Although the newspaper industry has been struggling through hard economic times as well as through the digital age, the industry is apparently recovering, according to numbers recently released by Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper chain. The industry has long been in trouble, finding itself in a transitional phase between new media. Many, especially younger people, don't want to read print newspapers. Most won't pay for online subscriptions and want their news for free. Finding a profitable source of revenue has been rough for the newspaper industry. However, Gannet, the publishing company that owns the Green Bay Press-Gazette, released its promising third quarter revenues last month. "Third quarter year-over-year comparisons of publishing advertising revenue were a few percentage points better than year-over-year comparisons for the second quarter," said Craig Dubow, Gannet's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Advertising has long been newspapers' No. 1 profit in the industry, taking into account classified and businesses advertisements. Through the past decade, when online classifieds are commonly found, classified revenue has been struggling to make a profit. Business have also found trouble with advertisers paying less for online advertisements. The money advertisers are willing to pay are not following online, reducing profits. Studies show advertisements in print may not be going away, as people respond more to these advertisements. The National Newspaper Association reported 71 percent of people found newspaper advertisements helpful when making purchasing choices. The same study in 2007 was 50 percent, and in 2005, it was 41 percent. Furthermore, the NNA studied the advertisements people preferred on different mediums. These studies show 79 percent of adults would rather look at newspaper advertisements on TV. Likewise, 75 percent of adults prefer newspaper advertisements more than Internet ads. These numbers show the slowly improving conditions of newspapers. Studies like these show that newspapers are not a dying art, and that they do have a place in the media and in the future. Tim Meyer, communication professor, contributes newspapers' longevity to their unique qualities. "The function that newspapers provide is irreplaceable," Meyer said. Meyer added, newspapers dig into investigative reporting and provide well-rounded news. But newspapers biggest attribution may be the ability to integrate the community involvement. The NNA found that most people would rather read a local newspaper than a national newspaper. The Green Bay community has many avid readers who still appreciate and want a hard copy, Meyer said. People in Green Bay want the print copies, and that is why the print stays alive in the city. Other communities have a harder time keeping up their newspapers because of the lack of interest with print. Although the job outlook may be good for prospective employees, skills and attribution sets will need to be better than ever. The industry is changing as is the demand. People will always be looking for news and community which newspapers bring. This time, though, newspapers have to be ready to incorporate all mediums people are looking for.
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