The Print Media What Are Companies Doing Online - Case Study Example

The print media – What are companies doing ‘online’? Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Changes in the field of the traditional print newspaper since the advent of new media 5 What media/newspaper companies are doing in publishing and advertising 6 Publishing 6 Attracting audiences to physical newspapers 6 Attracting readers to the ‘electronic’ versions of newspapers 9 Attracting visitors to newspaper websites 10 Advertising 10 Continuing to attract ‘display’ advertising in newspapers 11 Earning advertising revenue from newspaper websites 11 Attracting ‘classified’ advertising for both newspapers and websites 12 Conclusion 13 References 13 Executive Summary This paper is a review of what media companies are doing in relation to the advent of new media and the challenges that have been posed to traditional media – newspapers in particular. Because of the changes that have been brought about by new media, newspaper companies have had to make changes in regard to how they publish their content and generate revenue from advertising. To achieve the aim of the paper, the paper has a section that discusses the changes that have occurred in the field of the traditional newspaper. This section forms the basis for the discussion in the subsequent sections. The main analysis relates to what media and newspaper companies are doing in terms of publishing their content and advertising both in print versions and online. In this section, the various strategies adopted by media and newspaper companies to attact readers and advertsers are discussed. Introduction The advent of new media has posed a challenge to traditional media. New media refers to the content that is available on demand via the Internet, and which can be accessed through a variety of digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and Internet-enabled television sets among other devices. Some examples of new media include websites like blogs, company websites, online newspapers, and social media among others. The effect of new media, for instance, is felt in regard to the circulation of print newspapers. As the varieties of new media have increased over time, so have media houses involved in the publication and circulation of print newspapers had to provide content that can be accessed in a new form. With this state of affairs, it would be thought that offering online versions of newspapers spells doom for the print versions of newspapers due to reduced sales of printed copies. This has a notable effect on the revenues earned by media houses through advertisements in print newspapers. However, it is also clear that there are still some people who prefer to read the print versions of newspapers. Therefore, the question that arises is how media houses can strike a balance between offering their content via online versions of newspapers and circulating print versions of the same to those who need them. As well, media houses undoubtedly need to find ways of getting advertising revenue, be it from the online versions or print versions of their newspapers. In regard to the above background information, this paper will explore what media companies are doing to address the challenges of the Internet, tablets, apps and other new media technologies. To start with, the paper will present an overview of the transformations that have occurred in the field of the traditional newspaper since the advent of new media such as online newspapers. It will then look at the following areas: publishing and advertising. With regard to publishing, the paper will assess what media companies are doing to attract readers to their physical and online newspapers, and what they are doing to attract visitors to their websites. In terms of advertising, the paper will look at how media companies can continue to attract ‘display’ advertising in their newspapers, how the media companies can earn revenue from their websites, and how they can attract ‘classified’ advertising for both their newspapers and websites. The discussions will be supported by illustrations of examples of any cutting edge technology that different media companies or newspaper companies outside Australia are using. Also, the discussions will highlight any unusual and successful business approaches that are being undertaken by these companies along the areas of publishing and advertising. Reference will be made to the following media houses and newspapers: Nation Media Group, The Washington Post, Daily Nation, The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) among others. Changes in the field of the traditional print newspaper since the advent of new media The advent of new media has brought with it challenges and opportunities for conventional media. In particular, the existence of the Internet and the related new media has posed a challenge to traditional media such as printed newspapers (Salman et al. 2011, p. 2). This is largely because of the fact that a large section of the audience that was initially targeted to read printed newspapers is now reading news articles online. The result is that newspaper print advertising revenues have plummeted, while online advertising seems to be on the rise (Benson 2010, p. 190). As well, Benson (2010, p. 190) notes that in most cases, losses that are realised in print newspapers tend to be larger than the gains made in online versions of the newspapers. For instance, it was argued that in South Africa, advertising in the online media space was increasing at twofold the pace of traditional advertising (Akinfemisoye & Deffor 2014, p. 93). The other forms of conventional media have also been affected, as O’Guinn, Allen and Semenik (2009, p. 486) assert that the advertising industry has experienced tangible changes through the transformations that have