New Orleans Begins to Lose Their Grasp on an Endeared Tradition

One of the nations oldest and most successful newspapers is no longer printing editions seven days a week.  The New Orleans newspaper The Times - Picayune will only be offering three printed issues a week beginning this coming fall. This change will make New Orleans the largest metro area without a daily printed newspaper in the nation during the digital age.

The Washington Post article says that The Times - Picayune change is print newspapers is not alone. Three large Alabama daily newspapers; The Birmingham News, the Press - Register in Mobile and The Huntsville Times, all owned by the Newhouse family group's Advance Publications with also be switching to publishing only three days a week and will be putting greater emphasis into their online newspapers. All four newspapers plan to leave their online access as free and will be publishing continuously on their websites.

Theses four newspapers, like other newspapers in recent years have struggled due to the fact that consumers more and more often receive their news from online sources. Print advertising has also declined once the economy entered into a recession and newspapers are still experimenting with how to make as much profit from online advertising.

The Advance Publications' president of local digital strategy, Randy Siegel explained in an interview with The Associated Press what the change means for them " For us, this isn't about print versus digital, this is about creating a very successful multi-platform media company that addresses the ever-changing needs of our readers, our online users and our advertisers. This change is not easy, but it's essential for us to remain relevant."(Associated Press) Jennifer Greer, chair of the journalism department at the University of Alabama explains that these changes are reflections of "people trying to figure out a business model that works in a digital age."(Associated Press)

Some residents in New Orleans were emotional when they heard of The Times- Picayune decision to only print editions three times a week. The printed newspaper carries a certain nostalgia residents are not fond about loosing. In 2005 The Times - Picayune won a Pulitzer Prize for it's coverage of Hurricane Katrina. The dedication of the staff to deliver the news was phenomenal "Staffers continued reporting despite being forced out of the newspaper's offices amid widespread flooding and power outages."(Associated Press) Hurricane Katrina forced thousands of residents out of the area, some never returned, resulting in great struggle for the city and the newspaper for years since. For some residents the paper served as a lifeline, keeping residents current on the towns happenings, politics, births and deaths and other important announcements. Cheron Brylski, a New Orleans based political consultant says that "Not having the paper every day is like losing a sports team."(Associated Press) She continues to explain that having the newspaper to report about where New Orleans is headed since Hurricane Katrina is a vital in helping the residents recovery.

The other newspapers in Alabama also share a long and successful history. The Mobile paper has been publishing daily for close to two centuries, estimated since 1813 and the Birmingham News' series on corruption in Alabama's two year college system won a Pulitzer Prize.

In the article the Associated Press compares these newspapers changes in printing to the Advance Publications made in Michigan. Ann Arbor news was shut down in 2009 and switched to AnnArbor.com, which is an online news website that continues to publish their print newspapers on Thursday and Sunday. Ken Doctor a newspaper analysis that writes for the Newsonomics blog says "...the company is trying to hold on to declining print ad revenue for a few more years, and expects Advance to eventually cut print runs at its other newspapers in New Jersey, Oregon, Ohio and elsewhere."(Associated Press)

It is not a secret that print circulation continues to drop throughout the years. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations " On average, the four newspapers' circulation in the half year through March fell about 6 percent from a year ago."(Associated Press) Although, The Times-Picayune's print circulation may be dropping the newspaper continues to be one of the nation's most successful newspapers. Research was conducted by Texas-based Scarborough Research, a company that tracks the industry and they found that The Times- Picayune has the highest rate of readership of its daily edition of the top 50 large-sized markets in the country.

The Times-Picayune nostalgists, including Mayor Mitch Landrieu plan to make sure the newspaper remains an intergal part of New Orleans culture. Landrieu stated "Through wars and floods, the 'Aints and a Saints Super Bowl victory, the TP has been and remains an integral part of our daily routine and our culture."(Associated Press) Some members of The Times-Picayune advisory board such as longtime member, Anne Milling do not believe an online focused news source would be successful in New Orleans. Millings claims that she is not alone in this and that others had considered "...bringing in new owners committed to a daily paper, or even starting a new daily publication."(Associated Press) Millings explains that New Orleans is different than other parts of the country that would be more accepting to a primarily online news source. She stated "We always do things differently, it's part of our tradition: You wake up with a cup of chicory coffee and read the newspaper."(Associated Press) We will see by the results of this epic change if New Orleans can let go of an endeared tradition or if they will fight to keep the tradition alive.

