The Soloist: New journalism movie out this week

VIDEO: 90-year-old S.F. Chronicle reporter

Finally, a newspaper sets the record straight about industry's problems -- it's lack of revenue

In today's edition of The Edmond Sun, Donna Barrett clearly defines the real reasons behind the newspaper industry's struggles. Instead of the popular belief (that newspapers are losing readers), Barrett correctly blames the problems on lost advertising revenue and the industry's inability thus far to regain some of that money.

"Let's set the record straight: Newspapers still enjoy considerable readership and deliver strong results for advertisers. More Americans read printed newspapers than own dogs. More Americans read printed newspapers than watch the Super Bowl. Newspapers and their Web sites reach a larger audience than ever before. The crisis facing newspapers is not an audience problem. It is a revenue problem," writes Barrett in the Oklahoma newspaper.

The monumental shift in advertising revenue is a direct result of people choosing options other than newspapers for placing classified advertisements. Which online Web site gets the most recognition for asborbing the people that traditionally paid for newspaper advertisements? For the answer to that question and more in-depth analysis of advertising's central role in the newspaper industry's decline, click here.

Internet users spending more time reading online newspapers; Twitter use doubles in one year

An annual survey released today by the Center for the Digital Future at USC reveals that Internet users read online newspapers for 53 minutes a week, up from 41 minutes in 2007 and more than ever reported before in the survey. Also, 22 percent said they ended newspaper and magazine subscriptions since they could access the same content online.

New online social networking figures released today by eMarketer shows that Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds. From last year to this year, the number of Twitter users has doubled from 6 million to 12.1 million. That number is expected to surpass 18 million by next year. This article published this month by The New York Times captures what exactly is driving this phenomenon better than any other story has to date.

What The New York Times article points out and what Twitter users already know is that this innovative, yet simple online networking tool gives Internet users more control than ever before in spreading information and accessing information. It's the ultimate quick, easy-to-use filter for information gathering. High-profile sports figures such as Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari are bypassing the media and releasing news and opinions on Twitter. Calipari's Twitter following has already surpassed 11,000 since he signed up last Thursday.

Obviously, it's great news for the newspaper industry that both online readership is up and that people are spending more time on Web sites than ever before. But just because newspaper Web sites are enjoying success doesn't mean the industry can retreat back to its old "keep doing what works" motto. This should be a lesson for why newspapers should secure a space on Twitter -- at least then they'll have a voice in matters of importance.

Wall Street Journal's circulation increases; the only such rise among top 25 newspapers

Audit Bureau of Circulations figures released today show that The Wall Street Journal's circulation increased 0.61 percent to 2,082,189 during the six-month time period ending March 31, 2009. That makes The Wall Street Journal the only publication among the top 25 biggest U.S. newspapers to experience an increase in circulation during the last six months.

Overall, daily circulation for the 395 newspapers reporting their totals fell 7 percent, and the only other top 25 paper that came close to posting an increase was the Chicago Sun-Times. The Sun-Times' circulation dropped 0.04 percent to 312,141. For a complete listing of how the top 25 fared in the latest circulation figures, click here.

Plastic Logic: The electronic tablet for newspapers

First good news for industry! Online readership up!

At last, after months of reports concerning the newspaper industry's struggles to survive, Nielsen Online reports that online newspaper readership improved 10 percent during the first quarter of this year. The statistic is based on the average number of unique visitors reported by newspaper Web sites, and this latest finding proves that readership remains strong despite shrinking advertising and classified sales revenue figures.

The real challenge facing the newspaper industry is not attracting more readers (that segment of the industry is actually growing), but figuring out to generate more revenue to accompany the growth in online readership. It's worth noting that online revenue boomed from 2005-2007, and it only began shrinking when the economy crashed last year. Might we see a rebirth in online advertising once the economy improves?

Also, can the newspaper industry afford to wait for the economy's improvement without first making some drastic improvements to its current business model? Our opinion at Scooping the News is that despite online readerships boosts and the notion that an improved economy means more revenue, newspapers must still eliminate their high fixed costs such as the expenses of running print operations. Stop the presses.

For coverage of Nielsen's report, click here for The Wall Street Journal's analysis.

How newspapers ended up in this mess!

If you would like to see larger versions of each image below, click on the image you wish to view.

This Video Should Be Watched Right Now (Part 2)

The sequel to yesterday's video with up-to-date information including the number of Facebook users. Enjoy!

