Comments on: Is this the end of newspapers as we know them?

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:58:33 +0000

If all papers were printed on a 2 page format like the NY POST i would read it more. Its just folds out too big. you cant eat your breakfast and read the paper easily

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:50:55 +0000

I was just watching ThinkTank today and this was their topic. I personally would hate to see the newsprint vanish. I am only a thirty something and I still enjoy reading the paper as opposed to reading it online. Apparently one of the problems is that the advertisements in the print are not translated to online. I believe there are only a few that charge for the online paper, Huffington Post and New York Times for example. If the newspapers can find a way to be profitable from the online paper then maybe just maybe than can stay in print, too.

By: wendy

wendy — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:40:03 +0000

I think this just may be the case. Our newpaper “The Tucson Citizen” is going out of print after almost 140 years if a new buyer isn’t found. That’s sad. The other paper “Arizona Daily Star” raised it’s daily rate from 50 to 75 cents. Who’s going to pay that? I guess maybe they want subscriber rates to go up so they can change advertising rates or else they are trying to recoop the money lost from people just not buying the paper anymore.

By: jelly

jelly — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:51:40 +0000

Who cares?

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:21:11 +0000

I hate that this is happening. I don’t like how society and big business today is eliminating the very principles that have been around longer than 100 years. I am the type of person who likes the old materials of america. Why do people in this day and age have to go and change everything, and make everything better. Can’t we keep something aged, or must we change everything??

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:10:04 +0000

I hope that newspapers will continue to be delivered to MY front door, if that’s what I want. I enjoy the feeling of having the freedom that actual paper affords me and being able to cart it around with me. At best, I would be carting my laptop around, which is much heavier!

We NEED hard copies! WE NEED print publications!

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:53:22 +0000

There seems to be a lot of argument about why newspapers are declining in circulation. It seems clear to me that it all boils down to value. Is the item worth its cost? If it is, people will buy it. If it isn’t, they won’t. Newspapers are declining in circulation because they are declining in value.

For some, the actual content of the paper is not worth the cost. For others, the medium is slow and inflexible compared to other mediums. For still others, the rising cost and changes in frequency and quality of service are the issue. But this all comes down to the newspapers not being worth their cost.

What you must also realize is that when subscriptions go down, revenue goes down and therefore the organization has to cut something. As they make cuts, they eliminate features that were of value to some customers so the net value of the product goes down. That causes additional readers to cancel their subscriptions and the cycle continues.

In order to produce a quality paper, the organization needs a qualified and diverse staff. In order to support that kind of staff, they need wide readership so they can bring in subscription and advertising money. The papers discussed here have reached the point where they can no longer provide a reasonably valuable product for the revenue they are generating. Even with a loyal following, it won’t be enough to keep the machine running.

The traditional newspaper business model is failing because not enough people value the products they are producing to pay the price they’re asking. If newspapers want to stay in business, they are going to have to convince a lot of people that their product is valuable. It will be very difficult to do.

By: Calvin Kim

Calvin Kim — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:16:40 +0000

No way!
When the radio and TV came out, people said same thing. But newpapers endured and will endure.
After all, people couldn’t wrap fish with radios or TVs.
And you don’t want to wrap fish with computers.
Beside nothing can replace newspapers to clean your windows.

By: Blue Rose

Blue Rose — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:00:08 +0000

I hope not

By: Tony Ingalls

Tony Ingalls — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:31:15 +0000

This is no surprise. I canceled my paper years ago. The world of internet and 24 hour cable news has simply made reading about events after the fact all but pointless. Sure, there is always a place for an in depth review or story but we get information so quickly nowdays… who sits to read the news… I have to believe magazines like TIME and Newsweek are next. All a newspaper is today is a way for companies to get advertisments in to your home and then into a landfill.