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The Impact of the Internet on Newspapers

The development of online communication has led to important transformations at an organisational level, the creation of a specific language and a new multimedia environment. The internet has involved changes in access, production and circulation of information. All of these imply the arrival of new challenges and opportunities that businesses will have to face very soon One of the sectors which has been most affected is journalism and specifically the newspaper business. The advantages of digital media and the internet have brought about a revolution in journalism. The use of these new systems is distinguished by the speed with which news reaches the reader, the low cost of distributing information and the opportunity to establish more direct contact and interaction with users, who have came to play an important role in the design of journalistic offerings. The duality of the news media in both physical and digital environments is generating a growing interest in both academic and professional circles. This clear duality of the available supply of news has led to major fears by news providers of the possibility of a cannibalistic effect between the two mediums. The impact of the internet on newspapers has been a widely debated issue. The way news is transmitted, shared, read have all been affected. The new newspaper industry will be a combination of print, online, wireless, mobile and niche products and will dig deeper into our communities than we have ever dug before. At the onset of the digital age, many forecast the death of the printed medium, especially for consumables such as newspapers. The physical newspaper is a thing of the past. Publishers of big news agencies such as the Star and the Globe and Mail realize that the printed form of the newspaper will be deemed unnecessary within the next few decades. If these industries want to maintain their image of "big-name" Newspaper agencies, they will have to do so through alternative forms.

The internet has had many positive effects on newspapers agencies. Newspaper companies have set up sites which now provide additional news to what is available through their newspaper. News on the internet can be updated round the clock so that readers can have the most up-to-date news anytime of the day or night. The type of news is customized to the needs and preference of individual readers. Readers can also be alerted through e-mail, or other devices of any news of their interest. Generally there are convenient links to additional information related to a news item. The internet has also made it possible for readers to share any interesting news quickly and conveniently. In addition, the internet has made it possible for videos to be posted with news stories. The internet has made news available to people around the world without additional variable costs. News providers can get detailed data on the popularity of news items - which helps these companies understand what information to put on their websites.

In the current climate of layoffs, buyouts and regional centralization of newspaper editorial staff functions, it is difficult to predict newspaper staffing for the future or even whether that future includes print. Some newspapers will not make it through this cycle. Some companies are shrinking the size of their newspapers, or creating a longer time-lapse between papers. Many scholars believe that the time of the educated journalist is behind us, as the internet can make experts of anyone on any given topic. With the increase in popularity of blogs and social networking websites such as facebook and twitter everyday people are connected in a high-speed transfer of information, cutting out the newspaper. Financially the Newspapers have taken a hit because newspaper industries are expected to give out the news for free. Another financial disadvantage that the internet has lead to has been the replacement of classifieds with the creation of free classifieds websites such as Craigslist and Kijiji.

If the newspaper industry is to survive, it will become their responsibility to figure out how to combine the familiarity of a newspaper format with the currency and technology of digital news.

The Future of the Newspaper Industry

These days, it's easy to find reports about layoffs, shrinking newspaper sizes, plummeting revenue and the likes. It's all happening, goes the street logic, because the Internet and cellphone technology have forever changed information dissemination. People in their teens and 20s and 30s and others are much more likely to learn what's going on - at least in their specific fields of interest via a laptop or on a handheld device, the latter also making irrelevant for these groups telephone landlines, watches and appointment calendars. The younger generations do not want to pick up the physical newspaper, they want easy access to their news, and only look for news that interests them. If big news agencies do not find alternatives to the physical form they will find themselves irrelevant. This has lead to the rise of the new "news reporter".

Today's news reporter is likely to deliver the same story different ways: for print, broadcast and online audiences. Over the past decade it has become obvious to newspaper corporations that the new media form is going to be an integral part of their trade. This is reflected in the Universities and Colleges as new programs for journalism are arising. Many are seeking to hire faculty members who can teach new media, multimedia and online journalism and are restructuring curricula with an eye to providing multiple-platform training. These types of innovations are based on a belief that present-day newspapers and other news organizations are already heavily into producing cross-platform work and an expectation that the future will necessarily require cross-platform-trained journalists.