This Video Should Be Watched Right Now

Message to Scooping the News readers

Since this blog and ScoopingtheNews.com launched earlier this year, we've been bringing you the latest news about the U.S. newspaper industry and we've brought you a two-part exclusive interview with a former metro daily newspaper editor. We've also witnessed our readership and Twitter followers increase on a daily basis. The experience has been great thus far, but we want to improve and give you an even better product.

So, how do we plan to accomplish this? Well, in addition to continuing to chronicle the ongoing developments in the U.S. newspaper industry, we plan to start providing content that very few, if any other, blogs dedicated to newspapers give you -- exclusive interviews with current and former newspaper editors. Sure, there are plenty of blogs dedicated to newspapers and even one dedicated to the industry's decline. But, few, if any, conduct original reporting and interviews.

By providing you with content and insight that isn't available anywhere else, we hope your experience reading Scooping the News will only improve. We hope that you will enjoy reading the various perspectives of current and former newspaper editors on the state of the industry and where it is heading. Our theory here at Scooping the News is that consumer demands and changes in technology our driving the industry. Do editors agree? We'll find out.

When will you start to notice more exclusive interviews making their way into blog posts? Well, we can tell you that interviews are already being scheduled and that some of them will be conducted in the following weeks. So, you should start seeing this fresh and unique content some time next month. Until then, you will still get the latest news on the industry right here. Also, in addition to providing exclusive interviews, we will always be your source for industry news.

Do entertainers even need newspapers anymore?

Newspapers are expected to inform readers and hold public figures accountable, but it's becoming clearer each day that the Web takes care of that first task without any need for or any help from newspapers. For instance, entertainers such as actors, musicians and other kinds of artists used to rely on print media such as newspapers and magazines for spreading the word about their products.

A new rock and roll band named Chickenfoot (seriously, that is the official name) is composed of four members who are no strangers to the mainstream media (Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen fame, Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the original guitar hero Joe Satriani). In preparing to launch their debut album June 7, these four musicians are proving entertainers no longer need newspapers.

In the Internet age, entertainers with Web skills or tech-savvy friends can simply promote their products and inform the public via Web sites, YouTube videos and electronic mailing lists. For several months now, the members of Chickenfoot have taken to updating the public regularly via videos. These videos bridge a gap that traditionally exists between entertainers and the public. It's the same gap that exists between reporters and readers.

For an example of how this new rock band is eliminating the middle person (in this case, newspapers) and taking its message directly to the public, watch the video below:

visit chickenfoot.us for more info

For an example of what this new rock band sounds like and looks like, watch the video below that features their first single "Oh Yeah":

Obama appointee wants bailout for newspapers

While her call for a newspaper bailout came in her farewell column for the Los Angeles Times, the fact remains that a woman President Barack Obama has appointed to the Pentagon wants a federal bailout for the struggling industry. Rosa Brooks, now a Pentagon adviser, proposes using tax dollars and granting licenses as a way of stabilizing and preserving the newspaper industry.

Brooks' proposal is already coming under fire from critics with concerns about how such a plan might affect independent publications and from critics worried about how federal money might impact newspapers' power to hold the government accountable via reporting and editorials. This FOXNews.com report provides more details and thoughts on why this plan might be doomed.

We at Scooping the News agree with some critics who consider this current mess a problem that the newspaper industry brought upon itself by failing to enhance and improve its business model by fully embracing the Internet. Not only did the newspaper industry catch on about 10 years too late to the importance of the Internet, but now editors and publishers can't agree on a viable business plan for the future.

Two facts we know for certain: (1) Access fees will not save newspapers when there are too many free news sources available on the Web and people with blogs could simply repost the news from sites that charge; and (2) newspaper closings, layoffs and bankruptcies will continue until these publications realize they must cut their high fixed costs.

Ex-Seattle P-I reporters launch online paper!

Right now, they're all volunteers. Make that volunteers with a mission. A group of former Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters launched the online-only Seattle Post Globe on Tuesday. Billing itself as "Seattle News -Version 2.0," the newspaper hopes to mimick a similar effort by former Rocky Mountain News reporters who launched InDenverTimes following their paper's demise.

It's a well-known fact that when the Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced plans to go online only last month, the newspaper had a rough time convincing its existing reporters to accept new job offers for the Web venture. It's also a well-known fact that newspaper reporters barely make any money, so one can only wonder how much current Seattle P-I employees are making.

The reporters behind the Seattle Post Globe seem less concerned with money and more focused on "letting you know what's really going on in this city," according to a column by Kery Murakami. If the Seattle Post Globe is to succeed, then it will need donations and promotions that can attract readers. A quick visit to the newspaper's Web site reveals the kind of content missing in many newspapers -- content that holds people accountable and provides enough depth for readers to walk away with new knowledge.

