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PrintAction 11-2012_PrintAction 12-10-29 5:38 AM Page 1 Maximize YYourour Printing .com Profits Palais Royale EFI Inkjet Solutions KNOCKING OUT November 29, 2012 Wide, Wider, Widest. THE COMPETITION www.shop.heidelberg.com 25% OFF! printaction.com/CPA 1 800 363 4800 PM40010868 R10907 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to 610 Alden Rd., Suite 100, Markham ON L3R 9Z1 PrintAction 11-2012_PrintAction 12-10-30 6:09 AM Page 16 op newspaper editors say ‘print remains vital’ By Victoria Gaitskell tInitially, I had reservations about covering a sold-out October panel discussion called Gutenberg’s Last Stand: Reinventing the Modern Newspaper for a magazine that covers the printing industry. Not only the panel’s sensationalist title but also a string of current events seemed to be conspiring against the prospect of a healthy future for the printed newspaper. 16 • PRINTACTION • NOVEMBER 2012 PrintAction 11-2012_PrintAction 12-10-30 6:35 AM Page 17 Among the panelists, Lou Clancy, Vice President of Editorial and Editor-in-chief at Postmedia News; John Stackhouse, The Globe and Mail, Editor-in-chief; and panel moderator Scott White, Editor-in-chief of The Canadian Press Photos: Paul Terefenko / The Canadian Journalism Foundation For years, printers have been facing similar pointed out several directions in which news Monetizing text and the rise of pay-walls challenges to those of modern newspapers in content producers – like printers – need to think Stackhouse says that, although The Globe tried declining demand for print and growing demand differently and take calculated risks to transform unsuccessfully to charge for online content several for content delivery via other media. On October and expand their businesses. years ago, the time is right to proceed now be- 18, the same day on which the Canadian Journal- cause of three critical trends: Changes in technol- ism Foundation (CJF) scheduled the panel, Nobody’s last stand ogy to enable the construction of pay-walls, Newsweek, the iconic weekly magazine published White began by pointing out that the panel’s changes in the newspaper industry that have in New York, announced it was switching to a melodramatic title, Gutenberg’s Last Stand, prompted hundreds of newspapers to do it, and digital-only format starting in 2013 after nearly implied a false crisis, since news in today’s society changes in the marketplace resulting in greater 80 years in print. Just three days earlier, John appears on everything from free printed Stackhouse, Editor-in-chief of The Globe and newspapers, to large public television Mail had announced that on October 22 his screens tuned to all-news or all-sports Toronto-based newspaper would join numerous networks, to small screens posted above other major dailies (including the Ottawa Citizen, elevator doors and even public-wash- Montreal Gazette, The New York Times, The Wall room urinals. Smartphones and tablets Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles have literally put breaking news in the Times, Britain’s The Telegraph, and the Financial palms of consumers’ hands. “More eye- Times of London) in launching a payment system balls are reading more news stories on for online content. more platforms than at any time before,” So it was with some trepidation that I attended he says. But he adds that a corresponding CJF’s panel discussion to learn the straight facts problem for newspapers is that society on the future of newspapers through a panel now falsely equates pervasiveness with recruited from the royalty of Canadian journalism: the idea that news is a commodity John Stackhouse, mentioned above; Charlotte that anyone can produce simply and Empey, Editor-in-chief of Metro English Canada; inexpensively. Lou Clancy, VP of Editorial and Editor-in-chief Cooke, who spoke last, observes that, of Postmedia News; and Michael Cooke, Editor although 20 years ago there were three of the Toronto Star. Serving as moderator was daily newspapers in Toronto, today there Scott White, Editor-in-chief of English operations are eight, plus an explosion of news at Canada’s national news service, The Canadian Websites. “Digital ideology keeps on Press. repeating that mainstream media don’t Michael Cooke, Editor of the Toronto Star, speaks As their discussion progressed, however, I get it digitally and can’t adapt to new ways of about the challenges to print media of the past became increasingly relieved and optimistic, since producing news. Google and Yahoo and the rest decade this distinguished panel confirmed repeatedly are basically engineering companies, and they do that print journalism is alive and well. They also that very well, but they don’t do news. The truth consumer willingness to pay for information is our reporters do their news for them, of value online. Now IT and customer service and our method of producing digital have become the biggest challenges for