Next Steps for Struggling Newspapers

Last year, the American Press Institute (API) conducted an in-depth review of business practices at newspapers nationwide and prepared a report card that assessed the industry’s ability to thrive in the new Web-based economy. Most newspapers recognized the need to change, scoring an A-minus in that category. But their grades were less than stellar when it came to delivering innovative solutions (a middling C) and looking beyond the traditional revenue model (D-plus).

The resulting report, Newspaper Next: Blueprint for Transformation, offers the industry a comprehensive look at the current situation and maps out strategies to help publications succeed by moving away from a traditional print advertising–based revenue structure. The API is hosting Newspaper Next workshops around the country, and today more than 170 publishers and editors are meeting at Boston University to discuss the report and devise a plan.

BU Today spoke with Lou Ureneck, chair of the department of journalism in the College of Communication, about Newspaper Next and keeping pace with a changing industry.

BU Today: How did BU get involved with Newspaper Next?
Ureneck: I was aware of the API’s work, and this seemed like a terrific opportunity for BU to get involved with the industry as it tries to redefine itself on the Internet. Tectonic changes that are occurring in media and in journalism and the Internet are going to play a hugely important role in the future lives of our students. We, as journalism educators, need to know as much as we can about the way media are evolving onto the Internet so we can build it into our curriculum and prep students for careers.

But Newspaper Next looks at the business model. How does that relate to editors and reporters?
The business model, whatever form or shape it takes, ultimately relies on readers or users — that’s the point of contact. It’s the consumer’s demand for news and information that animates the entire industry. Whatever the business model happens to be, it’s the newsroom, or the editorial side, that provides value for readers or users.

What old practices remain useful, and what needs to change?
The core values of journalism are unchanged. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. Its allegiance is to citizens, and its essence is verification. What’s changed is the way we deliver information and the shape and form of the information. Reporters, students here, continue to get training and education in how to collect and synthesize information, how to write clearly, and how to make judgments about the news. Those are immutable values and goals.

But we’ve added new courses — advanced multimedia, for example. We create Web sites as a part of the regular classroom work, and we stress the convergence of various journalism skills, such as writing, audio, video, photography, and so forth, into single multimedia formats. We’re telling our students that they really need to leave here with more than one skill. They may want to be writers, and I think there will always be a place for good writers, but we advise them to also take a course in multimedia storytelling. Nearly all of them will become multimedia reporters at some level.

What’s your outlook on the industry’s survival and success?
I’m optimistic about the future. We’re crossing a wobbly bridge now between an old business model and a new one, but I’m persuaded it will be successful because people want and need news and information, and I think they’re going to be willing to pay for it.

Why would people pay for it?
People naturally want to know what’s going on around them, and they want to be informed about the world they live in. They need information to be oriented and grounded. So the value of accurate and verified information, which is what journalism is all about, can only increase. Especially as we see more celebrity news, rumor, material of questionable provenance, unreliable reports — as all of this spreads across the Internet, the value of verified and accurate information will soar. I think journalism will stand apart from a lot of the garbage that’s on the Internet.

What about blogs?
Blogs are basically personal expression; they’re opinion. I think they have a place in that they can help people come to judgment, because they’re part of the process of debate and deliberation. What I would like to see among the bloggers is more original reporting, rather than people sitting at home in their pajamas and reacting to what they read in the newspaper. What we need more of is original reporting.

Are the industry leaders ready to accept change?
Absolutely. Newspaper publishers see the Internet as a means to survival, and what they’re doing is redefining their companies so that they sell news and information over a variety of platforms, like print, Internet, and podcast. The newspaper industry is embracing the Internet, and in many cases innovating in new and interesting ways.

The Wall Street Journal, for example, does a terrific job of providing added depth to their business report, and they’ve been able to charge customers for it. They were an early advocate of charging on the Internet, and because their business report is so strong and so deep, they’ve been able to get people to pay for it. The New York Times has moved aggressively into audio and video reports with success, and the Washington Post has been a leader in innovating on the Web.

Everyone’s having to deal with it, but I think the news reports will be richer and more engaging as a result. Change is difficult and it’s scary, but in the long term I’m hopeful and persuaded that journalism will pass through this period successfully and that there’s a bright future on the other side of it.

Jessica Ullian can be reached at jullian@bu.edu.