Greeny News

extract

aa Agnes Gulyas

, Professor of Media at Canterbury Christ Church University.

Along with most analysts, who see the crisis in local newspapers as a revenue problem rather than a problem of readers.

Publishers responded to the disappearance of their traditional business model in different ways, she writes. But she discovered, in a series of interviews with business leaders, there are at least four "common elements".

involve changes in operations, organizational culture, product portfolio and financial models. She explained one by one, starting with changes in operations ...

significant decrease against its revenue from advertising, most companies have presented strategies to reduce costs, including layoffs and restructuring.

It is estimated that the local newspaper industry has lost about one in five of the approximately 12,000 journalists in mid-2000.

companies with more than one way often introduced centralized production facilities to reduce costs and maximize advertising revenue.

thought the cornerstones of their organizations could provide improved efficiency, greater flexibility in the delivery of the portfolio, to share relevant content more easily between different products and to introduce uniform standards.

strategies also included changes to the specifications of the work of existing staff, new skill requirements and changes in work practices.

Historically, many local papers are weekly publications with corresponding production cycles, which had to change radically with online activities for a growing 24/7 production.

restructuring also involved the outsourcing and changes in operational practices of non-core business activities in response to chains of exchange value.

Many companies do not have printing facilities, however, to outsource printing. Another common response was the development of methods of distribution. The distribution of newspapers is expensive due to the fragmented nature of distribution points.

response to external challenges, many companies in the local press have reduced the distribution of their titles and have developed specific practices.

For example, the free titles are not subject to the doors of people in some places, particularly in rural and semirural areas. Instead, they are distributed in supermarkets or on main roads.

changes in organizational culture

changes in organizational culture were cited in the interviews on the agenda of adaptation strategies.

Most local newspaper companies are in power and organizational culture was founded on fundamental values ??such as "the emphasis on tradition" and "solid and reliable."

However, there was a general trend away from traditional values ??to a more flexible and adaptable.

CEO, said: "We must be fast, flexible ... for us to detect an opportunity, try, and if it works go ahead and if not stopped, then ...

"So it's a state of mind ... Magazine publishers have been very good at it for some time, they will try something and it will start and you will make money and then stops working when killed.

"The regional press in particular has been very bad at the end of things that do not work throughout its history. We must learn to do it. It's a culture shock."

download also mentioned in other interviews: "We are beginning to change from being a tanker from a speed boat, and that's the best analogy I can give you give

"We must all change our attitudes which have been so emphatic heavy, and it's not how we will survive and prosper."

changes in the portfolio

A common response to external challenges has been to review the portfolio of products companies, which often leads to both disrupt certain products and introducing new ones.

Some local media companies have experimented with the new type of printed products, often targeted to specific niche magazines in your region / locality, such as sports, arts events and regional magazines.

In some cases, these titles are published in collaboration with local businesses or community organizations, illustrating the growing importance of partnerships and strategic relationships in the new market environment. however, was the introduction of the multi-media platform that offer the best opportunities for portfolio growth.

was a significant increase in the amount of content available online. The cross-media exploitation activities of the asset content across many platforms as possible, but mostly online and offline, offering benefits.

Nature increasingly complex competition is illustrated in the following quote from a CEO: