Convention Report: Hunkering Down

First Published: May 2008

Publishers, Editors Encouraged To Move Forward Together

By Mary Lynn F. Jones | Photo By Ringo H.W. Chu

When David Hiller, president and publisher of the Los Angeles Times, chose Russ Stanton as his new editor, he wanted someone who could lead change and work with him to break newspapers’ focus on the short term.

“We’ve got to figure this out, and we’ve got to do this together,” Hiller recalled saying. The question facing them, he noted, was, “how do we build a business that can stay in business for years to come?”

Newspaper editors and publishers must stop pointing fingers at each other and start working together as they navigate challenges facing the industry, a panel of publishers said at a session on Making the Publisher/Editor Partnership Work. Instead of focusing on “gloom and doom,” they should promote their accomplishments and develop new ideas, panelists said.

“The energy spent on hand wringing needs to be directed toward growing,” said Barbara Henry, president and publisher of The Indianapolis Star. “Let’s not talk about woe is me,” she added. “It doesn’t accomplish anything.”

Newspapers must take risks, Henry said, noting USA Today didn’t make money for its first seven years. She said that publishers should encourage their journalists to embrace the Web more quickly and that papers should “tell our story” to advertisers. The Star, she said, enjoys an 82 percent market penetration.

“We’re hunkering down instead of beating our chests,” she added.

Publishers should celebrate successes, communicate to employees what publishers can and cannot influence, and focus on the task at hand, said Elizabeth Brenner, publisher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Charles Pittman, senior vice president of publishing for Schurz Communications Inc. in South Bend, Ind., said his job is to act as a cheerleader for publishers and do “everything possible to help them succeed.”

He also suggested that newspapers change their deadlines so they can routinely offer advertisers the ability to place an ad in the next day’s paper. “Once we solve that problem, we can be meeting the needs of our customers,” Pittman said.

Newspapers no longer enjoy huge profit margins and can no longer offer everything to readers, Hiller noted. Instead, they must choose “who you’re going to serve and what things would be most relevant to them.”

He predicted that print would continue to be an “important part” of that mix and that the number of free papers will increase. But newspapers will use a diversified range of products to serve a larger audience.

Associated Press Dues Reduction Sparks Confusion Among Editors

By Mary Lynn F. Jones

Editors expressed confusion about how much individual dues would decline after The Associated Press in New York City announced a dues cut of $21 million, or 10 percent of newspapers’ service fees, in 2009.

At its annual meeting during the Capital Conference, the AP described the changes, which it terms Member Choice. Papers can sign up for a basic text service that includes breaking news by AP’s state, national and international services and can subscribe to receive additional coverage in five premium categories: news analysis, sports, finance, entertainment and lifestyle. Members that receive basic text service also can buy articles from the five areas a la carte. Members that join AP's Digital Cooperative will save 5 percent on basic text service.

Starting next year, PhotoStream subscribers can access AP’s photo archives for free, and all members can receive its “Money & Markets” market data and content for no additional charge.

Although the changes amount to a 10 percent overall reduction, the cut is not across the board, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Curley said in a separate meeting with editors. Instead, cuts will depend on a newspaper’s circulation and what content it buys, he said.

Moderator David Boardman, executive editor of The Seattle Times, asked whether the new system is akin to a basic cable system with more expensive add-ons such as ESPN and HBO. Curley rejected the comparison, and said moving to an all a la carte system or unbundled content verticals would increase costs.

When Martin Baron, editor of The Boston Globe, asked which stories would be included in which categories so he would know how much his paper would save, Curley said the AP would offer more newsroom specifics in July. “You’ll still save money,” he said.

Newspapers now provide about 27 percent of AP’s revenue, a number expected to fall below 25 percent in 2009. U.S. broadcasters, international subscribers and Internet companies make up the bulk of AP’s revenue, he noted.

As a result, coverage is a “balancing act,” Curley said. When AP sends reporters and photographers to cover the Olympics in China this summer, for example, they won’t just cover U.S. teams.

The AP also announced that it plans this summer to launch the Mobile News Network (see story, p. 54), which will allow iPhone and other “smart phone” users to receive news and advertising on cell phones. The service will allow AP members to sell local ads to mobile audiences, Curley said.

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