Internet Wields Blade, Slashes Newspapers

Circulation throughout the newspaper industry fell again, its decline over the past six months rivaling some previous record drops. Blame the Internet and its growth for the deep hurting felt throughout print newsrooms across the US. "I watched him for fifteen years, sitting in a room, staring at a wall, not seeing the wall, looking past the wall - looking at this night, inhumanly patient, waiting for some secret, silent alarm to trigger him off. Death has come to your little town, Sheriff." -- report cited numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the six months ending September 30th. Circulation ties directly to advertising rates. Higher circulations mean premium rates can be charged. As audited circulation drops, newspapers have to cut back, resulting in layoffs and reduced coverage. It's a vicious cycle. Blame this Halloween massacre on the Web. People have grown accustomed to finding the news they want when they want it. Breaking stories have not demonstrated any consideration of the daily print schedule; they happen when they happen, and readers want to know about it when they do. Advertisers have figured that out as well. They want to follow their audience, and like those readers have turned to the Internet. Newspapers have been trying to figure this out and repurpose their ad packages to include online exposure. "Online is about getting and consuming information efficiently," Greg Sterling Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Bookmark Murdok: David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.