The news industry has had a rough decade. Print media readership is steadily declining, newspapers are closing, and journalists with decades of experience are being laid off.

In response, major newspapers have made considerable changes. They’re attempting to combat diminishing reader interest by shortening stories, adding commentary, and most notably, using social media to their advantage.

With the meteoric rise of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, many people have claimed that we are entering a new age in which news must be delivered in 140 characters or fewer. It seems as if the golden age of Woodward and Bernstein, Edward R. Murrow, and Walter Cronkite is long gone.

This, however, is an unfair assessment. In this new age of technology, newspapers aren’t sure of how best to respond to many of the challenges they face today. By experimenting with different methods of keeping readers interested, the news industry is working tirelessly to keep journalism alive.

Combating Decline

“Thinking about the way people use the digital space [and] thinking about the way content functions in the digital space has been a challenge for the news industry because that’s not what they’re grounded in,” said Amy Mitchell, director of journalism research for the Pew Research Center in an interview with the HPR.

Because they receive the majority of their profits from ads and subscriptions, some of the most distinguished newspapers have found themselves strapped for cash. In 2013, total revenue within the newspaper industry decreased by 2.6 percent, representing over a billion dollars in lost funds. As a result, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today have all experienced major losses, with each of the papers cutting anywhere from 20 to 100 newsroom jobs within the past five months. Often some of the most experienced reporters are the first to be laid off because they have the highest salaries.

Scott Bowles had been working for USA Today for 17 years when he found out that he was being laid off.

“My father who was a long time reporter and the reason I became a reporter [had] died, so I flew to Atlanta and I initiated his memorial. The layoff came two days after,” Bowles said in an interview with the HPR. “It wasn’t intentional. Its just the cold climate journalism has become. It’s the grim reality of the business.”

From 2006 to 2012, the number of working journalists in the United States decreased by 17,000, according to the Pew Research Center. This trend seems to be continuing; USA Today’s parent company, Gannet, laid off more than 200 staffers in August. Gannett has also instituted pay walls—an attempt to gain revenue by preventing Internet users from accessing content without a paid subscription. Despite these efforts, print media revenues have continued to decline.

“There was no reason given other than they had to continue to cut costs in house, Bowles said. “You pretty much knew your age and your salary were working against you.

USA Today continues to hire but who they are hiring tends to be people right out of school, people who know social media.”

Revisiting the Role of Technology

Many newspapers have also been revising content in order to target a more specific—and generally younger—audience. The prevalent assumption has been that the general population wants their news delivered in bite sized packages and given the larger lack of editorial resources, the Associated Press, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal have all explicitly told their reporters to write shorter stories within the past year and a half.

“We were told to make stories shorter [and] pay attention to what is hot on social media,” Bowles said. “We were writing about Justin Bieber in a way we never were before. We were covering things that only kids cared about and that was now driving news.”

News organizations have repeatedly dictated that the future of journalism is bleak. They attribute this to the continual dumbing down stories in order to interest a population with an ever-shrinking attention span. But in reality, the demand for in depth reporting remains the same. The only change is that innovation is the key for newspapers to remain relevant in today’s technologically savvy world. Though different audiences may have different preferences, the demand for in depth reporting remains the same.

“People are also reading longer stories particularly with the development of the tablet. While there is a lot [of content] in mobile and social that is short there is also a place there for longer kinds of news reporting. Whether it is read on the tablet [or through] a link they share in social media, that kind of news can exist and have an audience as well,” Mitchell said.

The Washington Post

On Aug. 5, 2013, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post, an act that shook the newspaper industry. He had no experience in journalism and many questioned his motives for acquiring one of the largest newspapers in the country. It was later revealed that Bezos was approached by the paper’s former chairman, Don Graham.

“Don, through an intermediary, approached me and said, ‘Would you be interested in buying The Washington Post?’ I was very surprised,” Bezos said in an interview on 60 Minutes. “My first question was, ‘Why would I even be a logical buyer? I don’t know anything about the news business.’ Don thought that because the newspaper business is being so disrupted by the Internet, someone who had a lot of Internet knowledge and technology knowledge could actually be helpful.”

