The newspaper of tomorrow
Jinfo Blog

29th October 2009

By Udo Hohlfeld

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The newspaper of tomorrow - what will it look like? This is the question that the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) asked twelve technology companies earlier this year. The intention was to find out about software solutions that could help the struggling newspaper industry. All companies such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, YouData, MyWire or Haymaker responded in the course of the year and put up their solutions to the problem which fulfill the requirement of the NAA that they should be available within six to nine months. Via Webinars the NAA presents the solutions that were handed in. (http://digbig.com/5banhk - webinars for NAA members) The request of the NAA has substance! The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) reported that US newspaper circulation for the six months ending Sept. 30 dropped 10.6 percent (on weekdays) from the same period in 2008 (7.5 percent on Sundays). This is just the manifestation of a trend that started several years ago. The statistics for the three previous six-month reporting periods (again year over year) do not look better: — Oct. 1, 2008-Mar. 31, 2009: down 7.1 percent on weekdays, down 5.3% on Sundays — Apr. 1, 2008-Sept. 30, 2008: down 4.6 percent on weekdays, down 4.9 percent on Sunday — Oct. 1, 2007-Mar. 31, 2008: down 3.5 percent on weekdays, down 4.5 percent on Sundays Microsoft's statement was: "The future of (digital) media will be closely interrelated with the future of software, as digital media experiences are delivered through software." Actually, this is a very obvious answer from a software company, isn't it? Microsoft explains in its answer, how its solutions could be used to manage the convergence of current medias into a monetizable business for the newspaper industry. The company suggested that the newspaper business utilize all in all fifteen products in unison to make their business a prosperous reality again. Google's statement was: "Google believes that an open web benefits all users and publishers. However, "open" need not mean free. We believe that content on the Internet can thrive supported by multiple business models -- including content available only via subscription. While we believe that advertising will likely remain the main source of revenue for most news content, a paid model can serve as an important source of additional revenue." Also, I have the impression that this answer was actually predictable. Any other statement, would have destroyed my picture of the ad company. Nevertheless, Google is partially one of the reasons for the problems of the newspaper industry and it is very honorable to ask for solutions also from them. In my opinion, the solution to the problem is not alone a mix of software applications, but a to consider, evaluate and combine the interests of the consumers, the media and the advertising companies to find a future proofed business model for the newspaper industry. And then one can talk about software. Sources: U.S. newspaper circulation plunge accelerates - http://digbig.com/5banhh NAA request for information - http://digbig.com/5banhn Microsoft's answer to the NAA - http://digbig.com/5banhf Google's answer to the NAA - http://digbig.com/5banhj

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