Newspapers evolve as readers change

American business, the newspaper industry feels your pain. That’s because we’re suffering, too.

But like a lot of other resilient industries, newspapers (at least many of them) are planning for the future, as well as dealing with the day-to-day problems caused by an economy in recession and a business model in rapid transition.

The newspaper business is changing. But one thing remains the same. Readers want information. They want to know what their government is doing and if their tax dollars are being used wisely. They want to know if the Braves’ bullpen is holding up. They want to know how much a pound of white grapes costs at the Green Spot this weekend. They want horoscopes and comics and basketball scores and obituaries. They want all kinds of information.

The Daily Citizen has long been the prime conduit of that information in Northwest Georgia for decades.

Traditionally, newspapers like this one have delivered that information as a printed product delivered daily to subscribers’ front doors. A copy of the newspaper cost a nominal sum, with most of the newspaper’s profit coming from the sale of advertising. The “product” was delivered at the same time every day (hopefully). Today, that tried and true business model is changing.

People want their news in other forms. TV and radio affect the marketplace, but the real agent for change is the Internet.

The Web has greatly altered the way many readers, particularly younger ones, get their news. Instead of leisurely thumbing through the newspaper for a recap of a local football game the day after, a reader today may look instead to the Internet the night before. He wants to know what’s going on much sooner and has been conditioned by the Internet to want that information much quicker and in an easy-to-read format.

The industry has responded to that change, though not always successfully. We’ve been making up the rule book as go along. Some things have worked very well. Other ideas have failed. This epic change in how newspapers do business has led many people to question the future of newspapers.

While there are no guarantees that any industry will prosper in the future, newspapers — particularly papers in smaller, more homogenous markets like this one have some major advantages, not the least of which is that we live and work among our customers.

Most importantly, the demand for information — ball scores, weddings and engagements, crime stories, etc. — has not disappeared. In fact, it has intensified.

The challenge for the news industry as a whole and The Daily Citizen in particular is to deliver that information in ways that continue our long relationship with this community.

For newspapers, the Internet is not the enemy. It is an incredibly valuable tool for reaching our customers in exciting and innovative ways. The new technology shouldn’t be feared, but it also must be respected. It’s not enough to just toss some news stories up on a Web site and expect readers to flock. The commitment to doing things in a new way must be passionate and it must be savvy.

Traditional newspapering has life in her, too. In fact, the old gal still delivers quite a punch. Our advertisers have long recognized the impact we can have on their business. We have enjoyed and benefited from each other’s successes.

The recession has made things tougher for all of us, but the traditional local newspaper remains a highly potent and much needed method of communication.

We take that responsibility very seriously.

The Daily Citizen