Anyone concerned about the survival of newspapers should read Rick Edmonds' testimony to the Federal Trade Commission.
Edmonds, the Poynter Institute's business analyst, spoke Tuesday as part of the FTC's workshop on the future of journalism. And while speeches from Rupert Murdoch and Arianna Huffington may have gotten more media attention, no one summarized the challenges facing print journalism as succinctly.
Here are some of Edmonds' main points:
- Widespread newsroom layoffs have already diminished coverage, particularly in areas such as science, arts and suburban news. Websites meant to pick up the slack have filled only part of the void.
- More layoffs are coming, but the more papers cut staff, the less content they have to offer their readers, who can go elsewhere for news.
- Many newspaper companies, particularly those that own large metro papers, are burdened by debt and being bought out by private equity firms with zero news experience. Whether such firms will be good stewards of the papers they purchase is anybody's guess.
But the news isn't all bad. Edmonds outlines some positive developments:
- Newspapers are successfully raising their newsstand prices, making them less reliant on advertising revenue, which plunged during the recession.
- Ad revenue should rise as the economy gains strength. How much is unclear.
- Charging for online content may provide a new source of revenue.
Edmonds paints a gloomy but not despairing picture of the print journalism landscape. Newspapers will probably never regain the dominance they once enjoyed, but going forward he says they should retain a critical role in an ever-more diverse media environment.
Let's hope he's right.
Photo by Tony Rogers
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