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As The World Goes Digital....Newspapers Struggle To Find Revenue

Posted by John Scally on July 14, 2008 at July 14, 2008 9:27 AM

The Los Angeles Times Media Group announced it will axe 250 jobs, including about 17% of its editorial staff, and publish 15% fewer pages.

Many media analysts claim that the industry's most pressing problem is the state of print circulation, which has been in decline since the mid-1980s. However, US newspaper websites attracted more than 66 million unique visitors during the first quarter of 2008 -- a record level and a 12-percent increase from '07, according to Nielsen Online analysis. In fact, according to the report, 40 percent of all Internet users visit a newspaper site regularly.

The newspaper industry must figure out a way to generate more advertising revenue from its print and online properties. Nielsen reports that online advertising accounts for only 10 percent of total ad revenue for newspapers. It's evident that online content does not generate enough ad revenue to maintain a fully professional staff of reporters and editors at a top tier newspaper.

Requiring visitors to pay for access to content is not the answer. The key to sustainability for print media outlets will be finding ways to maximize online ads that bring value to the reader while providing results for the advertiser.

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