Hard Times for the Daily Paper
September 12th, 2009
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Are the days of the big newspapers numbered? Jeff South (Virginia Commonwealth University) says the demand for news and information is higher than ever. In order to survive, newspapers need to change the business models of both their on-line presence and how they gather the news. And, if Mike Marshall’s Crozet Gazette is any indication, small town newspapers with a commitment to the community are thriving, even in a weak economy. Also featured: Theodore Dreiser’s 1912 novel, The Financier, tells the story of financiers who relied on insider trading and government bailouts to reap huge profits. Roark Mulligan (Christopher Newport University) says considering the state of the economy today, Dreiser could not have been more prophetic.
4 Responses to “Hard Times for the Daily Paper”
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
-
Tweets that mention Hard Times for the Daily Paper | With Good Reason Radio -- Topsy.com :
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Allie Pesch. Allie Pesch said: Listen to the @CrozetGazette on NPR next week. Details here http://bit.ly/41U5Oc [...]
-- September 10, 2009 @ 3:37 pm
The Virginia Association of Broadcasters in May honored With Good Reason with an award for "Best Documentary or Public Affairs Program" for the show
Great show! (Just like usual.) But this one hit really close to home, since I work for a newspaper/Web site. I learned an awful lot about the reluctance of advertisers to follow …
Oh, and “An American Tragedy” was one of my favorite books growing up, too.
Thanks for listening, Sonny. Do you want to talk more about your newspaper or website? What kind of advertisers did you have in print, and what was your specific experience when you tried to move to the website? Has it gotten better?
We’re still trying to figure out a lot of that, but our ad people are trying to be really innovative. They’ve taken a survey that shows how Sunday print readers want comics and coupons, stuff that isn’t that important on the Internet. It’s an ongoing learning experience.