Having only been part of the newspaper business about a year and a half, I can’t be considered an expert on the industry.  When I read the 10 Reasons article being discussed in some media circles, however, I did feel the editor/writer — like me — doesn’t have the whole picture.

Here’s a quick response to the main reasons the editor listed; he gives a lot more detail in the link.

1. Newspapers’ core audience still doesn’t want change.

• Why can newspaper companies not have multiple products for multiple audiences?  Just because you have a core doesn’t mean you can’t expand… all ages and demos read news.  You have to position it correctly.  In the past, there’s been only one product — the paper.  That, imho, is the gap… getting from here to there.

2. The culture of newspaper management is a dysfunctional relic of a low-bandwidth, monopoly era. 

• I’ll just say that this is not just “management,” it’s the entire support system of the industry.  But yes, margin expectations are too high.

3. The culture of newsroom leadership contains a fatal 20th century flaw: A fundamental belief that equates all new trends with dangerous “fads.”

• There is a seeming industry culture of conservative movement toward new trends. Thankfully, we have an editor that believes in the “new” and supports experimentation.  YMMV.

4. No budget for research, development or training means most newspapers can’t see what’s coming, don’t have the necessary tools for survival and couldn’t use those new tools effectively anyway.

• I have seen these budgets drop, and I admit to not having the time to train as much as I should.

5. Newspapers don’t “own” enough creative technological expertise.

• Agreed.  And it’s chicken/egg… how do you grow technically without lowering margin expectations?  It is a cycle leadership must break.

6. Inertia, uncertainty and toxic paralysis rule most newspaper companies. 

• While this may be true at peer’s companies and could be in certain areas in our company, our publisher and editor are big online supporters.  I don’t have enough experience here to comment, but I do see the point based on hearsay.

7. Individual ad-reps still make more money selling print ads than Web ads. 

• Print ads still cost more and are less operationally intense than web ads, and most companies are still structured to support print rather than online.  I see this as changing, but slowly.  Hopefully fast enough!  This also goes to margin, by the way…

8. Newspapers have already lost one of their key selling points: Social currency.

• Not in all local communities, and not all companies have plans to address any currency “losses.”   More on this in future posts.

9. The connection between quality and profitability has been broken irreparably.

• Our online quality is up, but I better not touch this one as I’m not a journalist and can’t speak on it.

10. Finally: Newspaper companies hate modern journalism.

• Perhaps this has been true long ago, as I’ve heard from colleagues.  But I see trends the right way, and I don’t hear our folks killing the messenger.  Our editor is big-time into trying new ways.  I guess I have more hope than the editor who wrote this article.