How Newsrooms Can End Their Reliance on Print Revenue
Print revenue for both major and minor newsrooms has been steadily falling since the turn of the century, but this figure has sharply declined since 2010. According to the Pew Research Center, print advertising revenue for U.S. newspapers totaled $22.8 billion in 2010 but by 2019, that figure fell to $11 billion—a decline of 52 percent over the decade. Print circulation revenue for U.S. newspapers fell 19 percent, from $10.4 billion to $8.4 billion.
This sends a clear message to newsrooms: print media is no longer a reliable revenue stream. The advent of the so-called “digital age” is a major cause for this. Consider that newspapers' digital advertising revenue increased from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $14.3 billion in 2019, while digital circulation revenue grew from $200 million in 2010 to $1.1 billion in 2019. Unfortunately, these gains do not yet cover the losses incurred on print advertising and circulation revenue. How can newsrooms keep up their revenue streams while slowly letting go of the reliance on print media engendered by the last several hundred years of local news?
Plenty of newsrooms have embraced digital subscriptions. By charging readers for access to digital content, newspapers can generate revenue from their online readership. Some newspapers offer a "metered" model, where readers get a certain number of free articles per month before being asked to pay for access. Others offer a "freemium" model, where some content is free while premium content is behind a paywall. However, as noted above, this has yet to cover the revenue gap incurred by the decline in print media. By creating milestones and metrics of success however, this situation can improve easily. For example, if a newspaper sets a goal to acquire 2,000 new subscribers per month, they can begin to shift their business model to work toward this goal.
Some newsrooms have developed new revenue streams. Plenty of major publications have embraced podcasting and YouTube channels in order to diversify how they are getting their news out to consumers. The New York Times sells branded merchandise, like mugs and t-shirts, as well as separate subscriptions to its “games” pages, to diversify their revenue stream.
But not every newspaper is as well known or internally diverse as the New York Times and local newspapers are closing at a rate of two per week across the United States. Smaller newsrooms may need to find ways to advertise locally. Building strong relationships with local businesses and with local advertising agencies means smaller newspapers can greatly build their rate of exposure by releasing targeted digital ads to their community. Local news networks can and should form partnerships with other local media companies, such as local television or radio stations, and can form advertising agreements.
Finally, newspapers can invest in technology to improve their digital offerings. Local newspapers in particular can invest in simple steps forward, such as creating a mobile app (or a better mobile app, if one already exists) and implementing a learning algorithm for readers in order to suggest even more suitable content for them, and, hopefully, bring them into the subscriber base. Local newspapers can also invest in their customer service departments to make sure potential subscribers are getting quality service and ease the transition from print-only to digital media for current and lapsed subscribers. Providing frequent updates via a centralized source that customers can access regularly–such as a blog or a YouTube channel–can also ease this transition and take some of the pressure off of the customer service team on local newspapers.
The usage of print continues to decline worldwide, simply because the world is adjusting to the digital age. That gradual shift away from the tried-and-true methods of transmitting information from the past several centuries has been painful for newsrooms, but it shows no signs of slowing and it’s time to adapt. By making a concerted effort to shift over into more digital and diverse revenue streams, newsrooms can weather this difficult transition.
