So you and your boss depend on the local newspaper to be the best source for comprehensive coverage of local issues? On a good day, yes. Today, perhaps not so much. We’ve seen newspapers struggle as the Internet has slowly lured readers away and unsubscribe to the print edition. The younger generation gets much more gratification from the instant feedback available with social media. That inky printed page is losing its luster, and that’s without adding the impact of the crappy economy. Just ask the auto industry.
In what is being called “the worst quarter in newspaper history,” the Newspaper Association of America website is reporting that print sales of newspapers fell by 29.7% in the first three months of this year (to $5.9 billion), while online sales dropped a record 13.4% (to $696.3 million). The worst percentage decline was in the highly profitable classified advertising category. which dived 42.3% to produce slightly less than $1.5 billion in sales.
As illustrated in the graph, newspaper sales have dropped at a steadily accelerating rate since April, 2006. In records published by the NAA that date to 1950, there is no precedent for the sort of decline suffered in the first three months of this year.
Why Should You Care About Newspaper Ad Revenues?
Haven’t you heard about all the layoffs at newspapers throughout the country? As ad revenues decline, the size of the newspaper and their ability to cover local news decreases. That affects you if you’re a public information officer or someone trying to get press coverage:
- Fewer print reporters showing up at your news/press conferences
- Getting a story noticed and covered is increasingly difficult
- Many print reporters are no longer specializing in particular “beats” so their stories may not be as robust and accurate as before
- Stories are shorter and in-office-only writers may pull data from alternative sources online such as blogs and Twitter
- Readers are short changed in the process and know less about about how their tax dollars are being spent
Find Out More About Newspapers
- Facts & Trends in Newspaper Readership
- Downloand PDF Report - Newspaper Daily Readership Statistics (2008)
- Engaging Users: User-Generated Content and Tools for Newspapers (PDF); A snapshot of today and prospects for the future
- History of Newspapers
Related posts: