Everything old is new again to nostalgic, internet-weary young adults

The survey of more than 1600 young adults finds those still living with their parents (about half) have noticed the global financial crisis's impact on the family and pared back their lifestyle in response. It also shows their love affair with technology is heading for a break-up, with time spent online down 30 minutes a week from last year, while their consumption of newspapers increased by the same amount.

}}} full story {{{
.

Times of India Online world's most visited newspaper Web site

According to most recent comScore statistics, The Times Of India Online is the most visited newspaper Web site in the world, Asia Media reported Sunday.

The report from the research firm shows timesofindia.com has 159 million page views for May, ahead of the sun.co.uk, with 142 million; nytimes.com, at 124 million page views; the dailymail.co.uk with 73 million visitors for May; and the washingtonpost.com at 61 million

}}} full story {{{
.

It's time to retire newspaper circulation data in favor of Web analytics - But which ones?

Newspaper circulation numbers are taken as report cards for survival. When worse than expected for too long, these numbers forewarn of future layoffs and corporate restructuring – and at the very worst, the death of a newspaper.

But we're putting our emphasis, energy, and nostalgia in the wrong place. The future is in Web analytics, but this extends beyond just knowing about page views, unique users, and visits.

}}} full story {{{
.

McClatchy shares gain on Gannett’s good news

Shares of The McClatchy Co. soared 33 percent in heavier-than-average trading Wednesday, as investors were a bit more optimistic about the newspaper publishing industry.

The Sacramento-based company — publisher of 30 daily newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee — had one of its best days on Wall Street, at least based on percentage increase. The company’s stock improved 14 cents to 56 cents per share.

}}} full story {{{
.

Gannett’s 2nd-Quarter Results Improve

The first temperature reading on the newspaper industry’s second quarter arrived on Wednesday from the Gannett Company — results almost as bad as the terrible first quarter’s, but with some signs that the decline was slowing.

}}} full story {{{
.

Dedham paper goes weekly, citing ad, circulation slump

The Daily News Transcript in Dedham is reducing the frequency of its print publication from five days a week to one on Oct. 1, according to a person briefed on the decision, who requested anonymity.

Declining circulation and an advertising slump led to the decision to go weekly, but GateHouse Media Inc., which owns the newspaper, plans no immediate layoffs, according to the source. Managers were told about the decision Tuesday, but advertisers and staff have yet to be formally notified. The Daily News Transcript has an average circulation of 3,201, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

}}} full story {{{
.

Think Again: The End of Local Reporting?

Much of the world of journalism has quite properly been focusing on the trials and tribulations of our great national newspapers—with the Washington Post’s self-inflicted wounds leading the pack. And it is easy to forget amid this obsession the importance of Tip O’Neil’s old adage: “All politics is local.”

True, local politics, like everything else, are not what they used to be. But the fact is that our political system—like our physical existence—still breaks down along geographical lines. And whether people care enough about local news to pay for it is, sadly, an entirely different question than whether our democracy requires a strong watchdog function at the local level to ensure safeguards against abuse, chicanery, and outright dishonesty. As the ex-journalist and impresario of “The Wire” David Simon observed when testifying before Congress about the death of the newspaper industry, “The next 10 or 15 years in this country are going to be a halcyon era for state and local political corruption.”

}}} full story {{{
.

Deal Ends Reduced Working Hours at Puerto Rico Newspaper

Union employees at Puerto Rico’s El Nuevo Dia newspaper renewed Monday a full eight-hour day after reaching an accord with management to end two weeks of reduced working hours due to the recession.

Union leader Yaphet Torres said in a statement that the accord was reached Sunday in an assembly where management was also convinced to pay retroactively the hour eliminated from the workday during the last two weeks.

}}} full story {{{
.

Uhmm... we're still here, folks

Bob Groeneveld writes:

In fact, except for those few exceptions, the newspaper publishing industry is rolling along reasonably well. And that's even more true of community newspapers, which have seen serious difficulties, such as reducing or ceasing publications, in only a limited number of cases.

}}} full column {{{
.

Texas newspapers share content: Capital Press Future Uncertain

Glenn Smith writes:

Sources say publishers and editors have ratcheted up their efforts to come up with news while cutting staff. Additionally, word that Austin investment guru and innovative thinker and businessman John Thornton will soon begin publishing a Texas online newspaper has these same editors and publishers worried.