affected the traditional media of magazines, newspapers, radio and television. The same authors emphasise this point by noting that in the past, selecting media to deliver advertising messages was fairly simple – as explained next. Advertisers would collaborate with their advertising agencies to come up with messages for their brands. The agencies would then negotiate for space with newspapers or airtime with radio and television networks. The situation has now changed and things are done differently. According to O’Guinn, Allen and Semenik (2009, p. 486), advertisers are fast espousing the belief that digital media – mainly Internet advertisements – provide a most cost-effective means of reaching target markets. Additionally, the new media enable advertisers to make quick changes in their adverts, changes that may require months to effect in traditional media. This implies many that advertisers are likely to prefer placing their adverts on the new media than on traditional media such as newspapers. The negative side of losing advertising revenue is related to the fact that advertising revenue is the main source of income for print newspapers. Deegan and Sutherland (2009, p. 34) argue that journalism, content, comment, analysis and so forth in newspapers are all financed from revenues earned through advertising. Therefore, if these revenues fall, savings must be made. Along this line, the question that arises is how the savings can be made. As early as 1999, Hendriks (1999, p. 179) suggested that newspaper publishers would have to learn come up with new concepts of generating revenue other than their conventional subscription-advertising model. For instance, newspapers would have to create searchable online databases that contain information on different areas such as real estate. They would then require customers who use the service to pay per information piece or pay per search. As well, Hendriks (1999, p. 179), suggested that newspapers could experiment with creating revenue from transactions by charging advertisers for transactions completed through electronic newspapers. True to Hendriks’s (1999) ideas, most major national newspapers worldwide have established a strong presence on the online platform (Deegan & Sutherland 2009, p. 34). Through this, newspaper companies deliver versions of their daily newspapers, along with other enhancements such as blogs, audio versions and premium content for viewers who make subscriptions (Deegan & Sutherland 2009, p. 34). However, in spite of the changes associated with technology, various research studies have found that the print versions of newspapers are preferred vis-à-vis online versions (Chyi & Yang 2013, p. 175). The reasons identified in the surveys as making print newspapers preferred to online versions include the quality of presentation of content and the perception that online news is an inferior good (Chyi & Yang 2013, p. 175-176). As well, the Swedish Commission on New Information Technology argued in a recent report that “The new media can supplement but not replace the paper-bound newspaper” (Weave 2016, p. 100). Further, Salman et al. (2011, p. 2) have argued that “presence of the Internet will not replace newspapers, just as radio did not replace newspapers and television”. What all these statements suggest is that much as media and newspaper companies strive to maintain a strong online presence, they also have to maintain their traditional platforms such as print newspapers. This will help them in striking a balance between their audiences’ needs in regard to new and traditional media, and in diversifying revenue streams from advertising. The next section will look at what media and newspaper companies are doing in terms of publishing and advertising. What media/newspaper companies are doing in publishing and advertising Publishing The strategy that many large media houses across the world have adopted in the current age is to provide both print and online versions of their newspapers (Bressers 2006, p. 135). What exists is therefore a situation whereby electronic newspapers exist alongside print versions (Olsen 2005, p. 247) This strategy can be linked to the findings of a research that is cited by Norton (2007, p. 9), which suggested that the print newspaper reaches a larger segment of the mass population compared to the online newspaper. There is also a perception that online readers are not as worthwhile as readers of print versions of newspapers (Dagne 2010, p. 27). This is probably because readers of online content often move from one website to another and do not pay as much attention to detail as readers of print versions. Therefore, the electronic versions are largely provided as add-on sources, possibly to create interest for the print version or to make an attempt at getting revenue through advertisements (Olsen 2005, p. 247), especially with regard to large media houses. From this perspective, the online versions of newspapers can be seen as complementing the traditional newspaper (Fortunati 2005, p. 40). Whatever the case is, it can be said that the strategy of having both online and print publications of newspapers is meant to reach wider sections of the targeted population. Attracting audiences to physical newspapers In order to attract audiences to physical newspapers, companies use a number of strategies. The first approach, as noted by Turow (2011, p. 288), is having more attractive and colourful layouts. The same author points out that most newspapers have switched to using colour in their presses and have also embarked on major redesigns whose aim is to stop readers in their tracks and make them want to read each issue. Other aspects that have been designed to be friendly to readers include having fewer stories on the front page, more generous utilisation of white space, having quick news summaries