 |
by
Leo Bogart
Bogart
is the author of Commercial Culture (Transaction Books, New Brunswick,
N.J.)
Although
most newspaper World Wide Web sites in the United States and Canada are
no more than 5 years old, half are breaking even or already beginning
to show a profit. The longer a site has been in business, the more likely
it is to be profitable.
___These
findings come from a worldwide survey just conducted on the Web by Innovation
Media Consultants in Detroit for the World Association of Newspapers in
Paris, with the help of NAA. Responses came from 550 newspaper executives,
including 242 in the United States and Canada. As might be expected, the
survey drew its heaviest response from large newspapers that already had
established Web sites or were preparing to do so, and less response from
smaller papers.
Other findings:
- The Internet isn't replacing the printed product. Audiences still are small compared with those for newspapers. The typical newspaper site gets relatively few users in the course of a week, compared with the cumulative impact of its daily circulation. Yet three out of 10 sites attract more than 50,000 visitors each week. Most of the biggest newspapers get over 100,000 visitors weekly; worldwide, three-fourths of the largest papers get more than a half-million page views per week. For them, the Web is now a powerful mass medium.
- Only 36 percent of North American newspaper Web sites are updated more often than once each day. But as one executive points out, "Real-time information is the key to success. The once-a-day publishing cycle is dead. Users demand information now, and if you don't give it to them, they'll find an alternate source that will."
- Serving small audiences, 85 percent of Web editorial staffs have five people or fewer. A small number try to produce an original product, and 27 percent carry on journalistic initiatives of their own, at least occasionally. But three-fourths offer content that is mostly or entirely lifted from the newspaper itself.
- Advertising potential remains unfulfilled. Half of the newspaper Web sites have a special advertising sales staff, while the rest rely on the print sales force. Typically, this staff is small (five persons or fewer), suggesting that newspapers are dedicating funds proportionate to their present modest Web revenues rather than to the growth potential. One executive urges, "Take advantage of your print sales force. They have a relationship with your potential advertisers that would take a long time to cultivate by a new online sales executive." But a contrasting opinion from a survey respondent is that selling ads on the Web requires a specialized set of skills: "Getting newspaper sales people to sell ads on the Internet, even with training, is almost impossible." (See Special Report, p. 29.)
- Although free information
is widely available on the Web, some newspaper
executives think that their medium should have held out and charged consumers. Collecting marketing data from site users is a common procedure, and one suggestion is, "Don't give it all away at the beginning. At least 'charge' data from the users if you're afraid to charge money. Running your newspaper content right into a free Web site will cost you some paid circulation." - One recurrent message is,
"Move fast, or else someone else will.
Persevere. Think expansively, and from the customer's point of view. The world has changed, and newspaper companies must change. Do not pit print against electronic efforts, but make them cooperative and complementary." Another respondent comments, "Often, newspapers want to wait and see what works for other papers before they jump into the Web waters. But what has worked for those other papers is the fact that they took the initiative and got in first."
- How are Web sites staffed? One survey respondent suggests, "Draw a little time from selected members of your existing editorial staff to help build the site." Another reports, "You don't need to hire large numbers of new staff to build an attractive, profitable Web site." And a third comments, "Always start small and grow your team as the need arises. Our group started as a department of two people and gradually grew to a separate company of about 40 people." Also, publishers are warned, "Internet people are expensive in relation to our news team. They tend to have high financial expectations, want equity, and are vulnerable to being recruited away." Another thought: "Be prepared to spend some money to get started. Salary levels for people in this area are greater than that of the printed product, not to mention hard to find." Training and retraining represent a critical part of the venture. "The main issue is the ability to effect cultural change and get all staff to realize they are operating in a multimedia business."
COMPELLING QUESTION
___Are Web sites by-products of the printed
newspaper or autonomous ventures that eventually may grow to dwarf their
parents? A fourth of all responses, and even more on larger papers, indicate
that the Web operation is separate; one fifth have the Web editor report
directly to the company's top management. But 55 percent of Web editors
work under the newspaper editor. Three out of five Web staffs (eight out
of 10 on the largest papers) are housed in the main newsroom, but those
in separate locations are no less likely to derive most or all of their
content from the printed newspaper.
There are differences of opinion on how the Web team should fit with the rest of the organization. One view is, "The Web site should be part of the business, complementing but not replacing the printed paper." Others think that the Web site should not be connected to the newspaper.
Many respondents stress the importance of differentiating the two products. "The biggest lesson we have learned is the need to stay focused on it. We treated it as an after-fact of the printed product. We now see it as a very strong arm that we need to focus our time on." A common admonition is, "Do not make a copy of the printed newspaper on the Internet. There should be added value for the reader in the online newspaper."
Added value may take the form of content that interests only a limited segment of the public. "Our purpose is to get subscribers to some types of information that is special in nature, like prices of commodities in the market, and tenders and bids."
"Simply hosting pages doesn't work. You need to promote the portal with features loaded on it, such as free e-mail and chat rooms. It is better to have niche portals rather than a general Web site." Adds another, "For generating visits and page impressions, it's absolutely necessary to offer services like share prices, telephone charges, online charges, information about taxes, new jobs, education."
Publishers are advised to take advantage of one of the Internet's "unique characteristics, interactivity." But this feature presents its own challenges.
"Readers on the Web are very impatient and less tolerant of shortcomings. If you mess up, they let you know immediately and in a not-so-nice manner."
Newspapers have the infrastructure and the resources in talent and capital for success on the Internet. But this will take patience and a large amount of trial and error. The Web is an entirely new medium. It cannot be entered merely as a cursory adaptation of what appears in print. It demands an integrated approach to information that soon will be delivered in audio and video form as well as through text.
This in turn will call for a fresh approach to the organization of both the editorial and advertising functions. It will require linking with other newspapers and other news organizations, tapping newspapers' rich archives and the vast amounts of information available from government and other independent sources. And it will require a better understanding of how the public acquires both its information and entertainment in an era when both are in overabundant supply.
As they plan their investments in the Web, publishers must carefully consider their accounting procedures. An executive may think a paper's site is breaking even because its advertising revenue covers its marginal Web operating costs. But this is a delusion if it does not also include a proper share of the newspaper's editorial and administrative expenses. Making the Web pay off will take time and effort. But newspapers have no alternative. This is what's happening.
The full report on this study, including statistics comparing North American responses with those from other parts of the world, may be found on www.innovacion.com.