anyone content is simply by combining old- implementing a pay-wall, he says. fashioned reporting with digital tools.” Cooke contributes two more reasons why so Neither did Cooke view the current many newspapers are establishing pay-walls now: state of flux of newspapers as merely the One is the relatively recent development of Web- result of pressure to go digital: “The 2008 site metering technologies that enable newspapers financial crisis has beaten us up financially to charge different readers different amounts for as much as any structural changes we’re different types of content. The second is the dealing with. News in general lost 50 per- downward pressure on CPMs (cost per thousand cent of advertising revenues in the last impressions) for advertisers online. eight to 10 years. The reason we’re not out Stackhouse also points out that custom content of business is that our profit margins are is the only significant revenue growth area in a lot historically high.” of newspaper companies. “The special sauce we Stackhouse agrees: “There’s no crisis in are offering includes exclusive content for busi- journalism. Society is hungrier for more ness leaders and special advertising offers. People and better information than ever before. want more than journalism. They want access to We just need to wake up and figure out information that matters to them plus a great user how to monetize it and take advantage of experience. People are overwhelmed with infor- the enormous demand.” mation today. They’re willing to pay a good chunk Charlotte Empey, Editor-in-chief at Metro English Canada, presents the different strengths of today’s media streams NOVEMBER 2012 • PRINTACTION • 17 PrintAction 11-2012_PrintAction 12-10-30 6:10 AM Page 18 Ipsos Reid in October conducted a poll, on behalf of The Canadian Journalism Foundation, Where do you get your daily news? to discover which media sources people rely on most for their daily news fill. 41% http://www. Newspaper SocialMedia Websites Online 35% Social Media Sites 14% 10% Twitter Dedicated 36% News Services 30% TV News (Reuters or News Aggregators Websites Bloomberg) (Google News) of money if you can provide them with “I’m sure we will not be able to turn off with it,” Cooke continues. He cites three ciency is that the Toronto Star has merged any help to cope with that.” print and go to digital any time soon. such innovations that have occurred re- its home-delivery operations with The There was consensus among panel There is certainly no business case right cently at the Star: One lucrative change is Globe, so that the same company now members that their most significant now for doing it, and I personally don’t that now, with their Sunday subscription, delivers both newspapers, saving them competition came not so much from see one. Print remains vital.” readers can choose to purchase an addi- both millions of dollars. individual publications or platforms, but He explains how the Star has produced tional optional insert consisting of the rather from the more generalized fight a dedicated news Website for 15 years, News and Book Reviews sections of The Lean innovation for the time and attention of audiences but that its parent company has consis- New York Times. A second is that weekly Lou Clancy emphasizes that modern barraged with information from a large tently been unable to make a digital busi- TV listings no longer come free with the newspapers need to find ways to encour- variety of sources. ness case that earns enough money to Saturday paper but can also be purchased age and lead innovation and afford the cover the costs of the newsroom and staff as an optional insert, a move that not skills and tools these innovations require. Print remains vital required to produce the news. only brings in additional revenue from He says the National Post is led by entre- Among the esteemed panel, Cooke “There’s a lot of life left in print, and if 250,000 households but also saves the preneurs who discover ways to get things emerged as the strongest advocate for the we’re smart, we can come up with new cost of printing TV listings that the other done by running small-budget test proj- traditional printed newspaper. He states: and unimagined ideas to make money subscribers don’t want. A third new effi- ects with limited staff. “You’ve got to start up lean, as if your wallet is half empty, not full.” Part of Ipsos Reid’s October poll for the CJF ranked a person’s appetite In Ranked Order for specific news sources from always daily consulted to least consulted. Examples of the Post’s successful projects that started small are Gastropost, a Website and Saturday printed supplement in the 40% Regular newscast on a TV station for either evening or late broadcast for their daily news fill Toronto edition where readers report their successes in accomplishing weekly food 23% Daily newspaper that they would normally pay for or subscribe to for their daily news fill missions.