Online Newspapers

[Harry Wilson]

I was asked by a friend for my views on online newspapers v printed news.
So I'de like to post my thoughts here for other members to read.

THE FIRST POINT BEFORE WE CONSIDER THIS TOPIC
What we need to do is look at today's 1-6 year olds, this may sound daft, but they will become our consumers of the future. This age group believe it or not are already becoming very technical aware, i.e. via computer games etc.They will also be the next computer generation so they will be more adapt at receiving their news , etc. online rather than through print.

I will briefly try and cover off some of the points raised and my initial thoughts regarding online v print.
I agree with the assumption that there will be a shift from printed to online news. As we are only too aware of the costs involved in production & distribution of printed news.
Online offers a cheaper and wider footprint, we are not restricted to conurbation areas, once online you are available to the world.
The biggest issue facing online newspapers is moneytising the online edition? however if you think about it what's the difference (apart from the display advertising revenues) from a free newspaper and a free online edition. Obviously you have paid for newspapers, but here again I believe in time looking at my initial point, why will the new consumers of the future want to pay 20-50p a day for a newspaper when the latest news is readily available online, as today everything is available online whether we like it or not.
The key issues being 'lower production costs v lower advertising revenues', it's a bit like 'the chicken and egg' scenario.
Although online can deliver an increase in audience, we need to be able to better moneytise those readers.
Research proves that online readers will only read 3.5 pages compared to the whole of a paid for newspaper.
What we must not forget is an online newspaper is a different channel of communication from a printed newspaper and that readers habits are different when reading or viewing the different mediums.
I believe once you get the online formula (edition) right the rest will follow ie readers and revenues. The most important thing you must get right with the online newspapers is Design and Content which are key to the long term success, also the way the news stories are delivered and written, it needs to be shorter sharper & concise (as we are now in the age of texting, also look at 'twitter' as an example) and to the point, as research has proven consumers will spend less time reading online in comparison with a printed newspaper. I believe we will also see a new style of reporting and article delivery from our younger emerging talent, ie the older way of reporting will change (We only need to look at new channels such as 'Facebook' as emerging social news channels, a different way of personal news updating).
In terms of online ad revenues we need to investigate new formulas, we know that banner ads do not always have the desired effect as research shows viewers are less and less likely to click on banner ads. So we need to build a new relatshionship with our online readers and build new lines of communications with them in order to drive revenues.
The question is can you make a profit out of lower revenues with online newspapers with lower overheads, I would say YES.
These are some of my initial thoughts.

Final point

WE MUST NOT IGNORE THE ONLINE OPPORTUNITY TODAY OR WE WILL LOSE TOMORROW.
www.webdesignerplus.co.uk

[Gordon Aymar]

I agree with the above. With many printed Newspapers on the verge of bankruptcy. The transition to an all new digital format will come quickly. The digital format will transition as long as the printed paper goes away. Currently many city's and town's have two options, The digital or traditional newspaper. The economics of this are just not viable long term. The critical part of an all new digital paper is the architechture. This needs to change to help highlight user content and reaction to articles which current newspapers are unable to deliver. As with social media there will be a two way dialogue with readers. Journalists will be trying more to engage consumers rather than writing one way content. You will see more polling and interactive vlogs and videos. You will see more products like the Kindle helping to transition to the the new digital look and feel. Advertising will only be one component of the new digital format. The user content coming back to the paper will be able to be monetized in some way similar to current polling and marketing information.

Those who embrace the new format will reap the rewards. Unfortunatley traditional media operations are slow to grasp the idea that their current model is dead. Well let's just say it is on life support. How much more money can you keep losing before you admit something is broken.

Put on your sun glasses because the future of digital newspapers will be bright!