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Print Media says "I am still quite alive!"

Warren Buffett

Huff Post on 5/17/2012 reported that a legendary investor Warren Buffett, also known as the “Sage of Omaha,” has agreed to purchase 63 newspapers for 142 million dollars. They were purchased from a financially troubled company called Media General Inc. of Richmond. In this merger, the 63 newspaper properties will joinhttp://www.omaha.com/article/20120517/NEWS01/120519629 Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway in combining with its existing newspaper publishing branch, “Omaha World-Herald Corporation,” the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska.

Observing the current rise of the tablets and e-readers and availability of information out-of-paper, it seems only natural to question the motives behind his bold decision, and one might ask just exactly what drove him to make this “risky bet” of investing his wealth in the declining print media. Electronic forms of reading apparatus are replacing paper and numerous recent research studies show that number of paying readers is declining every year and will continue to do so in the future. The overall trend is evident: print journalism is dying. Could this mean that the “Sage of Omaha” made a critical mistake with his investment?

Who reads newspaper in print forms nowadays?

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Rather than thinking it a mistake, Buffett shows much hope and faith in the future of newspaper industry. While admitting the big newspaper companies such as The Washington Post or The New York Times will continue to battle against each other in paper and on-line competition, he asserts that in towns and cities “there is a strong sense of community,” and “there is no more important institution than the local paper.”

Terry Mattingly, the director of the Washington Journalism Center, is one of many who shares Buffett’s opinion and sees Buffett’s investment as a profitable opportunity rather than a mistake. In what Mattingly calls “the Wal-Mart country,” he describes that the larger newspapers are receding due to competition and the smaller papers will survive because they can still carve out a niche for themselves. He views Buffett’s strategy as targeting of the “niche markets” and as a safe bet.   

Buffett’s bold investment shows that the print media is far from dead. It is true that the digital age has changed the meaning of readership from a traditional sense. Moreover, a large percentage of our population is no longer passive readers, but active participants who readily express their thoughts on various issues and even communicate with the journalists through digital social media such as Facebook or the newspaper-website platforms. However, even with this trend, this does not necessarily indicate that the print media has no hope. For one, as shown above, the traditional feel and sense of neighborhood will remain with the local papers and community news. Trends may shift, but both the print media and digital journalism will flourish by those who have faith in the newspaper industry as the independent Fourth Branch of the government. As Buffett says, the fundamentals don’t change.

Issues of Newsprint Plagiarism in the Digital Age

In an incident currently making the rounds on social news sites, blogger Duane Lester comes face-to-face with the potential stubbornness of print-based media. Lester's exploits, published on the site All American Blogger on May 14th, 2012, chronicle his efforts to assert a claim of copyright against a small-town newspaper in Oregon, Missouri who stole an article he published on May 1st nearly word-for-word. This incident is interesting not only because of the immediate case itself, but also due to Lester's use of Internet technologies to help his cause.

Upon finding his work so heavily plagiarized, Lester's initial course of action was to seek legal advice from Twitter user @AskACyberLawyer, who answers questions from Twitter users concerning "cyber law, from copyright to commerce, and everywhere in between." According to his account of the incident, Lester also made use of other online resources to draft up a letter with a claim of copyright before driving to the offices of the Oregon Times Observer and confronting the editor in person. Continuing with this theme of utilizing available web technologies, Lester also filmed the confrontation, in which Bob Ripley, the paper's Publisher and Managing Editor, was slow to comply with Lester's request for monetary compensation.

Lester's story, which was picked up on sites such as BoingBoing and The Daily Beast, pierces straight to the heart of conflicts surrounding copyright in a digital age. Massive Internet entities such as Facebook and Tumblr actively promote a culture of copying and sharing, often in the form of "light" content such as text or images. While these sites may not strike up high profile notoriety for sharing and distributing "heavy" copyrighted works, such as Hollywood films or commercially produced music, this culture of sharing nevertheless pushes the boundaries of reasonable copyright violation, as evidenced by an upcoming lawsuit against Tumblr. To put it simply, the ease of access to so much content sharing in online entities has the potential to create a sense of security for sharers online, masking serious issues of copyright infringement which Lester decided to actively fight.

