Impact of Technology on Newspapers

The advent of e-readers, smart phones and other technological devices has definitely brought in more challenges to printed newspapers. The current business model of magazines is broken and the direct evident cause is the reader. As more and more content moves online, the focus should be on increasing online advertising revenues and online subscriptions. This implies newspapers have to increase both traffic, i.e. the number of unique visits and page views.
This transition from offline to online has, however, increased the expectations of both the reader and the advertiser (who is the main source of funds for the print media). At the same time readers are unwilling to pay for news that is virtually free everywhere on the web. Advertisers, on the other hand, want to pay a fraction of what they paid earlier. The direct impact is generally seen with both revenues and readership numbers falling drastically.
However the business model is at threat and not the journalistic model. Essentially, newspapers have to look at new business models, including paid-for online access. The approach should be of innovation rather than defence. Of late, newspapers/magazines have begun to use more and more web tools, thus enhancing the experience they give to readers on the web. This has led to an overlap between printed and online versions of newspapers. Readers mainly access the web for latest news and weather reports. Thus, the Internet is not actually an immediate threat to printed newspapers. Modern marketers believe the Internet can present an opportunity for newspapers to go beyond their conventional product and offer faster news on varied areas using multi-media technologies.

We can conclude that getting readers online is not the actual problem today. Rather, the challenge lies in other, more specific areas:
• Increasing the amount of time readers spend on e-paper
• Ensuring regular visits
• Converting page views into revenue;
• Improving advertiser incentives for buying online advertisements

A paid model can be successful only if a magazine/paper has unique, rich and niche content. In such cases, newspapers/magazines might be able to attract readers to pay up. Newspapers needs to maintain its class and category leadership in offering news and analyses.

The following could help:
1. RSS Feeds:
An increasing number of people have begun to use web tools that enable them to read online content on their own terms. Newspapers that were reluctant to offer such features to their readers have avoided a loss in page views by only offering partial text feeds which enable readers to view headlines but not full articles.
2. Blogs
Blogs go beyond the conventional limits imposed on journalists. They involve readers and discuss topics not covered elsewhere, thus encouraging discussion of extraordinary issues, and in turn also increasing page views and site traffic.
3. Audio & Video
Audio and video are two features which go beyond the newspapers’ core platforms. This can be a superb medium which combines features of television with the power of the print.
4. Mobile
Delivering breaking news via mobile at regular frequencies could be another potential model to earn revenues. Of course this will be more of a volume game. Even advertisers can be roped in to pay for the news items. Sending mobile alerts to readers can be a good way to start. This will not only add value to the subscriptions but also increase page impressions. Local news can be a big hit if provided on time. This will also bring in good revenues from local advertisers who will be more than interested in promoting their services in the neighbourhood.
5. Interactivity
Options to connect with the journalists, other users and the site in general can make readers feel important and bring them back to the site.
Newspapers should be considering how to use social media and mobile technology to target both advertisements and content. In doing so, they’ll be able to open up their advertising space to both advertisers from around the world, and local neighbourhood businesses that could never before afford advertising in these newspapers.
Advantage of Localized Advertising Solutions
Newspapers can tap into its database of registered billing addresses and provide location specific online advertising solutions. This means they can offer special advertising rates which will display advertisements based on locations chosen for. This model is already being used in top job sites in India and elsewhere. Since Newspapers knows how many people in any given locality are subscribers and what content they like best, they can accordingly target the audience.
Social Networking
Newspapers need to be active on professional social networks such as LinkedIn increasing page views and tapping into user data. LinkedIn has a user base of mainly working professionals who will be the right target group.