The steady drumbeat of bad news for newspapers got a lot louder yesterday. The Yakima Herald-Republic was forced to lay off a handful of people yesterday, including a copy editor from the newsroom.
Until now, we’ve escaped the carnage which has swept through the newspaper industry decimating newsrooms, including photo departments. Most days bring news of more newspaper layoffs which have included friends and colleagues who worked at Northwest newspapers.
But losing one person in our newsroom brings home the stark reality of the dire straits of the newspaper industry.
The size of our newspaper, and that of most others, has shrunk (both the physical dimensions as well as the number of pages) as fewer ads are sold and the cost of newsprint goes up. Making the paper smaller is one way of saving money.
Having a smaller newspaper means more of our content is being put on line.
But that brings up another issue. Newspaper Web sites don’t generate the same amount of revenue as does the printed product.
It’s easy for others to ask “Why are you giving away news for free on your Web site?” and “You charge for the printed paper. Why don’t you charge for access to your Web site?” To quote a Southern colloquialism, “that dog won’t hunt.” Other newspapers, notably the New York Times, have tried to charge for access to their Web sites with little success.
Ironically, perhaps, the public’s appetite for news and imagery continues to grow. It’s just that that fewer people are willing to pay for their news and photography because they’re able get it for free on the Internet. So, until we all figure out how to make money on Web and until the economy picks up newspapers, including the Herald-Republic, will continue to face challenges.
Saturday July 31st 2010