It was clear that the traditional newspaper business model, which relied heavily upon advertisements, was no longer going to garner much revenue. Businesses are unlikely to buy print media advertisements because print media readership has been declining so rapidly. Thus, a new digital focus seems to be the only option. A contributor for Foreign Policy, Gopal Ratnam believes that Bezos’ purchase is part of a larger trend they believe potentially could save the newspaper industry.

“The individuals buying media companies is something that’s yet to show that it will be stable enough. I think people like Jeff Bezos are trying to bring that [business] perspective,” Ratnam said. “He’s trying to make The Washington Post more digital and hopefully try to get more people reading online and reading through different applications There are so many who are trying various ways in which they can attract revenue. That model still has to play out.”

Perhaps some of the most interesting changes within The Washington Post under Jeff Bezos has been the new focus on its website. His first major move as CEO was to offer free online access The Washington Post to subscribers of some local newspapers such as The Dallas Morning News, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Furthermore, in a testament to its new dedication to digital success, The Washington Post launched a design and development office called WPNYC in order to best address some of the problems the paper had with article “viewability.”

“If you can marry that [technological vantage point] with the journalistic vantage point, that’s where the new kind of innovation and experimentation may come about and succeed,” Mitchell said.

Reporters’ reactions to Bezos’ purchase were mixed. Graham’s extreme popularity in the newsroom made many journalists wary of the changes that Bezos would bring. Several stated that they were floored by the announcement and were worried about the methods by which Bezos would run the paper.

“I think people are excited about it, but [we’ve gone through] this never-ending change,” reporter, Michelle Boorstein said in an interview with Mashable, “It hasn’t been nearly as demoralizing as other papers, but it has been uncertain.”

Looking Forward

Times are changing and newspapers must quickly realize that the methods they employed in the past may be obsolete today. Innovation in the news industry will involve changing not only the traditional journalism model, but also incorporating changes into its business, technology, and marketing sectors as well. In the upcoming decade, flexibility and a willingness to experiment with new methods, will likely be the factors that determine whether a newspaper survives or falters.

This article comes from harvardpolitics edit released

The conventional wisdom is that everything print media is dead, but plenty of people didn’t get the memo.

Did you know that advertising campaigns combining printed direct mail collateral with internet advertising achieve up to a 25% higher response rate than an internet-only campaign? If your publication spans both print media and web, you can draw on the strengths of both, using, for example, print media advertising to drive traffic to your site’s custom job board or sponsored long-form web journalism.

Print Media has some characteristics that the web simply cannot match, and though print media ad revenues are down, print media may be in the process of recreating itself as a relevant, lucrative industry. Here are 5 advantages that print media advertising has, even in the era of online everything.

1. Print Media Has Gravitas

Sure, being interviewed for a major newspaper or magazine’s website is a big deal, but it’s an even bigger deal for that interview to appear in print media
. Print Media – whether promotional or editorial in nature – has a tangibility that the web doesn’t. On a more personal scale, marrying the solidity of print media to the convenience of the web strengthens both media. A reader may clip out the print media photo of her daughter hitting a homerun in a state tournament to frame or stick on the refrigerator, and then share the online version with all her social media contacts. Everyone benefits.

2. “Influentials” Are Swayed by Print Media

According to AS Advertising, the MRI Survey of the American Consumer found that so-called “influentials,” who sway other consumers, are influenced by print media, with 61% reporting being influenced by magazines and 53% being influenced by newspapers. Magazine giant Condé Nast has found other encouraging numbers for print media, specifically that fashion and beauty magazines now attract around 50% more young (18- to 24-year-old) readers than in 2001. Men’s magazines, particularly “lad mags” like Maxim and fitness publications like Men’s Health, have gained readership among 18- to 24-year-olds too.

