Five ways layoffs, low revenue hurting newspapers

Many newspapers across the country are on the brink of one of three fates: (1) They are preparing to reduce the number of days they print the newspaper each week; (2) they are bracing for an online-only future without any kind of printed product; or (3) they are on the verge of shutting down.

Prior to reaching one of those three fates, newspapers are enduring as many rounds of budget cuts, job layoffs and size reductions as possible. That is resulting in metro dailies with poor editing (even in their editorials), wire stories occupying 75 percent of the story space, and the elimination of features that actually made newspapers a product you retained for a day or two.

The following are five ways newspapers are hurting from budget cuts and reductions in staff. These are apparent in many newspapers across the country and you could probably find examples of these effects in your own printed edition this morning. It's almost become a game to look for the most glaring editing mistakes.

1. The lack of quality editing is apparent every day in print newspapers. Unfortunately, budget cuts are hitting editing departments in a manner that is significantly damaging the quality of the final printed product. It's easy to correct mistakes online, but errors in the printed product are left for everyone to notice. When major and easy-to-catch mistakes appear, it hurts a newspaper's reputation. This example of The Baltimore Sun firing 61 editors is is similar to actions being taken by other newspapers. Also, read about how 75 percent of U.S. editors acknowledge that layoffs are affecting the quality of journalism.

2. The lack of staff-written news stories leaves nothing but generic wire clips. Try this: Every day go through your newspaper and locate all the news stories (don't include columns). Next, check the bylines and see how many list a wire service only or a wire service below the reporter's name. Count and compare the number of wire stories to staff-written copy. You'll find 75 percent of the news stories come from wires, meaning we're all getting the same generic content you could find anywhere on the Web. One newspaper is going against that trend. Also, read about how the loss of beat reporters will impact other news sources.

3. The shrinking size of print newspapers means we're spending less time reading them. And if we're spending less time reading it, that means the newspaper is having less of an impact on its audience. Slowly but surely, subscribers will realize they can save their money. Instead of buying a shrinking product, they can go online and get their news for free. The less time one spends with a newspaper, the less important it may become in the reader's mind. Forbes.com calls this phenomenon "The Incredible Shrinking Newspaper."

4. The reduction and elimination of sections means less information is provided. Have you tried finding the business section in your print newspaper recently? Here's a hint: It will probably be just one page buried in the back of a section such as sports. The sad result of smaller newspapers is that we are left with less sections, less stories and ultimately, less information. It becomes less of a newspaper and more like a paper advertisement for the news. Think about that. Look at your newspaper. It still has a masthead. It still has reporters. Yet you're being directed to the Web for more news, blogs and those stock reports you used to see in print. Here is why business sections might still be important.

5. The disappearance of movie show times means newspapers go into the recycling bin quicker. This morning, no movie show times appeared with the movie listings in the printed version of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Instead, one-eighth of a page is filled with a huge box listing all the movies showing at eight theaters in the Lexington metropolitan area. A message at the bottom reads, "Times and shows vary. Please call theatres for complete listings and times." Why print a list of the movies being shown if you're not going to print the times? If you print the times, then people may hang on to the printed edition a bit longer. Read how newspapers are no longer providing "social currency" such as movie show times.