Just a quick post to call your attention to John Paton’s blunt but accurate appraisal of the Advance Publications’ cutbacks in staff and print frequency.
As has been extensively chronicled (including by me), Advance cut the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune and cut the newspaper back from daily publication to three times a week.
John acknowledges that Advance handled the whole move poorly, chewing up a lot of goodwill. But, he says, “I support them because their industry is my industry and it will not survive without dramatic, difficult and bloody change.”
If you don’t think the news business is in a fight for survival, read Rick Edmonds’ piece on how the Washington Post, one of journalism’s most iconic organizations, is faring. Read how much value newspapers’ print advertising has lost in the past six years.
I think and hope John (my boss; yeah, this looks like sucking up, but he’s right) is making the right moves to help Digital First Media and the news business find the path to a prosperous future. I hope Advance’s moves work successfully. And I hope the Post finds its path to success.
Yesterday’s news produced and delivered at high cost in print is not a business model that will survive.
As I responded to Matt DeRienzo on Twitter about this, as a consumer I am a victim of Advance’s non-existent web strategy in New Jersey, from which perspective I will theorize that part of the clinging that Advance is doing to old models in New Orleans is that, as John Paton points out, they are woefully behind in developing any kind of new product that could be considered a viable alternative. Thus all people see is what’s being lost; they can’t see what’s coming in the future because, based on all available evidence, nothing IS coming. If Advance’s track record were better elsewhere, the wailing and gnashing of teeth in New Orleans might be less. So John’s other point is also well taken — Advance has brought all of this on itself, which is another important lesson for those watching.
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Well said. Even folks who work in their digital operations at the local level don’t know what’s coming, and I suspect, neither do the corporate folks. Part of successful change management is setting a vision and getting buy-in for that vision from your staff and the community. That’s one of the reasons I believe they won’t have a successful transition when it’s all said and done.
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Attitude is critical to the future.
“And like them I am willing to do what it takes to make our businesses survive.” is the right attitude.
Now about the rest of the plan … again … stacking up dimes has yet to get there … anywhere close.
What is getting there is subscription revenue. The NYT is now withing 2% of subscription revenue overtaking advertising revenue, as ad revenue ebbs and subscription revenue climbs, and now faster than ad revenue is ebbing.
Just finished reading ‘The Forbes Model for Journalism in the Digital Age’ Lewis DVorkin is a digital Hercules. Roger McNamee’s 2006 $300 million investment in Forbes shows no sign of paying off if you listen to McNamee today.
Pressing on is part of the problem, until it no longer can be.
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I like where we’re headed stacking dimes.
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I agree. I’ve scratched my head, puzzled, as Advance has been criticized for pursuing radical changes (pursuing, as distinguished from how it chose to announce and begin implementing those changes). With half or more of their revenue gone, newspapers need radical changes, uncomfortable changes, scary and bold changes. I don’t know if Advance’s new model will work, but it’s something — something other than following our current glide slope to its inevitable cliff. Bully for Advance for trying something, because the status quo will lead to nothingness.
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