3. Print Media Readers Are Focused

Aside from brewing a pot of coffee, not that much multitasking goes on during newspaper or magazine reading.

Aside from brewing a pot of coffee, not that much multitasking goes on during newspaper or magazine reading.

This only makes sense. If you’re browsing the web with six tabs open and the television on in the background, you may not be that receptive to all the advertising going on around you. But if you’re reading a newspaper or magazine, you’re generally focused on just that. Folio Magazine reports that a Ball State University study showed that when magazines are used by consumers, they are the primary or exclusive medium 85% of the time. In other words, most of the time someone is reading a magazine, they’re not multitasking.

4. Sometimes Unplugging Is Very Appealing

We’re creatures of our tech-saturated times, and that’s not going to change. However, people are starting to see the value of unplugging occasionally. New York Times bestselling author Baratunde Thurston unplugged for 25 days and chronicled his experience for Fast Company. Most people won’t unplug for that long, but people are seeing the value in occasionally untethering themselves from their devices and the web, and print media is there to engage people during these times.

5. Print Media Offers Ad Buyers Flexibility and More Personal Attention

If you’re advertising a new electronic gadget in print media, you can arrange to have your ad appear in a newspaper or magazine’s technology section. If your regional paper puts out targeted sections for certain cities or neighborhoods, you can advertise your new café in the appropriate one. Furthermore, with print media, you can tailor the ad to your budget, with quarter-page, half-page, or full-page ads. And when you work with newspapers, you have a better chance of actually speaking with someone who divvies up the print media real estate rather than leaving it up to an algorithm, so you can make your specific needs for ad placement known.

Bridging the Print Media-Web Gap

When print media and web advertising pull in the same direction, the results can be extremely effective. The use of QR codes, “text to like” codes, and other interactive features in print media advertisements opens up new feedback channels and helps bridge the print media-web divide. You can add shortened social media page URLs or offer free downloads in print media ads to encourage online follow-up as well. Encouraging advertisers to cross-pollinate between print media and web helps them, and it helps you.

Revenue development in the online era can no longer be staked solely on advertising. But a smart advertising strategy that includes print media and web advertising can be effective for advertisers and can ultimately assist other revenue streams, like sponsored content, subscriptions, and custom job boards.

This article comes from realmatch edit released

Print publishing offers a vital tactile experience. Folding page corners to earmark favorite articles, cutting out newspaper clippings, flipping from page to page. The problem is that once you’re tucked that important clipping away into a folder, you likely forget about it.

We love our glossy paper but our reality is digital media. So how can you keep your content alive and relevant? What factors do you need to think about as you decide how to invest in your magazine future? Let look at some considerations when deciding how to address the Print Media vs. Digital Media dilemma at your organization.

Print Media Pros

Yours forever. One thing is certain about glossy magazines and periodicals: They’re yours forever. Hoard them, share them, lend them, or borrow them. They’re subject only to the time limits you set.

Sensory experience. Studies show that we retain knowledge and experiences better through physical interaction. Thumbing through pages, writing notes, and highlighting passages are all central features we are still finding ways to replace in the digital media world. Miguel Cornejo, managing partner at Macuarium Network, adds, “Many users still appreciate the familiar format, especially if they can turn it into just one more channel of their content-consuming experience.

Easy to pay. We still buy on impulse in the real world. Whether at the supermarket, on the street, or while shopping, grabbing a print media magazine is a simple, low-commitment purchase when you抮e out and about.

Print Media Cons

Can’t keep up. The 24-hour news cycle turned into the 24-second news cycle with the rise of social media, making it impossible for even legendary print media publications to keep up with breaking news.

Readers now expect a full picture. Instant features, infographics, visuals, videos, and dispatches from the Twittersphere. Print media alone just can’t keep up.

Scaling is difficult. Publishing a print media magazine requires overhead, production, and material costs that digital media publishing obliterated. A print media publication is always limited to an audience of those who physically get their hands on it.

