From newspapers to total content providers: Newspaper Next 2.0

Don’t be fooled by the name. Just because it’s a newspaper, doesn’t mean that it should only be in the business of providing news.

Rather, the industry should aim to become a resource that gives consumers what they really want — answers to their questions, according to Steve Buttry, a director with the American Press Institute.

“We are no longer newspaper companies,” said Buttry, as he unveiled Newspaper Next 2.0, the next generation of research focused on what may help increase and diversify revenue streams for newspapers. “We want to start thinking of ourselves as that essential. That we are so useful that a consumer would not think of coming to this community and not reaching out to us.”

Wishful thinking? Not according to Buttry, who will helm the Cedar Springs Gazette in Iowa, as editor-in-chief.
 
“We want to challenge the industry to do is take a broader vision of the whole market,” he said during one of the afternoon sessions of Ink & Beyond, a conference of the Canadian Newspaper Association and Canadian Community Newspapers Association held in Toronto.

“Everyone who doesn’t read your paper or every business who doesn’t advertise your paper know that you are there. They choose not to read your paper and they choose not to advertise in your paper,” said Buttry.

“Growth by persuading them that they are wrong is a difficult route to take,” he said.

Instead, he said it is imperative to look at the market as whole, find out what readers’ and business’ needs are, find out what is important to them. One way is through the use of databases — on government salaries or restaurant ratings, for example — that provide answers about the community to those who need it.

On the advertising side, he offered some tips. Newspapers were slow to capitalize on the Web, but now have invested much money and effort into the creation of verticals — websites — primarily focusing on real estate and the auto industry.

“We need to protect our verticals, as this is where the majority of revenue for Canadian media websites is coming from,” he said. “But it has taken us away from the focus from other avenues.”

He also said newspapers could “expect to see a decrease in revenues from banners and listings” on websites, the source of most of newspaper revenue. Instead, there would be more revenue potential in e-mail advertising, paid search and online video.

He also suggested that companies hire online-only sales people, and focus primarily on generating revenue for the Web by working to make newspapers a more lucrative advertising venue for businesses. 

“Right now, we are just an expense line. But if we’re selling tickets, or registration for courses. If we are getting people to take out their credit cards when they come to our sites … we are their revenue line as well. When times get tough, what will they do, look for ways to increase revenue.”

“We want to be an expense line, but we also want to be a revenue line.”

For more information on Newspaper Next 2.0 or the American Press Institute, visit: www.newspapernext.org