Whether or not the paper's editor Bob Ripley was influenced by this sense of online security may never be known. However, Lester's actions demonstrate that such violations, especially by members of commercial media outlets, do not come without consequence. As commentator mazzworld2002 states on Gawker's coverage of the story, "If anything, an old-timer should know more about copyright and plagiarism than you youngsters with your Napster and your Bittorrent and your mash-ups and your.... dagnabbit!" Nonetheless, Ripley's attitude towards the incident might best be summed up in his statement written on the "For" line on Lester's compensation check, which according to the YouTube video, simply reads "Bull shit."

Advice from "old-timer" Tim Sullivan

Last night, the Undergraduate Communication Society of UCSD hosted a panel event for college students, “Print Journalism in a Digital Age.” On the panel sat four very esteemed guests, all with different experiences and success stories in the media industry. It consisted of Tim Sullivan, one of the Sports Columnists for the Union Tribune, along with Lauren Steussy, Chris Cantore, and Jessica Kline, all of them respected in various sectors of the media industry. Sitting side by side up there, the expressions of the four ranged on a spectrum from pleasantly enthusiastic to jaded, which would also be an adequate summary of their attitudes toward the future of print journalism. It was a touchy subject, as it involved critically analyzing their own work in a field which many predict will be rendered obsolete in the next few years. Tim, the eldest of the bunch, made his cynical disposition for himself and his niche clear, yet ultimately voiced a hopeful vision for the next generation’s take on his beloved trade.

Image source: Union Tribune

            During the panel, Tim gave a testimonial of his fantastic run with print journalism as well as his deeply fond affinity toward the traditional roots of reporting. He had taken a very old-school approach to his career, attending an established and highly esteemed journalism program at the University of Missouri. From there, he worked for 25 years as a sports news reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer, until finally landing his current columnist position in San Diego through a friend’s connection. Throughout his career, he had received numerous accolades in his field, and his passion for it was undoubtedly voiced throughout the panel. However, he made sure to constantly mention how he was from a completely “different era,” even beginning his spiel with a joke about his personal ties to the Gutenberg printing press. Tim’s account took a notably dramatic shift when he began talking about the present state of journalism, revealing that funding and circulation of the Union Tribune had moved to “where the eyeballs are moving.”

            “Radio was killed by TV, and the internet completely smothered that,” Sullivan stated indignantly, “Pretty soon the internet will kill all media.”

            Joined by another considered journalistic old-timer on the panel, Chris Cantore, he too had been embittered by what he called the “destruction of an industry.”  Tim’s resentment for how the internet had swooped in and completely changed what he was accustomed to was undeniable, yet both had ultimately realized that there was little to nothing they could do to stop it.

            “I’m trying to hang on for a few more years until retirement,” said Sullivan, “It’s either adapt, or get out. And I’m at an age where I am too old to adapt, so I’m hoping to get out when I can.”

            However, just because Sullivan accepted his situation, did not mean that he did not understand the language current times and how to use it. In our generation, where social media trafficking is the new forefront to news circulation, he would be the first to acknowledge the usefulness of platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and popular blog sites. In fact, it was he who encouraged and advised his own daughter a way to gain revenue from her rather specific Tumblr blog consisting of reblogged “pictures of cute babies.” By finding a way to monetize her influence in a small niche market on the internet, he was able to earn her $100 dollars in ten days, and gain her over 320 Twitter followers practically over night, proving his savvyness still remains in a technological age.

            Not only this, but Sullivan still had hopes that the roots of journalism, from the creative process to the public’s wish to stay connected, will always have a place in society. He referenced how the 24-year old reporter, Sarah Ganim, just recently won a Pulitzer Prize using classic investigative reporting techniques, and considered it as evidence that there is still room for those who have the same passion that he did so many years ago. He understood that his job, as well as others in his position, will not be safe from the internet-takeover and is just a matter of time before the web will push everything out. But he does not see this as the end of journalism itself, simply an old way of thinking about it.

            “I know that everyone is forecasting that the sky is falling, but there is still a need for good reporting and good storytelling,” Tim advised in his final words to the student audience, “You may have to create things yourself now, but don’t be discouraged.”