my company once put it very well: “People don’t like to read the Internet.”

A widespread problem

I am not picking on the Superior Telegram because this is a problem with pretty much every online newspaper in a city I’ve never heard of. After I couldn’t find the state at the top of the page, I looked for an “About Us” tab. None was to be found. Yes, obviously I did eventually scroll down to the bottom of the page and see that Superior is in Wisconsin.

So, you can either continue to hold disdain for the short attention spans and general stupidity of your online readers who live in other states, or you can get off your high horse and help them out. Adapting to the Age of the Internet means making changes in the way you present yourselves. Once you put your newspaper online, it is no longer a local newspaper. Don’t make your readers work to find out who and where you are.

After several large rounds of layoffs in the past couple of years, Gannett layoffs will continue. The nation’s largest newspaper company will eliminate up to 4,500 jobs sometime in the next few days, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, the number of layoffs has been reported by some news sources as between 1,000 and 2,000.

Reports last month showed that Gannet’s profits were down 60 percent, but the exact numbers involved in Gannett’s growing problems are somewhat unclear.

Conflicting sources

There’s a pretty big discrepancy between the numbers news sources are reporting regarding how many jobs will be eliminated in the Gannett layoffs. The New York Times reports:

On Gannett Blog, a former Gannett editor who closely follows the company, Jim Hopkins, quotes an unnamed person in the company as saying that it will announce on July 8 that it is eliminating 4,500 United States newspaper jobs, and cutting salaries in its broadcast division.

However, Gannett employees shouldn’t run to the payday loan store to take out fast cash loans just yet. The NYT article goes on to say that executives have said the number would be significantly smaller than 4,500. The Associated Press reports:

Between 1,000 and 2,000 people will lose their jobs in Gannett’s latest round of cutbacks, according to a story published Tuesday on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site. The Journal quoted an unnamed person familiar with the McLean, Va.-based company’s thinking.

Previous Gannett layoffs

Large media conglomerate Gannett has been struggling for years — since before the recession hit. The New York Times says:

The company’s United States and British newspaper divisions eliminated more than 10,000 jobs in 2007 and 2008, including about 2,000 layoffs last fall, and Gannett executives have said repeatedly that they expect more downsizing, including layoffs. The company, which also owns a chain of television stations and Internet ventures, ended last year with 41,500 employees, including 35,800 in its newspaper divisions.

Some Gannet-owned newspapers have reported recently rejecting union agreements from Gannett that would significantly cut salaries.

The larger problem

Though Gannett is the largest newspaper company in the United States, and thus has had the largest layoffs and money loss, it certainly isn’t the only newspaper struggling. The Associated Press reports:

Most other major newspaper publishers also are reeling from a devastating one-two punch — the longest U.S. recession since World War II coupled with intensifying Internet competition for readers and advertising. To cope, the troubled publishers have trimmed their payrolls, lowered wages and, in the most extreme cases, filed for bankruptcy protection.

Magazines going down, too

USA Today is Gannett's largest newspaper.

Newspapers aren’t the only printed media with problems, either. Yesterday Vibe Magazine, one of the country’s biggest music magazine, announced it will shut down. Vibe Magazine was one of two U.S. magazines that covered hip-hop and R&B. That leaves The Source as the only nationwide magazine left to cover those musical genres.

Rock-centric magazine Blender shut down last year, though it still maintains a presence on the web. Vibe Magazine has not yet reported whether it ill continue its web site.

A new version of the Kindle, Amazon’s “wireless reading device,” will be available for sale this summer, but you can reserve one starting today. It’s called the Kindle DX, and it’s bigger — size-wise and storage space-wise — than the original Kindle.

Kindle DX has a viewing screen the same size as a standard piece of paper. It targets readers who want to see newspapers and magazines on their screens as well as life-size versions of other documents.

Pretty pricey

Though you won’t have a Kindle DX in your hands for a couple of months, if you reserve one you have to pay for it now. So unless you have $489 at your disposal at the moment, you might need a cash advance to pay for it. Of course, my advice is to start saving your money and get one when you can afford it. I doubt Amazon.com will run out before then.

So what does Kindle DX mean for the newspaper industry? As is always the case with predicting the future, it’s tough to say.

Newspapers on shaky ground

The homepage at Amazon.com currently displays a photo of the Kindle DX with a copy of the New York Times displayed on the screen. This further proves the theory, mostly present among print journalists, that Kindle DX aims to help keep newspapers alive.

The newspaper industry, I think it’s safe to say, is teetering on the edge of financial ruin. Already several newspapers across the country have gone out of business, and the ones that survived have completed massive layoffs.

Anticipating the wireless reader

Taking college journalism classes years ago, I remember a “special guest speaker” talking about a magical device that would someday change the way people read newspapers. That special guest went on to describe what is now the Kindle.

So far, special guest is right. This wireless reading device, which has a screen that looks a lot like real paper, exists. But is special guest right about his prediction that this will bring in more business for newspapers?