Limited feedback. When you publish a print media magazine, you’ll never really know what your readers think about it. Sure, some may write you back with comments, but the more telling information is in the details: How long did they spend reading that article? What features did they skip entirely? These details are not just nice to know they give you valuable information on what content resonates with your readers and where you are simply wasting resources. Without a digital media site, you will never know.

Digital Media Pros

Interactivity. New York Magazine didn’nt merely shift its print media content to its mobile app: it created a cool, value-added experience. As Apple Insider reports, “An article in one issue about former US Vice President Dick Cheney was merely a small sidebar in the print media edition. But the ability to enhance the content on the iPad with larger graphics and interactivity led to a full-page item in the digital media copy.

Social sharing and community. Users increasingly expect to interact with the content they consume. The goal is to draw visitors to your blog for the commenting community and entice them to stay for the articles. Your commenting system should give readers both platform and incentive to respond to and challenge both authors and one another. The result is a robust community of readers and contributors.

Ad-serving flexibility. When you enter the world of digital media publishing, you open the door to digital media advertising. Not only can you serve multiple ads in one advertising space, but also you can employ some of the latest advertising technology, too. Digital media advertising enables readers to engage with ads whether banner ads or more intensive sponsored content.

Digital Media Cons

Online plagiarism. Digital media publishers need to take additional steps to protect their written content, photos, videos, and other original works. Once the content goes online, you are open to the risk of others reproducing or altering your work with limited regulatory control.

Shorter attention spans. We’re heading into uncharted territory: Adult readers have shorter attention spans. Meanwhile, studies show school children today are able to resist distractions from work for about two minutes before checking their phones or newsfeeds. They understand and remember less, and they have greater difficulty transferring their learning to new contexts. Digital media has to work extra hard to keep its attention-deficit readers engaged.

Print Media vs. Digital Media: It Not “Whether It “How Much

When considering your publishing strategy, associations should first understand how members and other readers derive value from your content. For example, how does the iconic New Yorker magazine promote its digital media offering without alienating its print media subscribers? By offering them a lot more for just a little more. Readers can subscribe either for print media or digital media access at the same price ($59.99) or get the combo package with bonus access to its archives for just $10 more ($69.99). Rather than devalue its digital media subscription as other magazines do, the New Yorker asks its increasingly mobile readership: “Wouldn’nt you rather just have both?

However, what works for the New Yorker won’nt necessarily work for you. Your strategy may look different if your organization is a thought leader providing key reference materials versus a lean newsblog focused on high-volume publishing. In fact, introducing a niche print media magazine in today cutthroat digital media environment especially one like Modern Farmer, which is matte-printed on thick stock paper commands attention for its sense of gravitas and permanence.

Going digital media presents the challenge of turning your articles, information, and resources into a valuable standalone experience and to complement your print media counterpart (if you have one). Consider how to leverage your digital media strategy for new avenues of growth. The question is not “whether rather, it is what level of digital media investment you should make to maintain and grow your readership.

This article comes from AssociationMediaAndPublishing.org edit released

Putting the advertising media mix together

There’s no doubt that the world today is defined by information. Whether it’s news, opinions, interviews or advertising, written, spoken or in filmed, it’s information (and marketing content) that provides the direction and structure to our lives. Media determine our lives and we have become media ourselves. And magazines, newspapers, television, online, mobile and social media are all now vital components of any advertising campaign.

We distinguish between six different types of print media for brands: advertising in newspapers and magazines, use of direct mail, customer magazines, door drop and catalogues. These are the most important print channels to support brands.

With such a range of technology and (print) channels at a brand’s disposal, how can marketing, media and advertising professionals ensure that they’re getting maximum reach, exposure, ROI, connections and engagement for their marketing spend?

In short: what’s the most effective advertising media mix for product and services brands?