The impact of the Web has been mixed, reflecting both increasing and decreasing specialization. Many newspapers created separate online departments staffed by specialists with titles such as "online producer" and "online editor." Initially, some of these departments were set up outside the print newsroom, in a different building or even in a different part of town, and many reported to another division of the company. However, recent developments have shown a growing effort to integrate online work into the daily activities of the print newsroom. This is both in terms of physical layout and organizational structure and in a broadening of the work many print journalists now perform

The Effect of the Internet on News

The Internet has made a profound impact on our entire Western Society. The average citizen is forced to come into contact with the internet multiple times throughout their day. Whether it be for work, school, or leisure the internet has become an integral part of everyday life. The mission of newspaper companies will for the most part, be determined by the consumers who will decide what they want to receive as their daily news and how they want to receive it. Digital news and newspapers are among the services most avidly sought by internet users . According to Nielsen (2003) and AIMC (2006) news sites and digital newspapers are among the most widely demanded and visited web sites among internet users. Kaye and Johnson (2004) affirm that the main aim of users accessing the internet is to read breaking news and search for up-to-the minute information (83.7 percent). Data provided by Harris Interactive (2006) show that 80 per cent of US internet users read news online, preferring the websites of digital newspapers in 45 per cent of cases. Moreover, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2000) affirmed that one in three Americans visited online newspapers, and anticipated sharp growth in the number of users consulting current news items on these sites.

There is no doubt that online competition has forced big changes to the newspaper industry. Over the past decade, the Internet has transformed the news cycle. By the time tomorrow's newspaper arrives on the doorstep, its content is at least eight hours old. Everything in it, except for the ads, has likely already appeared online. Many print reporters today write breaking news for the Web before they write for print, and they also write staff blogs. Some reporters, photographers and editors now work with audio and video, and they assist in providing other features of the online report. The number of newspaper web sites that use video has grown steadily in the last several years, according to several studies. Huang used content analysis to study the use of rich media -- video, audio and animation -- and, reported that 42 percent of the top 100 newspaper Web sites displayed news video in late 2005. Most of those newspapers relied on AP video feeds rather than produce their own video.

It is clear that there is a growing effort to integrate the print and online staffs, to "leverage" the much greater resources of print to improve the online publication. The economic pressures caused by loss of advertising revenue and circulation declines have led to pressures to do more with less. The rhetoric about the extent of cross-platform journalism (mojos or mobile journalists, one-man bands, information centers and platform agnosticism) certainly is changing in newspapers. But, does the reality match the rhetoric? Or is something mythic at work?

An example of at least one company trying to bridge the gap between the physical newspaper and the technology of digital news is NewspaperDirect, a company out of Richmond, BC . When NewspaperDirect was started in 1999, its main goal was to provide newspapers for travelers in the form of print-on-demand. Hotels, airlines and cruise lines can reproduce newspapers, all through the internet and a laser printer. This first step bridges the gap of accessibility that the internet offers, especially to travelers wishing to keep up with the news at home, in a format that is similar to the newspaper. As internet technology continued to gain acceptance, NewspaperDirect founder and CEO Alex Kroogman saw the need to provide an online service for news, to further adopt the advantages of digital type. Hyperlinks and search abilities are the two key advantages the digital version holds above the traditional printed one. Why flip through a newspaper when a hyperlink can bring you to that page? Why dig through a mountain of papers to find that story when a few keystrokes can do the same job? In 2003, Kroogman launched PressDisplay, which offers online viewing of print paper replicas. Digitally archiving newspaper content is hardly a new process. Many newspapers do their own archiving online. In order to save space, however, formatting, layout and even pictures are discarded. Advertising in particular, is usually discarded. NewspaperDirect's version retains all the formatting and content. Its automated system creates a "SmartEdition" in about 20 minutes, where as competing systems require a manual element to the process. This edge allows the company to offer the 300 titles as soon as or before papers hit the streets."In the case of SmartEdition products, they are a zero operation cost solution for the publisher: we do it on a revenue sharing basis with them," says Kroogman. As an added but substantial bonus, NewspaperDirect's electronic editions count toward the circulation of the newspaper, unlike a newspaper's content reproduced on the internet. This is a further added value to newspaper publishers when promoting its vehicle to potential advertisers.

Why would Newspapers Corporations want to Adopt Multimedia Formats?

The internet combines the three basic advantages of radio, the press and television. The digital medium presents the immediacy of radio, the wide-ranging and in-depth information offered by the press and the impact of images on television. All these aspects configure a complete journalistic offer.