}}} full post {{{
.

Why being an unemployed journalist is the best thing to ever happen to me

Mark S. Luckie writes:

When I was first told that I was being laid off from my journalism job back in December, I was devastated. I thought because of my rare technical skills and demonstrated passion for the job that there was no way I would ever be fired, even though I saw the mass layoffs that were happening all around me. It was a further blow to my ego when I realized that months later I was still unemployed along with thousands of other journalists.

}}} full post {{{
.

New York Times could make online charging decision 'within weeks'

The New York Times could reportedly take the decision to start charging for online news "within three to four weeks".

}}} full story {{{
.

Britain to America: More is Better

Harry Shearer writes:

The UK newspapers have maintained a quaint tradition of competition between the daily and Sunday editions of the same nameplates, under the same owners.

I asked a British friend about this phenomenon, of the lack of death rattles from (what used to be) Fleet Street, and he said, calmly, "I guess we're still a nation of newspaper readers.

}}} full column {{{
.

10 Reasons You'll Actually Miss Newspapers

Dan Frommer offers reasons a list of reasons while newspapers will be missed:

But as newspapers die, we're losing more than just a news format. We're also losing a plentiful, inexpensive tool for household activities, arts and crafts, and more.

}}} full story {{{
.

Publishers claiming copyright theft by aggregators aim to protect content

Roy Greenslade writes:

Leading European newspaper and magazine publishers are calling on the European Commission to strengthen copyright protection as a way to lay the groundwork for new ways to generate revenue online.

The publishers claim that widespread use of their work by online news aggregators is undermining their efforts to develop online business models at a time when readers and advertisers are defecting from print.

}}} full post {{{
.

MPs warn of risk to local papers

Scottish councils should stop damaging their local papers by the withdrawal of advertising, according to MPs.

}}} full story {{{
.

Reflecting on the future of newspapers

Rekha Basu writes:

Recently, in the nation's capital, I toured the Newseum, a seven-story tribute to the major news events that have shaped our history, as recorded in the press while they happened: Sept.. 11, the fall of the Berlin Wall, bombings, assassinations, elections. You can watch history repeat itself in the coverage of celebrity deaths like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and now Michael Jackson. Each day, you can monitor the front pages of newspapers across the country.

Yet along with the pride I felt in the industry I signed on to be a part of decades ago was a sense of foreboding. It's hard to be in a monument to the American newspaper when so many are struggling for their lives.

}}} full column {{{
.

Freedom Of The Press Means Freedom To Fail

The obituaries over the past week for Robert E.L. Taylor Jr. duly noted that in the 1960s and 1970s he was the publisher of the Philadelphia Bulletin--owned by his in-laws--when it was one of the country's largest afternoon daily newspapers. But what the notices of his death at age 96 didn't mention was his memoir. It still ranks as both one of American newspapering's greatest hatchet jobs and, in this era of withering Internet competition, a relevant, revealing look at ineffective responses by print management to technological and other challenges.

}}} full story {{{
.

Will community websites like Nixle fill void in local news coverage?

Joel Currier writes:

I may regret starting this discussion, but let’s talk a bit about the changing nature of print journalism.

It’s no secret that newspapers across the country are in survival mode, cutting staff and shrinking the amount of space for local and international coverage in attempts to reduce costs.

So when I received a press release this morning about the St. Charles Police Department joining Nixle.com, an online information service designed to alert residents to timely, targeted “community-level” public safety information online, I couldn’t help but raise this question:

Isn’t that pretty much what local news media already do, despite the industry’s ongoing financial challenges?

}}} full story {{{
.

Newspapers face challenges

Doug Millroy writes:

I am not having much fun as I approach this column today, even though it is about newspapers, the business with which I have had a 54-year association, loving every minute of it.

Simply put, my lack of enthusiasm for tackling the subject for this week comes about because most newspapers, standard fare for putting people in the know for so long, are in trouble.

}}} full story {{{
.

Editor: Cuts are never easy

Chip Thompson writes:

The Daily News, in response to declining revenue, will stop paying local columnists at the end of this week.

It isn't a decision that was made lightly, nor does it in any way reflect on the time and talent of those who submit regular columns to the newspaper. Like you, we have long appreciated their contributions to your Daily News.

But times are such that all cost savings need to be considered.

}}} full column {{{
.