and reminders about what the inside pages of the newspaper contain, as well as more use of pictures and charts to deliver information. In addition, individual stories have become shorter. According to Turow (2011, p. 289), the aim of doing this is to create a quick look and to avoid having a tiresome read. Figure 1 below is an example of the front pages the print versions of the Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper, and The Guardian, a UK newspaper. Similar formats are also provided as the electronic formats (e-paper) of the two newspapers. Some of the features that have been highlighted above, including use of colour, quick news summaries and use of pictures can be seen. Figure 1: Front pages of the Daily Nation and The Guardian print versions Sources: Daily Nation: http://digitaledition.nationmedia.com/?xml=DailyNation#folio=1 ((12 January 2016) The Guardian: http://theguardian.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx# (12 January 2016) Another strategy that is applied to attract readers to physical newspapers is the use of sections designed to attract critical audiences (Turow 2011, p. 289). This involves the use of a collection of articles that are relevant to certain audiences. To know what the target audiences are interested in, publishers involve research firms to carry out survey and focus groups. The concept behind this strategy is to concentrate the content of the newspaper on people who actually want it (Turow 2011, p. 289). Newspaper companies also emphasise localism to attract print readership. Turow (2011, p. 289) quotes George Hayes, a newspaper consultant, who noted that “One should never underestimate the importance of being local”. Being local means publishing news of events that the local population is interested in, such as news about local school events and having letters to the editor discussing community issues. From figure one above, it can be seen that the headlines of both the Daily Nation and The Guardian are about local issues in Kenya and the UK respectively. It is noted that newspapers are using such approaches to encourage people in their localities to view them as being connected to their lives on a regular basis (Turow 2011, p. 289). Attracting readers to the ‘electronic’ versions of newspapers Newspaper companies use a variety of features to attract readers to the electronic versions of their newspapers. For example, when The Guardian went online in 1996, it had a plain interface and content that was a greatly abridged version of the printed paper (Deegan & Sutherland 2009, p. 34). Today’s online newspapers are more engaging with additional features such as blogs and email features which they us to interact with readers (Deegan & Sutherland 2009, p. 34; Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport 2010, p. 108). For instance, many major newspapers now send emails to readers who have registered for news updates with links to access news stories. Many of the major papers also allow researchers to perform archival searches on past stories for a fee. Online versions of newspapers also have some features that the print versions lack. These include updates of sports scores, breaking news, stock prices and interactive forums among others (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport 2010, p. 108). For instance, the online version of The Wall Street Journal, a US newspaper, has updates on oil prices, markets and exchange rates among other features (figure 2). Figure 2: Screenshot of the WSJ homepage Source: http://www.wsj.com/europe (12 January 2016) Media companies also publish their online versions of newspapers as e-papers. The Nation Media Group (n.d.), which publishes the Daily Nation, defines an e-paper as a computer-readable copy of the printed version of a newspaper. The company adds that the page design, adverts and numbering in the e-paper are the same as they are in the print version. The e-paper versions can be accessed in PDF formats through tablets, personal computers and smartphones. Many popular newspapers such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, Daily Nation, WSJ and Los Angeles Times offer e-papers to their readers upon payment of a subscription fee for a defined period. The Los Angeles Times has even extended the offering, whereby readers can access electronic copies of the print version of the newspaper through the Kindle subscription service on Amazon (Los Angeles Times 9 March 2015). Attracting visitors to newspaper websites Media and newspaper companies use a number of strategies to attract readers to their websites. One way is to have pages on social media such as Twitter and Facebook where potential readers can ‘follow’ or ‘like’ them and get links to read news stories. For example, The Washington Post has a Facebook page that people can ‘like’ and sign up to receive newsletters and alerts. In addition, the page has posts of top stories with links that people can click to go to the website of the newspaper to read the stories in detail. As of 13 January 2016, the page had 3,766,935 likes (figure 3). According to Hong (2012), there is evidence suggesting that when newspapers adopt social media, they are likely to increase their readership online, and this increases the size of the newspapers’ social media network (such as number of ‘likes’ on Facebook or followers on Twitter. Figure 3: A section of The Washington Post Facebook page Source: https://web.facebook.com/washingtonpost/ (13 January 2016) Another strategy is that which has been adopted by WSJ. This involves giving free newspapers to campus students and pushing students to digital subscriptions (Johnson 2014). The idea here is most likely to get the attention the young people so that they can visit the newspaper’s website. Advertising Media and newspaper companies are employing different