The Monterey Digital Herald

a presentation by e-Debate Team BMaria Lambarte -- Frank McEntire

Hai Nguyen -- Mariko Nihonyanagi

Jessica Onken -- Niko Rastrullo

Nicholas Rodrigues -- Brandon Rose

Leslie Smith -- Nancy Villegas

Amelia Weigant

CST 373-01 Spring 2009 Kevin Cahill

Table of Contents

Problem DefinitionHistorical ContextStake HoldersCompetitive AnalysisEconomic FactorsEnvironmental Factors Technological FactorsRecommendationsPros and ConsReferences

Problem Definition

The newspaper industry is suffering from a steady decrease in printed newspaper sales and distribution since the creation of the Internet.

The industry must switch to the cheaper and more efficient medium of the World Wide Web, or stay unchanged and go out of business.

Problem Definition (continued)

Traditional newsprint...• Has been around for 400 years as a primary distribution

of news (Wilkinson, 2009)

• Is becoming antiquated in the face of modern technology

• The World Wide Web and television allow news to be updated instantaneously

• The current economy has driven newspaper sales lower

• Newspaper companies will eventually go out of business, with either the economy or time being the cause

Problem Definition (continued)

• Newspapers will eventually fade from existence, like the ATRAC tape and telegraph

• If major newspaper companies start posting articles online, more will follow

• The Kansas City Kansan, a paper on a similar scale to the Monterey County Herald, has already gone digital (Wiebe, 2008)

• Newspapers will become an outdated business plan if nothing is changed

• The Herald has a chance to be a pioneer in this transition

Historical Context• Early attempts at written news began with the

Gutenberg Press, invented by Johann Gutenberg

• The earliest forms of newspapers were formed like books or pamphlets in 1513

• By 1640, the covers were removed and newspapers began to resemble their modern day incarnates (Britannica, 2009)

• The first newspaper for the United States was the Boston Newsletter, which began circulation in 1704

• By 1732, the Newsletter expanded to cover worldwide events (Early America, 2009)

Historical Context (continued)

• Newspapers remained a dominate news source until the 20th century

• Radio was the newspapers first new form of competition

• After World War II, the television was invented, and newspapers lost their foothold as a dominant news source

• From 1940 to 1990, 267 newspapers had shut down (Stephens, History of Newspapers)

• With the introduction of the Internet, newspapers continue to suffer around the world.

Circulation continues to fall

at about 2.5% year-to-year for dailies and 3.3% for Sunday editions.

Daily Newspaper Readership by Age Group Percentage Reading Newspapers in an Average Week, 1999-2007

Young people continue to shun the newspaper. In 2007, just 33% of 18-to-24-year-olds and just 34% of 25-to-34-year-olds read a newspaper in an average week, according to data from Scarborough Research.

Historical Context (continued)

• The French government is giving 780 million dollars to their newspaper industry

• Their newspaper is the lowest selling form of newsprint in Europe (MediaBuyerPlanner.com, 2009)

• The internet has an upside to it:

• Most US newspapers have created online news sites, and average 60 million visitors per month (Reuters, 2008)

Stake Holders

• It is irresponsible for the owners of a company to let it die without attempting to save it

• The Herald currently employs 200 to 500 people that could be affected (LinkedIn, 2006; MediaNews, 2009)

• MediaNews Group, the owners of the Herald, are at risk

• With 31% of the MediaNews Group's stock, the Hearst Corporation is the majority share holder, and also at risk

• The readers of the Monterey County Herald are also a major stake holder, and those with computers have better access to the news

Stake Holders (Continued)

Stake holders at the Media News Group:• Gary Wright, chairman

• William Dean Singleton, vice-chairman and founder

• Jody Lodovic, president

• Steven B. Rossi, vice president and chief operating officer (LinkedIn, 2006)

Stake Holders (continued)

• A time of change approaches for those who contribute to the news industry

• Reading and other elements that are a part of news print have become fully integrated with the Internet

• The Herald, which has outsourced their printing and delivery needs, can easily transition to an online newspaper

• Authors already use computers to write their articles, and computers can make layouts as well

• Stake holders can ensure stability in the future with this transition

Competitive Analysis

• Competition has shifted with the invention of the computer and Internet

• The Herald's greatest opponent is the Internet itself, as many people today can access it via computer, cellular phone, or Blackberry

• Competing newspapers include the Monterey county Weekly, The Carmel Pine Cone, and the Carmel Valley News

• Other competitors include the Paper (written for the lesbian and gay communities) and the Californian, the Salinas newspaper

Competitive Analysis (continued)

• Magazines offer competition, though their information isn't always local

• Radio and television are also major opponents

• Radio listeners can keep up with the news while driving to and from work

• TV viewers can watch the news from the comfort of their living room

• Society today is fast-paced, so many simply don't have the time to read a newspaper

Economic Factors• The cost of printing and distributing a daily newspaper

needs to be considered

• According to the article, Electronic Newsletter, the price of online newspapers increases with the amount of visitors, but is still cheaper than traditional methods

• Newsprint currently costs $778.70 per metric ton, with the Herald producing 7 tons of newspaper on a typical day

• That's about $5,500 spent a day on newspaper (Paperage, 2009)

• Even the CEO of the New York Times plans to transition and stop printing entirely (Avriel, 2007)

Economic Factors (continued)