Print = the sensory media experience

Perhaps the most important benefit of print media is tangibility. Among the reasons why many people prefer print is to do with the feel of the paper, having it in their hands means that the content is real, it exists. Print media is unique in its capability to trigger a number of senses; of course the feeling of paper, the smell of the ink or of an added scent, paper can be eaten or even listened to (when a chip is added). Paper can change colour when heated or put in front of a light, an ad can feel rough as sand or smooth as silk, all adding to the sensory experience of the advertising. Triggering multiple senses will add to the effectiveness of print advertising. Martin Lindstrom, writer of Brand sense, says that when brands appeal to more than three senses, advertising effectiveness will increase with 70 per cent.

Whatever print channel, add print, add power

In many ways, print is the ideal marketing medium: it’s available in both large and small numbers, can be accessed easily, and is engaging, versatile and creative. 
Each of the six types of print media has their own unique quality and role in their readers’ lives.

For newspapers, they become part of their readers’ day as they educate and inform with credibility and trust, while consumer and customer magazines create engagement through entertaining content.

Direct mail uses its ability to gain access to people’s homes and lives to deliver a targeted sales message, while door drop have an enviable reach and ROI. Finally, catalogues provide inspiration for customers before leading them online to make the purchase. On their own, each channel fulfills a vital marketing role. When combined with other media, they are a highly effective force for any campaign, for any brand.

Creating engagement

The key to successful marketing is engagement, drawing your customer in through attention-grabbing content before rewarding them with a worthwhile offer or service. Print media are a trusted source for news and other information and consumers take time to read a door drop leaflet, magazine or customer magazine.

Print media offers a host of content areas: news, information, education, inspiration, special offers and entertainment, all of which generate engagement between the reader and the advertised brands. Indeed, advertisements are as much a part of the reading experience as the editorial content, with magazines and newspapers providing exactly the right context for a relevant brand campaign.

Digging deeper with print

Recent neurological research has identified differences in ways people process information presented in print and on screen. These studies have found that readers of print maintain their capacity to read longer articles since the reading situation doesn’t offer so many distractions. Readers have full attention for the content. This capacity – called deep reading – also cultivates deep thinking. The lack of distractions when reading print allows the reader to get to the moment when he is fully engrossed in a substantial article in a newspaper or magazine. Deep reading also has to do with the ‘topology’ of articles; readers use the structure of an article, pictures, headlines and subtitles to navigate through the content. This structure helps them to more easily return to certain parts and remember the content better.

Integrating paper and pixels

Consumers lives are increasingly online. Social media describe what they do, Google will help them to find whatever they need, YouTube to watch the newest videos and sites such as Amazon to buy the products on their wish list. Paper is now an ideal way to get readers online to, for example, the advertisers website or Facebook page. With QR codes, Augmented Reality, Near Field Communication or digital imprints, readers can have immediate access to the most appropriate online page. These technologies form a bridge between print media and a brand’s online presence, inviting consumer reaction, feedback and purchase, all via a smartphone, tablet or PC. Such technologies increase the effectiveness of print media, as well as enhancing the consumer experience.

Talking to one or many

Print media exists in many forms: from mass media (hundreds to millions of copies) to one-to-one (the personalised version). In between, there are formats such as the personalised newspaper or magazine – titles that have content tailored to the specific reader.

Modern digital presses offer marketers, media and advertising professionals the ability to print entire publications based on the profile and needs of their consumers. Or even to integrate digital content in a mass produced magazine or newspaper. This personalisation adds to the effectiveness of the print medium as consumers prefer a tailor-made approach to the generic. Such flexibility and adaptability allows the marketer and brand owner to choose exactly the right print media for their brand.

Adding print increases the ROI

An effective marketing campaign works best when print is used with other media as one element of an integrated solution. Research has shown that adding print to the advertising media mix will increase the ROI of the overall campaign. Print media will not only add to the ROI, it will also enhance the ROI of TV or online in the mix. BrandScience analysis of 500+ European cases shows that, in case of FMCG, TV’s ROI increased with 61 per cent when used in combination with print advertising and the campaign ROI increased with 57 per cent with the combination of TV and print media.

This article comes from printpower edit released