Might San Francisco Chronicle employees be the next to jump ship and form an online-only paper? We might have the answer to that question sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.

Newspapers bad for the environment? Marriott hotels think so; no more papers at your door

The newspaper industry's already troubling public image took another hit Monday, and this time it didn't have anything to do with shrinking advertising revenue, declining circulation figures or more rounds of job cuts. Now it appears newspapers are bad for the environment. In an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, Marriott hotels will no longer leave a newspaper in front of your door automatically. Instead, starting June 1 you'll have to ask for the newspaper.

The hotel giant said the move "should reduce newspaper distribution by about 50,000 newspapers every day or by about 18 million newspapers every year. That would reduce carbon emissions by 10,350 tons each year," reports James Kanter of The New York Times. The hotel chain plans to shift the focus to online news by providing more flat screen televisions in lobbies where CNN, MSNBC and FOX News will presumably be shown all day.

What could possibly come next for a newspaper industry in search of its soul? Not only are newspapers trying to figure out the best ways to present their products, but they also need a plan for increasing revenue and that plan seems no closer to be ironed out than it did three months ago when the first wave of major dailies went up for sale. It might be up to journalism students like the ones at Michigan State University to save the industry. Read all about that.

Find other Twitter users discussing newspapers

Twitter is fast becoming the best online social networking tool for finding bloggers and other people with interests similar to your own. Scooping the News is dedicated to the discussion of newspapers and the industry's future. As a way to attract readers and make people aware of our site's existence, we have joined Twitter here. Since joining the site less than three months ago, this blog has gained more than 100 followers on Twitter.

It turns out there are other Twitter users concerned about newspapers. Many of these Twitter users also write blogs about the industry. Some of them are currently employed by newspapers. A relatively new Web site, WeFollow, provides an online directory of all the Twitter users talking about specific subjects such as newspapers. 

If you go to this page, you can see that out of all the Twitter members talking about newspapers, Scooping the News ranks 20th in terms of who possesses the most followers. In addition to seeing comparisons of how Twitter users stack up in terms of followers, this online directory is a great tool for discovering other Twitter users discussing a subject that interests you. The final result is that you discover Web sites you never knew existed.

Boston Globe raising newstand price to save paper

The Boston Globe already fired 50 full-time employees this month, and now its owner -- The New York Times Co. -- is threatening to shut down the major metro daily unless the newspaper's unions OK a huge concession worth $20 million. While the union appear to be signing off on the plan, the financial future for the Globe is becoming increasingly worse.

As the unions and The New York Times Co. negotiate this latest deal just to keep the newspaper afloat, there is now talk that the real focus of the negotiations is finding someone to take the Globe off the newspaper company's hands. Should no buyer be found, well, we all know what happened to the Rocky Mountain News.

In the meantime, Boston Globe readers can expect to start shelling out more money for their daily hard copy editions. Newstand prices for the paper are going to jump. Beginning May 4, Boston residents will see the price jump 25 cents to $1 during the week, and those outside Boston will see their price increase 50 cents to $1.50.

Here at Scooping the News, we've been reporting for a long time that the Boston Globe is on the death watch list of newspapers most likely to shut down or go online only. The Globe's place on the newspaper death watch list is beginning to gain steam. Click here to see that another publication is placing the Globe on such a list.

STN readers speak: Make newspapers not for profit!

Twenty-one Scooping the News readers voted in this Web site's first-ever non-scientific public opinion poll on the best business model for newspapers. The overwhelming choice for best business model was to make newspapers non-profits with endowments, which received 57 percent of the vote. We call that "The Endowed Fourth Estate" model, and it's one newspapers should consider.

Other business models receiving votes included, from most popular to least popular: improved Web sites with interactive ads to boost revenue (19 percent); convert to electronic editions only with paid subscriptions (14 percent); and keep print and electronic editions with smaller staffs and less fixed costs (9 percent).

Perhaps TIME magazine and other news groups who support the iTunes pay per article model should note that no readers voted for the "iTunes Model" of selling articles individually on the Web. Out all of the business models proposed this year, the iTunes model first proposed in a TIME magazine cover story seems like the one that's failed to gain support in the industry.

Web site chronicles death of newspapers

If you're interested in reading the history of which daily newspapers are going out of print, or which ones are opting for online-only or print-online hybrid models, then the blog Newspaper Death Watch is your best source of information on the Internet. The end of newspapers is a popular topic nowadays in the mass media, and this blog acts as a roll call of the casualties.

To learn more about the man behind Newspaper Death Watch, click here.