FROM MONDAY NOTE, 2009 … the 5 to 10 year newspaper countdown: transition or perish
No tags for this post.22% of Internet users in the United States said they stopped their subscription to a printed newspaper or a magazine. Why? Because they could access the same content online, according to a study released last week by the Center for the Digital Future. And it was only one in a string of bad news for the industry. Most of these items came from the US but, to a large extent, apply to European media as well.
Newspapers need to regroup and take a breath. Both in Europe and in the United States. They need protection. Not the temporary protection of a bankruptcy, but a durable one based on alternate business models and a drastic change in their capital structure. Providing oxygen to publishers.
Whether it happens trough a foundation, an endowment, or an acquisition by one or several educational institutions, in order to transform themselves, newspapers need capital-structure protection. Although necessary, cost-cutting won’t be enough. In Europe or in the US, we are beyond that stage. A major transformation is needed. In most instances, it will involve closing down print activities – or willingly accelerating their decline – to make room for fast-growing online businesses. Many newspapers will have to shift to a once or twice-a-week publication, transferring most of the news stream to digital media (paid-for or free, probably a hybrid form). Printing plant cathedrals will have to be shut down. This acutely painful transformation can’t happen in ten years, it needs to take place in less than five. It can’t be done with stock analysts and creditors breathing down the neck of boards and managers. For company structures as well as business models, something courageously new has to be invented. Quickly.
