The blog post below, from the Suburban Newspaper Association of America, unintentionally offers the perfect illustration of the illogical thinking of many publications in regards to pay walls on web sites. On one hand, the author, Deb Shaw, points out that newspapers are the primary initiators of local content and that other mediums, including citizen-written efforts and blogs are ill equipped to displace newspapers in this role. On the other hand, the author ominously quotes a survey showing that most Americans want their news for free and would search elsewhere for content if it was not given away free by publications.

Search where? If local newspapers are not writing it, readers can search all they want, it won't exist. I want a new car to be free but no matter how many auto dealers I go to the darn things still cost money. Besides, am I missing something, hasn't the last 10 years taught publications that the cost of creating content and distributing it free on websites outweighs the revenue that can be generated by online ads of any form? On some level it is supply and demand- online advertisers are buying traffic and there are so many online opportunities that supply online has far outstripped demand, thereby deflating ad rates and that will make it tough for originally produced free content to be paid for entirely by paid advertising anytime in the near future. 

If you disagree with me and want to read more of the "give-it-away-free-because-someday-traffic-will-result-in-revenue" philosophy go to the SNA's website, here.

Weathering The Perfect Storm

In this excerpt from an article on Google Wave by the Newspaper Association of America, the NAA gives us just another example of how the organization continues to misunderstand how its members make the money they use to pay its dues. Google Wave does not offer any sustainable revenue stream for publications. If everyone would give away their content for free, a lot of people could come up with a cool way of displaying it too. But Wave does nothing for the publications who actually have to pay people to go out and write stories. Hard to believe that the NAA consistently misses this point, maybe they believe, as Google does, that as long as your motto says you intend to do no harm, it is ok to wrip off print publications.

Here is what they said. Full story here, if you have the stomach to read it.

As Google Wave ends its first year of existence, we have learned two things:

First, there’s no shortage of critics who are happy to argue that the Google product, which combines threaded conversations with collaborative document editing and a host of embedded interactive gadgets, may be a technology searching for a purpose.

Second, the term “beta” applied to a Google product means just that for a change—until a recent round of bug fixes, the service slowed to a crawl or crashed as soon as the number of visitors participating in a “wave” reached the kind of critical mass a media site would draw.

Does that mean newspapers should wait to begin experimenting with Wave? Not at all – especially given its potential to shape conversations both within and beyond news organizations, argue early industry dabblers in the technology.

“Think about how many newsrooms would have killed to be on top of a social media tool like Twitter four years ago, before it became as popular,” says Chris Taylor, online editor of TBO.com, who oversees converged Web operations for The Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV. “We want to make sure our newsroom is familiar with Wave so if it becomes the next great tool for media consumption, we know how to be there for our audience.”

The Newspaper Association of America can usually be counted on to put the best spin on the difficult situation facing publications. Here is the latest:

"As a researcher, I can share with you what the numbers show about the newspaper business. Scarborough Research has tracked the audiences of newspapers for more than 35 year. Our 2009 measurements indicate that, in contrast to stereotypes or misconceptions, readership of newspapers, while declining, is still relatively strong and part of our routine and culture. According to our latest newspaper ratings:

·74% of adults read a paper in print or online during the past week. Newspaper readership in some markets reach upwards of 90%.

·19% visited a newspaper website during the past week.

·70% of American adults (18+) read a printed newspaper during an average week.

While the numbers speak for themselves, I understand why readership may be in question. Media has spent more than a decade incorporating online platforms into our strategies. Hear the word "newspaper" and we think exclusively of paper and ink editions. But the reality is that newspapers have become more than the traditional printed copy. Scarborough data demonstrates that newspapers are successfully extending their audiences online, providing a 4% "lift" in readership to their print companions."

Full Story from Marketing Charts here

"For the second quarter of 2009, total newspaper ad sales fell 29% to $6.8 billion, down from $9.6 billion last year, according to Q2 figures released by the Newspaper Association of America. 

As  evidence of the continued toll the recession is taking on the industry, online ad sales were significantly affected again this quarter, slipping 16% to $653 million. Online newspaper advertising declined 1.8% in all of 2008, but tumbled more than 13% in Q109.

Print Takes Hardest Hit

Total print advertising totaled $6.2 billion, a decline of 30% over the same period last year. Within the print category, national ads fell nearly 30%, while retail ads fell nearly 25%.

