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Long-time newspaper columnist Bruce Johnstone says the print news industry screwed up.

 

Data recently released by Statistics Canada reports Canadian newspaper publishers have seen revenue declines of $1.5 million from 2010-2012, with the largest declines reported in Western Canada and Ontario.

 

Two national media announced on Jan. 14 a combined total of 68 layoffs: 18 employees face impending layoffs at the Globe and Mail and at least 50 employees face layoffs at Postmedia Network Inc., a multi-newspaper chain that includes the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen and the Leader-Post, among others.

 

 

Johnstone, financial editor at the Regina Leader-Post, attributes some of the decline to a precarious shift to online news.

 

The seasoned veteran, who has been with the paper since 1977, sees the transition from print to online platforms as an opportunity for newspapers to adapt to these changes. He said print journalism has a unique ability to dig deeper into issues that matter to readers.

 

But, he said it was a mistake for newspapers to post content online for nothing, where readers didn’t have to pay for it.

 

“All of us lemmingly jumped off the cliff at the same time and we all decided to get all our stuff online as quickly as we possibly could, without thinking about the consequences.

 

“I think an informed electorate is going to be better off if they get their information from more than just, say, the TV news, or even the stuff you get on the Internet.”

 

Johnstone said it’s up to newspapers to prove their worth and value in delivering content to readers; newspapers can do this by digging deeper into issues that matter to readers. This is the news Johnstone said readers should pay for.

 

“It seems like at some point people have to pay something somehow for good stories,” agreed Terry Morash, publisher of prairie dog magazine.

 

Morash has been with the independent, employee-owned, bi-weekly newspaper for 16 years. As publisher, he’s responsible for overall business operations, sales forecasting and planning, advertising and distribution.

 

Morash said newspapers that don’t offer specialized, in-depth reporting for specific audiences will suffer the most from the transition to online news.

 

According to Morash, this is particularly relevant to news outlets that set up online pay walls for their readers. He cited the Wall Street Journal as an outlet that does big business with people paying to subscribe to the website. "They offer very valuable information to people who have a vested interest in the markets. Their readers are willing to pay for it," he said.

 

Niche-based news and reporting is important, he said. “You have to be in touch with what the local market is looking for.” He cautioned that for nationally-based papers, “it’s a little bit harder when you have to appeal to a wider national audience, when everything is going narrower.”

 

At a decrease of 4.5 per cent, these declines are due largely to decreased advertising revenues, presenting an even greater problem than readers looking for free content. Revenues at Canada’s daily papers took a hit of $2.19 million, or 9.3 per cent over the two-year period.

 

Local media director Stephanie Ebel said a lot of her clients have moved from print advertising to online advertising, citing cheaper costs and wider audiences.

 

Ebel’s company, Bravo Tango Advertising Firm Inc., has worked for such clients as the University of Regina, Tourism Regina, Harvard Western Insurance, and Italian Star Deli. As media director, Ebel does all of the media planning and buying for the company’s clients, arranging and purchasing advertising space on all platforms, print or otherwise.

 

“Media as a whole depends on what the client’s budget is, and on what (he or she) is looking to accomplish. I’ve noticed a lot of media plans have moved away from print just because it’s expensive. To get one ad, it’s expensive in comparison to something online,” said the advertising guru.

 

Ebel said online advertising offers increased capabilities for a client to target his or her specific market. Clients can target consumers based on geography and behaviour.

 

The importance of advertising is not lost on Morash either. “One hundred per cent of our revenue is generated by advertising, and now 99.9 per cent of it is local advertising that we generate and acquire ourselves," he said.