EDITOR'S NOTE: In February 2020 I began a new venture writing a blog for "News and Tech" magazine, an magazine devoted to the newspaper industry. The blog appears on the site's homepage. This column originally appeared Feb. 27, 2020.
As a vendor to the newspaper industry, if there’s one statement on the convention floor that I hear over and over again regardless of where I go in the country. … And, trust me, that’s a lot of places. … It is some variance of the statement: “Well, you know, print is not dead!”
And it’s generally stated by a defiant newspaper veteran, with one hand on their hip, and the other hand wagging a pointer finger wildly in the air.
I partially kid, of course, but there is also truth in these words. Admit it, each of us knows a person who resembles the person I just described. And I think that’s part of the reason that a general malaise has taken root in so many veteran newspaper folks. We love the industry so much, and fundamentally believe in the vital importance of it to our communities so much, that we’re still getting over the public’s general ambivalence to our possible demise.
I don’t make light of my industry colleagues that utter this statement out of defiance. In fact, I fall on the side with them that print isn’t dead, and we may be surprised at the legs printed publications still have in many local markets. But, I also know that the financials don’t lie. If the downturn in advertising hasn’t hit your publication yet, congratulations! That is terrific! … However, it’s only common sense to think that ultimately no one will escape outright the consumer’s mad dash to the internet.
So, what do we do? … Well, my proposal is that we change that defiant stance from, “Well, you know, print isn’t dead!” to ... “Well, you know, print isn’t dead, but …”
Admittedly it’s a subtle shift in thinking. But I think it has monumental ramifications. It says, “Yes, I still value the legacy of our venerable industry and will respect that the majority of my revenue is still coming from my print publication. .... However, I will not ignore the market trends and the consumer behavior that will require me to change.”
And that, I think, is the key.
Look, I’ve been in this industry for a long time too. Made a career of it, as a matter of fact. I will be celebrating my 26th anniversary in newspapers this summer. And I love newspapering as much as any of my colleagues.
So when I say this, I say it lovingly. Our trouble is that, for far too long, we wore working harder as a badge of honor in this industry. When challenges arose, we threw more people resources at it. We worked longer. We figured out a way.
But this is an entirely new challenge that faces us. The mass exodus of our audience to a digital platform is real, and there’s no evidence to suggest it’s going to ever reverse itself. And so just working harder this time around, isn’t going to get us through this trouble. Neither is ignoring the issue.
No, not this time. This time, we’re going to have to add working smarter to the mix as well. So standing there defiantly, shouting, “Well, you know, print is not dead!” is not going to help.
There are many papers around the country experimenting. Making transformations. Enacting membership models. Working with smart people to come up with new ways of delivering content in a cheaper fashion. Developing innovative solutions. And all of it is exciting to see.
We’re all in this journey together: owners, publishers, editors, sales managers, and yes, even us vendors. We all are counting on transformation to bring us through to what our next chapter holds for the newspaper industry. But, digging in our heels and wishing away the financial forces that are reshaping us forever isn’t an option.
So, I hope in the very new future on the convention floor, that instead I start to hear my newspaper colleagues say, “Well, you know, print isn’t dead, but …”
And that will be music to my ears.
Devlyn Brooks is president of Modulist, a media services company specializing in the processing of user-generated paid content submissions for newspapers. Devlyn spent 20 years writing and editing in newsrooms big and small, dailies and weeklies.
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