Classifieds ads took the biggest hit within the print category, falling a total of 40%. Job recruitment classifed ads declined 66%, the worst slide of any classified category. Automotive classifieds fell 43%, while real estate classifieds fell 46% for the quarter, the NAA said.

Newspaper ad losses have grown worse in each of the last 12 quarters, experiencing the worst declines in newspaper history, reports Media Buyer Planner.

For the first half, ad revenue fell 29%, to $13.4 billion. Ad revenue fell 28% in the first quarter.

The numbers, give perspective to what John Sturm, chief executive of the association, calls “a terrible stretch of bad road,” writes Mediaweek."

This survey shows some very positive numbers for response from newspaper advertising. Most of the vital stats are below. As we have said before, surveys showing that newspaper advertising works are pretty common. What is not common is the ability to show advertisers that it is working for them. At Mediabids.com, we do this by incorporating unique 800#s into many of the ads we place. This allows us to show the thousands of advertisers who use our website to buy print ads exactly how many responses (at least by phone) they have received. It isn't hard and much of the time the results we show validate the findings of surveys like this (this one from printinthemix.edu), which in the absense of hard data, can seem too good to be true:

July 15, 2009 -- Newspaper advertising remains the leading advertising medium cited by consumers in planning, shopping and making purchasing decisions, according to early data from a MORI Research survey of more than 3,000 adults, conducted on behalf of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).

This study, part of a series entitled “American Consumer Insights,” examined the impact newspaper advertising has on consumer shopping and spending patterns. Early results indicate:

• Nearly six in 10 adults (59%) identify newspapers as the medium they use to help plan shopping or make purchase decisions
• 82 % of those surveyed said they “took action” as a result of newspaper advertising, including:
  • Clipping a coupon (61%)
  • Buying something (50%)
  • Visiting websites to learn more (33%)
  • Trying something for the first time (27%)
• 73% of adults say they regularly or occasionally read newspaper inserts
• 82% have been spurred to action by a newspaper insert in the past month.

Late this afternoon I opened the latest "Growing Audience" alert from the Newspaper Association of America. I got excited when I saw the title to a posting on the NAA blog: "E-alert: Innovation Highlights from the Poynter McCormick Big Ideas Conference"

Any time there is something that mentions newspapers, magazines and a big idea, I have high hopes. Here at Mediabids, we believe that the time is perfect for big ideas which address some of the difficulties being faced by newspapers and magazines around the country. We constantly speak to publications and advertisers about our big idea - how to sell more print ads using an online marketplace -  so we are big idea people. We embrace big ideas.

I suppose calling a conference the "Poynter McCormick somewhat interesting and marginally relevant idea conference" isn't really that compelling but it would have been more accurate.

There are a few clever ideas but I expected more (a lot more) given the current state of the print industry and the projections for the future.

Here are a few of the allegedly "big ideas:"

7 to 7 Breaking News Blog -- The Providence Journal hosts a breaking news blog Monday through Friday with ads and creates a blog stylebook, best practices for linking, and a sets protocol for fast breaking news.

Reader Interactivity in Exactly Six Words -- The Times Union asked readers to submit what they thought was best about their region in exactly six words.

Today in Brevard -- Florida Today created a half-hour, live streamed daily newscast broadcast on floridatoday.com.

Buzz Style -- The Sun/Inland Valley Daily Tribune creates a no-nonsense news presentation for need-to-know news consumers.

Monday, Monday* -- How the Anniston Star set about to create a more lively Monday paper, jumpStart, and the lessons learned along the way.

Here is the only one I could find that had anything to do with sales:

Sales Force of the Future -- Morris Communications is mobilizing around strategic innovation with one focus around creating a best-in-class multimedia sales force.

This can't be the sum total of big ideas in the print industry, can it? Maybe it is just because we are focused on sales but isn't that what matters most right now? Wouldn't you think that innovative approaches to selling print inventory would be the most important thing to all the smart people in the print industry who were at this conference? I was disappointed at the almost complete lack of attention to the revenue stream. Isn't that what an organization like the NAA should be most worried about right now? Do you think that at some point one of the attendees at this conference said to another attendee: "these sure are some neat ideas, hope we can stay in business long enough to try them out."

Here are a couple good (non-revenue generating) ideas: 

The Reporter's Notebook* -- The Twin Cities Daily Planet encourages the audience to participate in the news gathering process by posting upcoming story outlines to their online Reporter's Notebook inciting readers to comment, upload documents and contribute to the process before publishing.

Curate Your Community -- The St.Louis Post-Dispatch created more than 300 microlocal news sites.