Bye bye subscription sales

According to Amazon, “People who swore they would never read books on computers are reading books on Kindle in numbers far greater than we ever expected.” So perhaps people who currently read hard-copy newspapers will switch to Kindle to save trees. And cancel their subscriptions.

People might be more willing to read a Kindle DX screen, but that does not mean they will be more willing to pay for an online subscription. I am afraid the day when it was possible to convince people that paying for an online newspaper subscription is worth it has passed. There is already way too much free news online.

If Kindle DX does draw more newspaper readers, the papers could potentially pull in more advertising revenue. Newspapers should focus on this as they rewrite their business plans.

The Lexington Herald Leader is the latest McClatchy newspaper to get swept up in economic turbulence. The Kentucky newspaper on Monday laid off 49 full time employees and 4 part-time workers.

The layoffs are part of McClatchy’s overall effort to eliminate about 15 percent of its total workforce, which is about 1,600 jobs.

Salary cuts for remaining employees

The job cuts at the Lexington Herald Leader amount to about 15 percent of the staff. Remaining employees with salaries higher than $25,000 per year will get 5 percent pay cuts.

Executives at the newspaper will get 10 percent pay cuts. Bonuses will not be given out at the Lexington Herald Leader in 2009. Vacant positions will stay vacant, and some full-time positions will be reduced to part-time positions.

More possible changes

Some employees might need payday loans if the newspaper follows through with a plan to require unpaid vacation. The newsroom worker’s union agreed to the furloughs, but it’s unknown whether they will become mandatory.

Editor heads for the door

Two days after the newspaper announced the layoffs and salary cuts, the editor announced she is leaving the paper. Editor Linda Austin will be joining the ranks of higher education.

Austin is taking a job as executive director of Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University.

Big picture

McClatchy is making cuts in the face of declining ad revenue. It also is struggling with $4 billion in debt, a result of McClatchy purchasing competing newspaper conglomerate Knight Ridder. About $2 billion of that was debt Knight Ridder already had.

McClatchy fallout

Another McClatchy-owned newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News, made cuts last week, also eliminating about 15 percent of the newspaper’s staff. It is pretty safe to expect that all McClatchy-owned newspapers will be required to cut 15 percent of their staffs within the next few months.

Paper trail

Also this week, two of the largest newspapers in the U.S. announced cuts. Privately owned Atlanta Journal-Constitution is cutting about 30 percent of its staff. Hearst Corp.’s Houston Chronicle is eliminating about 12 percent of its staff.

Anchorage Daily News building

The Anchorage Daily News, Alaska’s largest newspaper, says it will cut 45 jobs from its payroll, about 17 percent of the staff.

The Anchorage Daily News is owned by McClatchy, one of the United States’ largest media conglomerates. CNN.com wasn’t kidding in its headline “Bad News Days for Newspaper Biz.”

Daily News details

Publisher Patrick Doyle announced the cuts today, and said the 45 positions would be eliminated through layoffs and leaving some unfilled jobs vacant.

Doyle also said in his letter that some remaining staffers would get wage cuts.

McClatchy’s big plan

McClatchy’s overall budget plan includes cutting $110 million in spending. The company is suffering because of declining advertising revenue. Short term loans don’t appear to be a good option for the company, which has been losing revenue since before the recession.

McClatchy is plans to cut 15 percent of its total workforce, which will amount to slashing about 1,600 jobs.

Fallen friends

Also today,  Michigan newspaper the Ann Arbor News announced it will shut down in July. The newspaper’s web site says it will be replaced by an online news operation at AnnArbor.com. The Ann Arbor News has been around for 174 years.

AnnArbor.com is an LLC, and current employees at the Ann Arbor News are being invited to apply for jobs at the new company, but owners say job losses are inevitable.

More head for the Web

The decision is similar to one the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reached last week. The P.I. is now an online-only presence at seattlepi.com.

Hearst Corp. still owns the Seattle P.I. in its new form. The newspaper had been around for 146 years. The staff for seattlepi.com consists of about 20 employees, compared to the 165 who worked for the print publication.

Future of news?

Newspaper readership and advertising revenue have taken a plunge since more people have turned to the Internet as their main source of news. These new, online-only local news operations will be a good test of the emerging business model.

Some major newspapers have closed down recently, and it looks like they won’t be alone. Even the second-largest paper in California, The San Francisco Chronicle, is talking about the possibility of closing down or moving to an online-only operation.

24/7 Wall Street has several predictions about which papers will meet their end next. Here are the top five.

1. The Philadelphia Daily News

The Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which recently filed for bankruptcy, owned two newspapers, including the Philadelphia Daily News. Just like the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Philadelphia Daily News is one of two major newspapers in its city. The Rocky Mountain News shut down, and the Post-Intelligencer is planning to only publish online starting soon.

2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune

This newspaper has also filed for Chapter 11. The company last year made about half of what it made in 2007. Odds are that the Star Tribune will lose money this year if its ad revenue drops another 20 percent. The Star Tribune could become an all-digital paper, but supporting a daily circulation of more than 300,000 is too expensive. It is also one of two major newspapers in the same city, so chances are either it or rival the St. Paul Pioneer Press will fold. No amount of payday loans will stop it.