• According to the Fresh Air interview from WHYY, traditional newspaper models need to be reinvented

• The Monterey County Herald can increase their visits through advertisements, such as Google Adsense

• This would increase the amount of money saved through circulation, and also increase profits

Environmental Factors

• Switching to an online paper would be more environmentally friendly

• Newspapers are the fourth largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, after chemical, coal, and primary metals (Koerner, 2008)

• Few readers save newspaper after reading it, and dispose of it

• 400 tons of newspaper is collected for recycling per year, on average

• Most newspaper ends up in landfills

Environmental Factors (Continued)

• Producing a newspaper requires tremendous amounts of energy

• The amount of energy needed to produce 1 kg of newspaper is about 61 megajoules of energy

• The Herald can take the next step in helping the environment by switching to an online paper

• Many companies have already become environmentally friendly, and every little bit helps

Technological Factors

• The idea of the offset printing press has not changed since 1903

• The Monterey County Herald uses a computer plate system to print their newspapers

• The use of ink remains unchanged

• An average newspaper goes through 3,500 gallons or more of ink per year

Technological Factors (continued)

• The average printing press uses 12 large towers

• These towers require newspapers to buy larger buildings in order to do printing off-site.

• With the switch to an online newspaper, the space used by printing tower buildings can be used to house servers

• Another option is the newspaper can move to a smaller and cheaper building, and a server farm can be built elsewhere

Technological Factors (continued)

• With the Internet as the medium, the Monterey County Herald will be able to share information about the Central Coast all over the nation

• Kindles, netbooks, web enabled cellular phones, and other devices with internet access can also become enabled to display the articles

• A future use of the technology that could be adapted to this is the flexible OLED screen, which mimics the thickness of paper

Recommendations

• 1: Switch to an online newspaper, and have a weekends-only newspaper that summarizes the events of the week. This will allow those without Internet access to keep up with the news.

• 2: Advise companies that advertise in the newspaper to post printable coupons on the news site, or advertise their site on the news site. Also, the Herald should provide links to comic sections on the Web, and pay companies, if necessary, to have their website listed in search engines

Recommendations (continued)• 3: Establish an archive system that makes previous

articles easy to find and recover.

• 4: Allow those without internet access to keep up with the news by giving weekly subscriptions to public libraries.

• These suggestions will allow the Monterey County Herald to successfully switch from a printed paper to an online news source.

• It will benefit the environment from reduced waste, and many individuals will have easier access to local news.

• Many already turn to the Internet to get their news sooner.

Pros and Cons• Pro:

• Environmentally friendly

• News can be updated instantly

• Articles can be found faster by searching relevant information

• Switching to an online paper could attract younger audiences

• Con:

• The digital divide will prevent the poor, elderly, or those living in rural areas to keep up with the news

• Switching to an online paper will create a loss of jobs in the printing industry

• Online ads are frustrating

Pros and Cons(continued)

• Links to relevant information can be provided within the article

• Credentials of the authors can be easily accessed

• Readers can comment directly on articles

• Articles can be emailed directly to subscribers

• Greater ad revenue

• Online papers can be confusing, and people online tend to look for only one particular story

• Screens can strain the eyes, and be less enjoyable. Some prefer the feeling of holding a newspaper.

• E-papers can't be portable unless you have a mobile internet device

Questions

???

ReferencesAmerica's First Newspaper. Early America. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from: http://www.earlyamerica.

com/earlyamerica/firsts/newspaper/

Avriel, E. (2007). NY Times publisher: Our goal is to manage the transition from printto internet. Retrieved February 22, 2009 from http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/822775.html

France Pledges $780 Million Dollars to Struggling News Industry. Posted Jan. 3, 2009. Retrieved Jan 28, 2009 from: http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2009/01/23/france-pledges-780-milliontostruggling-newspaper-industry/

Fresh Air from WHYY. (Interviewer) & Downie Jr., L. (Interviewee). (2009). Former'Post' Editor Details The 'Rules Of The Game' [Interview video]. Retrieved from National Public Radio Website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99173374

Koerner, B. (2008). Should I Cancel My Newspaper Subscription? Retrieved February12, 2009 from http://www.slate.com/id/2185143/

Larry Parsens. (2008). Bought By Denver-based Media Chain. Save The Herald, retrieved Jan 28, 2009 from: http://www.savetheherald.com/page3.php

Linkedln Corporation (2006). Monterey County Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2009, from http://www.linkedin.com/companies/monterey-county-herald

MediaNews Group. (2009). Monterey County Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2009, from http://www.montereyherald.com/

References (continued)Newspaper. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 28, 2009, from Encyclopædia

Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413113/newspaper

Paperage.com. (2009). Newsprint Prices by Grade Per Ton. Retrieved February 2, 2009 from http://www.paperage.com/foex/newsprint.html

Reuters.(2008). Newspaper websites draw record viewers. Posted Jan. 25, 2008. Retrieved Jan 28, 2009 from: http://www.internetnews.com/breakingnews/article.php/3723891/

Wiebe, M. (2008, December 31). KCK’s Kansan to go online, end print newspaper. The Kansas City Star. Retrieved from http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/959759.html

Wilkinson, E. J. (2009). A brief history of newspapers. International Newspaper Marketing Association. Retrieved January 27, 2009, from http://www.newspaper-industry.org/history.html