COMMENTARY: Are Newspapers A Thing Of The Past?

ECONOMY TOUGH ON BUSINESS

— WHAAAAT?

That was the general reaction in the newsroom upon learning the Times-Picayune, the venerable daily newspaper in New Orleans, will soon print a paper only three days a week.

This is not good news.

They will publish online the rest of the week, but if you want your news the other four days and you want it from the Times-Picayune, you better have access to a computer, tablet or smartphone.

Similar changes are being made at The Birmingham News, the Press-Register in Mobile and The Huntsville Times, all in Alabama.

The people in charge of all those newspapers say they are making the changes in order to make the operations more profitable. Will it work? Who can say?

Warren Buffett, the billionaire businessman who is generally considered darned savvy, has his doubts.

Buffett was asked for his opinion, and The Huffington Post quotes him, "It seems to me that three days a week is simply unsustainable over the longer term."

Huffington reported "Buffett said he's puzzled about why the economics of publishing the Times-Picayune seven days a week don't make sense, because he thought the newspaper had a high penetration rate in New Orleans -- a strongly defined community."

Far be it from me to argue with Buffett.

Aside from being a billionaire, he owns a few newspapers.

Huffington also reported Buffett told editors of his newspapers he believes newspapers will do well if they remain the primary source of information about their communities and charge for online news.

"It's your job to make your paper indispensable to anyone who cares about what is going on in your city or town," Huffington quoted Buffett.

We work hard at doing that every day around here. It is not an easy job.

So does that mean the owners of the Times-Picayune and those other newspapers are taking the easy way out?

Not necessarily.

Things have been tough on the newspaper business. The economic downturn hit us hard. Advertising revenue plummeted at the same time newsprint costs were soaring.

Publishers decided to shrink the page size of most newspapers to save money. Unfortunately, paper manufacturers, those crafty devils, just cranked up the price for smaller width paper.

Gasoline prices rose, meaning the cost of throwing the daily newspaper increased.

It is all a vicious cycle.

And there is the issue of the Internet and online news sources. It has been a steep learning curve for everyone involved. Some resources, initially, were offered to everyone. The problem was -- and it helped create the situation that exists today -- some organizations, like newspapers, had to pay for that content while it was showing up on the web for free.

Remember the old adage "Why buy the cow when the milk is free"? Well, it applies in this case, too. People could go to the Internet and get for free what they were having to pay for in a newspaper.

Of course that is not entirely true. You don't get much local news on the Internet and certainly don't get much in-depth reporting on local issues there. As for analysis, for the most part, it is all conservative or all liberal, and seldom do the twain meet.

Will paper newspapers cease to exist? Most certainly, at some point they will. Remember, it wasn't too long ago a newspaper was posted in a window and people gathered around to read it. Technology came along that made it cheaper and faster to print, and home delivery became reality.

Technology will also be the force that eliminates printed newspapers. The unfortunate thing is that, unless things change rapidly, technology won't be as affordable as a printed paper is to many people. And that, I believe, will be a major factor in New Orleans, which has a poorer population. Should they be unaware of the news simply because they don't have a computer or smartphone? I think not.

In the Big Easy, they are protesting the planned changes, including coordinating an effort to cancel subscriptions. While I understand why they are upset, canceling subscriptions is not the answer. It further impacts the bottom line and, like it or not, newspapers are a business and the bottom line rules.

There is no easy solution. Remember: Newspapers, no matter their form, are important. They inform, provide a forum and educate.

Without them, another Hitler could easily rule the world.

Leeanna Walker is local editor of the Rogers Morning News. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NWALeeanna.

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