3. The Miami Herald

This 220,000 circulation daily is owned by giant media conglomerate McClatchy. The large company is possibly facing bankruptcy as well. It has been trying to sell the Herald since December. The online version of the paper is already widely read. There is a tiny chance it could merge with the Sun-Sentinel. However, it is more likely that the Herald will go online-only with two editions.

4. The Detroit News

Detroit, which is largely dependent on the auto industry, has been badly hit by the economic downturn. Unless the Detroit News can merge with the Detroit Free Press,which is owned by Gannett, the paper will probably fold. The paper has already cut back the number of days it is delivered, but that won’t save enough money to keep the paper open.

The Rocky Mountain News, a 150-year-old daily newspaper in Denver, will shut down operations and cease printing after tomorrow’s edition.

The paper has tried since December to find a buyer, but after that failed, owner EW Scripps decided it was time to bid farewell.

The long run

The Rocky Mountain News has been around longer than the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. It was established in 1859, before Colorado was even a state. Scripps has owned the paper since 1926.

The paper won several Pulitzer prizes and has had a “colorful” circulation war with the Denver Post for a century.

Hey, must be the money

The 255,000 circulation tabloid-format newspaper lost $16 million in 2008. RMN told employees about the closure this morning, but said they will continue to pay salaries through the end of April 28.

Scripps is still trying to sell the paper’s name, web site, archives and masthead.

No room for rivals

We may soon see a similar story coming out of Seattle. After a lengthy competition with The Seattle Times for readership, Hearst Corp. put the Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale in January.

The company said it would cease printing if the paper didn’t sell in 60 days. With the deadline fast approaching and no deal in sight, it appears Seattle is about to become a one-paper town. The Post-Intelligencer held a meeting yesterday to teach employees how to file for unemployment.

More hurt for Hearst

Hearst said it may shut down San Francisco’s main newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, unless it can push through more job cuts. It has offered voluntary buyouts to many of its 1,500 employees.

The Chronicle has the second largest circulation on the West Coast and the 12th biggest in the country with a circulation of about 375,000. According to Wikipedia, the publication lost more than $50 million in 2008.

It’s a trend that’s sweeping the nation. If it weren’t a conflict of interest, the newspaper industry might be the next to ask the Feds for a bailout. Newspaper readership has steadily declined as the availability of news on the Internet has increased. Add that to a historically weak economy, and you have yourselves a crisis.

One woman’s opinion

Newspapers, once a staple at the average family’s breakfast table, are slowly and painfully becoming obsolete. From coast to coast, the inky smell of newsprint is becoming a thing of the past. How and why is this happening?

The obvious reason is the rise of the Internet. That explains the deteriorating need for printing presses. But the demand for news, information and entertainment is just as high as ever. And newspapers have web sites. So why are newspapers hemorrhaging money like crazy? Why are hundreds of journalists being laid off every day?

The answer, according to yours truly: technologically, newspapers fell behind the curve.

Newspapers haven’t changed their marketing plan to adjust to the new ways in which readers gather news. A lot of newspapers are coming around, making extra cash on their web sites and coming up with ways to deliver increasingly personalized news. But it may be too late.

Children of the  Internet

The generation of readers that society is cultivating right now heads straight to the computer for everything. Need payday loans? Apply online. Need a recipe? Google it. Want to know the definition of a word? I guarantee you, it’d be tough to find out when the last time a person younger than 40 picked up a dictionary. We look it up online.

But I always use the same online dictionary. I go to Merriam-Webster online because I trust it. I was raised with it. I was trained at a young age to regard Merriam-Webster as a reliable, accurate source for word definition. My reliance on Merriam-Webster hasn’t changed. The way I access it has.

This is where newspapers fail. Adults nowadays were once children at the breakfast table listening to Dad’s commentary on the news of the day. We remember the name of that newspaper. We remember it as a good source of information, because if Dad trusted it, it must be good, right?

But it’s no longer in our format. If newspaper web sites were as well organized, easy to use and thorough as Google News, many of us would rather visit our local paper’s web site. But many newspapers still charge a subscription fee for their web sites. The money they are making on those subscriptions is a tiny fraction of what they could make on ad revenue if they generated the kind of traffic that online search giants get every day. But during the gap when newspapers started dedicating resources to their web sites and the time that we grew up and started reading news, we turned away. We found free, user-friendly sites that met all our news needs.

Another one bites the dust

So, to this Child of the Internet, the decrease in daily home delivery does not come as a surprise. In fact, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press have given me hope that newspapers are indeed accepting the fact that they need to find new ways of doing business.

Perhaps someday local news operations will again have the money to maintain staffs full of well-educated, well-trained reporters and editors. In the meantime, laid-off journalists who get jobs writing blog posts about the downfall of newspapers can qualify for payday loans.

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