strategies to boost their advertising revenues through both physical newspapers and online editions. Given that printed newspapers get more than 75 percent of their revenue from advertising (Gunter 2016, p. 14), strategies are implemented to increase the number of readers, who can then be reached by advertisers. On the other hand, electronic newspapers do not have a strong model in this perspective since advertisers are concerned over the endurance of online readers as well as actual penetration of the online advertisement. The strategies adopted in the different scenarios are described below. Continuing to attract ‘display’ advertising in newspapers In addition to appeal-related changes such as increased use of stylish graphics, colour and designs that are reader-friendly, newspapers have added more up-to-date coverage interest-developing sections such as lifestyle and fashion, sports and entertainment (Shah & D’Souza 2009, p. 697). Many newspapers have supplements almost on a daily basis dealing with one of the aforementioned features (Shah & D’Souza 2009, p. 697); for instance finance matters on Tuesday, lifestyle on Sunday, women’s issues on Wednesday and so forth. Also, as noted earlier, the content of the newspaper is captured on the front page so as to attract attention. The idea behind attracting the attention of readers is that more circulation of the newspaper is what attracts advertisers to buy display space. As noted by Calvano and Jullien (2012, p. 180), “advertisers pay for the attention of consumers”. What happens is that circulation and advertising are high mutually dependent. Lower circulation results in a newspaper being regarded less attractive to advertisers, since it implies that the newspaper’s content will reach fewer people (Matsaganis, Katz & Ball-Rokeach 2011, p. 119). Therefore, newspaper companies strive to increase their circulation as so attract as many display advertisers as possible.   Earning advertising revenue from newspaper websites Media and newspaper companies that provide their content on websites earn revenue by placing advertisements on their web pages along with their content. Most of the adverts appear in a flashing format, meaning that many advertisements can appear in the same space on web page over a given period of time. Some of the advertisements appear between blocks of content being provided by the newspaper on the website, thus enabling the accommodation of many ads. Figure 4 below shows a web page of WSJ featuring an advertisement. Attracting ‘classified’ advertising for both newspapers and websites The Business Dictionary (2016) defines classified advertising as “small messages grouped under a specific heading (classification) such as automobiles, employment, real estate, in a separate section of a newspaper or magazine”. There is a common perception that since there has been a decline in the sales of print newspapers, newspapers’ print classifieds are also disappearing. For instance, Arendt (2003, p. 18) notes that while newspapers’ print classifieds are gradually vanishing, the online classified is slowly gathering momentum. Nonetheless, media houses are not doing away with the use of newspaper classifieds, they are merely opting to go more high-tech. Like display advertising, classified advertising is driven by newspaper circulation. Therefore, media houses rely on circulation to attract classified advertising. There is also an observation that has been made that much of the advertising that usually features in print newspapers has moved to specialised websites (House of Lords 2008, p. 17). However, the picture painted on the classifieds web page of The New York Times tells a different story. Although the page has sections for classifieds such as autos, camps and schools, commercial real estate, vacation rentals and inns, jobs and paid death notices among others, it also has a statement that “your ad looks good in print". Place your classified ad in the print edition of The New York Times” (The New York Times Company 2013). If the same case applies to other media houses, it implies that newspapers still attach more value to classified adverts placed in print editions than on websites. They are therefore using their websites to attract advertisers to buy space in printed newspapers. Conclusion This paper has discussed what media companies outside of Australia are doing to address the challenges posed by the advent of new media in reference to the traditional newspaper. It has been noted that the advent of new media has posed challenges to traditional media such as newspapers, which have seen a decline in sales of physical newspapers. However, the demand for printed newspapers has not completely gone down, meaning that media companies have to strike a balance between print and online offerings. The paper has discussed the strategies that newspaper companies are using in regard to publishing content and attracting advertising revenue. With regard to publishing, companies use features such as improved design and content to attract print version readers. They also provide newspapers in electronic formats and use social media to attract readers. Turning to advertising, media companies employ strategies that attract advertisers to buy display and classifieds space in both online and print newspapers. They also display adverts on their websites alongside their content to attract more advertisers. References Akinfemisoye, M & Deffor, S 2014, ‘Finding viable business models for intermediate and developing world broadcast, print and online newspaper sectors’, in J Anderson, G Ogola & M Williams (eds), The future of quality news journalism: a cross-continental analysis, Routledge, New York, pp. 88-100. Arendt, E 2003, The college grad's guide to purgatory, iUniverse, Inc., Lincoln, NE. 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