Rising newsprint costs and increased pressures from other live news mediums have taken a huge hit on the coffers of newspapers. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have announced plans to slim down the size of its papers and move to a lighter stock respectively in response to skyrocketing pulp and paper costs.Internet technology is being embraced by a new generation of tech-sawy users who are turning their noses up at the newspaper, opting for a more up-to-the-second source. Editorial content can also be freed from page limitations. "Because space is infinite there will hopefully be more room for thoughtful pieces," said E Ink CEO Russ Wilcox in a Washington Post online discussion. "Longer pieces, the kind that a journalist wishes he or she could do but doesn't have the space. Why not? If a reader wants to read eight pages about bridges in Italy, why not?" There is also pressure from advertisers. The effectiveness of advertising in newspapers is hit and miss rather than an exact science. Much like advertising on television and radio, advertising in newspapers offers limited targeting opportunities for any specific demographic. It is also difficult to judge the effectiveness of a newspaper advertising campaign, for you do not know exactly how many people see the ad and how many people take action.

These advantages have boosted the supply of digital news in both quantitative and qualitative terms, resulting in a proliferation of increasingly specialised electronic journals. Indeed, there are currently over 4,200 digital newspapers worldwide. All of these journalistic firms have contributed to definitively implementing virtual business as a real communication medium.

Negative Effects of the Internet on the Newspaper Industry

Newspapers are expected to supply their content for free on the Web. There is also the blog terror: people are getting their understanding of the world from random lunatics riffing in their underwear, rather than professional journalists with standards and passports. An industry group, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, published figures showing that, for the first time, Internet advertising in the US had overtaken newspaper advertising. The report, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers Llp, said that total Web advertising in 2010 amounted to $26 billion. The miserable newspaper industry amassed $22.8 billion There are further causes for concern in the report. The top 10 online ad companies accounted for three-fourths of all business in the last quarter of 2010. Companies such as Google wield tremendous influence. Existing newspapers cannot compete for this lion's share of the business that depends on high technology. Instead they will not only have to rethink the relevance of their print business, but also how to leverage content on the Web into revenue. The New York Times launched a paywall on 28 March and some estimates say that online readership has dropped by 20%.

The Internet's compression of the news cycle is only one of the changes placing economic pressure on newspapers and newsweek I ics. The Internet has also fostered new business models, such as Monster.com, eBay and Google, that have siphoned advertising dollars away from newspapers, particularly in the classified section.Several newspaper companies, including our parent company, Tribune, and the publishers of the papers in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and the Chicago Sun-Times, have filed for Chapter 11 protection from their creditors. The Hearst chain shut down its Seattle paper and Scripps Howard closed Denver's Rocky Mountain News after 150 years. Other well-known dailies are reportedly losing money.

But to put things in historical perspective, most newspapers are still considerably larger than they were during the days when they were the only news game in town, 80 years ago.Most daily newspapers, including our own, still are profitable on an operating basis. Yes, we're making a lot less than we did last year, but that's the product of a temporary recession that has hurt our major advertisers, including car dealers and real-estate brokers. Declining newspaper circulation numbers can also be misleading, because they don't show that most newspapers have actually grown their audience, in print and online. Much of the circulation that newspapers have shed came from highly discounted sales to people who really didn't engage with the newspaper, and probably were not the best prospects for our advertisers, either.

Closing Thoughts

if companies in the press sector are aware of consumers’ perceptions, as well as the influence of the motivations for reading newspapers over their perceived substitutability of the two mediums, this could enable publishers to progress with the differentiation of the services offered via the two media and achieve a better fit with reader preferences. In fact, the main aspects that justify digital newspaper reading should be considered by management personnel in this type of news medium, in order to reach its potential in use. Journalistic firms could find a new source for its development by taking advantage of the internet possibilities. Readers would perceive these services as complementary products meeting the same generic need, but with varying objectives and features for use. Specifically, reading the printed version of a newspaper may be more relaxing for the eyesight than reading the digital version, and the former method may be preferred when the reader has more time available, or is interested in reading a major part of the newspaper’s content. Alternatively, reading a digital version may be preferred, if what the reader is looking for is a brief overview of the day’s news; if the individual is looking for the latest update of a news item which has not been published in the printed version; or if what is wanted are one or two specific items of information. Some newspaper companies are currently not taking full advantage of the possibilities offered to them by the internet. If the aspects analysed were improved on, online newspapers would offer clear advantages for readers when searching for information or updated news, as opposed to the traditional printed media. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that although initially the internet was simply considered as a new medium for distributing a limited version of the printed newspaper, more and more publishers are bearing in mind the new opportunities which this medium offers and are developing more specific products which differ from the printed versions.