Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Evolution of the Printed Newspaper

In our Managing IT Strategies class, we have been discussing the evolution of the newspaper industry as it tries to transition from print to web. It seems that at least some local newspapers have decided to tweak their business models. Speically, four markets in Michigan will cease or drastically reduce their printed circulation and move to an online edition where the emphasis will be on reader input and community forums. It was announced Monday that starting in July, the 174 year-old Ann Arbor News will become AnnArbor.com, and will only produce printed editions two days a week. The Ann Arbor News has a weekday circulation of 45,000. The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times will also be reducing their daily printing to Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays only. In addition, these three papers plan to lay off 35% of their workforce.

1 comment:

  1. It is interesting how the rate of change is increasing so rapidly and such established media source as a news paper itself is threatened. But taking a queue from the 'Branding' class. A newspaper is not just a source of news, it is a feeling. The smell of paper and ink, the feel of crisp paper, the feeling of holding a snap shot of the world , all these may prevent a news paper form going obsolete.

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