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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Survival of Written Media Organizations

I'm not in the industry so maybe I'm speaking to the past, but from what I hear and read, it doesn't seem so.

Traditional newspaper organizations, large and small are dying from revenue thirst. Because most are local they can't generate enough advertising in their markets or online to be viable. They need to give up their print versions except perhaps as print-on-demand subscriptions for those who prefer their news to be physical.

Most, if not all, written media organizations are now part of empires such as Post Media. If I'm not mistaken each "paper" has its own website. This results in an empire's parts competing against each other. Instead, they should consolidate all their local organizations' content into one site. This would eliminate the duplication of general news while preserving local news. Resources could be concentrated on producing content rather than printing and distributing. Quick-read articles could link to the in-depth stories. A quick search or selection could put local readers into their local section with all content managed and contributed at the local level. This would enable easy access to the news important to those in  both neighboring and distant communities, former and possible residents, as well as the simply curious. A convenient way to get to know the world at the local level

Most importantly for the business, it would consolidate national eyeballs, increasing revenue while reducing cost. Then the news can be free and profitable, the business model of the Internet.

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