It’s interesting to compare this story in The Australian last Thursday with this story at the website for The Sacramento Bee published on Sunday. While the story by John Lehmann in The Australian is upbeat and glosses over then impact of the Internet and disruption generally on newspapers, Dale Kasler’s piece at The Sacramento Bee is sobering and provides examples of how the economic model of newspapers has changed.
Newspapers reporting about the future of newspapers is a challenge. Overseas you’re more likely to see stories like those by Kasler, whereas here in Australia Lehmann’s approach is more common. I wonder if that’s publishers protecting each other or whether it is ignorance and fear.
The economic model for newspapers has changed. One only has to look at their investments in the last year in online businesses to understand the where publishers see the future. That is not to say that newspapers will die. Rather, they will morph from their current focus to a new model based more on analysis and opinion. This will bring a different type of advertiser. Stories like that from Lehmann perpetuate a spin which hides the real story.
I’d like to see Australian journalists report more completely on the impact of the Internet on newspapers. The better we understand the impact of change as being experienced in the US, and to a lesser extent Europe, the better we can manage and, indeed, embrace change here.
I own a newsagency with two retail outlets. I’m not concerned about the impact of the Internet on newspapers. This change presents an opportunity I’m ready to embrace.