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You know the solution you just thought of to a long-standing problem is probably the right one if... it makes you feel like a complete idiot for not thinking of something so obvious long, long before.

Applies to management, parenting, sports... pretty much anything else.

Part one: The Future of Print Readership: Following Cultural Trends
Part two: The Future of Print Readership: The Role of Story Content/Presentation

A. INTRODUCTION

For my third research paper I will focus on how new technology has paved the way for “multimedia journalism,” and examine the changing relationship between reporters and readers resulting from this development. This topic naturally follows the subject of my second paper – story content/presentation. My second paper analyzed the effect which story content and presentation have on readership, and looked at how to draw in readers with the way in which a story is written or presented. My third paper takes my research one step further, by exploring how multimedia journalism (through enhanced content and presentation) can increase readership and reader engagement by appealing to their visual as well as auditory senses. I further discuss what technology has done not only for journalism, but also for reporters and readers.

Multimedia journalism – which often includes a print or online story supplemented by some other form of media that is more interactive than just text – is becoming a prevalent way to “do” journalism. New technologies will solidify this trend. Multimedia stories require additional skills from journalists, but provide readers with more choices to interact and be informed. If they choose to do so, readers can only read the article; however, they can also watch the supplemental video and be “on-the-scene” with the reporter, or listen to sound clips taken at the scene. The stories become more enjoyable and may help some readers better understand an issue if they are aural learners, for example. In addition, readers may save time by watching a two-minute video clip instead of taking five minutes to read an article.

Multimedia journalism, enabled by new technologies, has provided readers and journalists alike with new opportunities, as well as transformed how they interact with each other.

B. CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS

Multimedia journalism holds great promise in helping journalists do their job more effectively and in engaging readers. This potential partly lies in multimedia journalism’s ability to generate more direct interaction, discussion, exploration and analysis of issues among journalists and readers. According to the “Future of Newspapers” (2006, p. 5), “Today, more and more online newspapers are offering distinctive features that are not – and could not be – published in print editions.” The same source reported that newspapers sites usually include interactive features that “allow readers to comment on issues from the serious to the mundane and – unlike letters to the editor – to participate in ongoing dialogues with other readers, and perhaps reporters and editors as well” (2006, p. 5) This is a highly significant development, highlighting the fact that online journalism is not simply a more timely supplement to print, but offers independent value to readers in its ability to present content that cannot be conveyed in print.

Online interactions based on articles published on the Internet have become instant, paving the way for a changing relationship between journalists and readers, and offering opportunities for readers to be more engaged with what they are reading. Print journalists used to have very little interaction with readers. Journalists would write the story, and readers would read it and then move on to another article, as did the journalists. If a reader had something to say, she would write a “letter to the editor” and hope to get her comment published.

Today many reporters have their contact information at the end of online articles, opening up the lines of communication. It is no longer just a one-way conversation, but a dialogue. The ability to more easily communicate with editors and reporters is important to online users, according to Online Public Attitudes (2006) – 47 percent said it’s “very important for news sites to provide readers with e-mail addresses to contact the site’s editorial staff,” (2006, p. 1) an increase from 36 percent in 2002. Readers don’t want to feel like they’re being “force fed” information, but they want to give their input and share ideas. They also like the feeling of instant gratification, or rather, feeling good about doing something on the spot, knowing their voices will be heard.

Informing versus Marketing

The newspaper industry’s need to stabilize the decline in print and grow online readership has intensified the focus on readership behavior and preferences, changing the relationship between reporters and newspapers. The transition to multimedia journalism, like most significant transformations, poses its share of potential problems. For example, unresolved tension exists between those journalists who think they should be the gatekeeper of information and arbiters of what is “newsworthy,” and those journalists who think readers should to a large extent define what is to be reported, while staying true to immutable journalistic principles of integrity, accuracy and fairness.
According to an unpublished research paper written by Shera Balgobin, a Medill graduate student, journalists differ in how they think this tension should be resolved and fall into three general groups.

The first group of journalists is called “critical skeptics.” These include the journalists who think focusing on marketing newspapers to increase revenue has lowered the quality of journalism and has not improved newspapers. They also believe that “journalism should lead public opinion rather than follow it” (2007, p. 3).

The second group, which consists of “resigned pragmatists,” believes that some sort of change in the news industry is necessary, but “are wary of marketing’s impact on good journalism” (2007, p. 3). Despite this, they “actively solicit reader feedback,” (2007, p. 3) although they are cautious when reviewing the results.

The last group, the “change agents,” is completely behind the idea of marketing newspapers and allowing it to “inform” content to better serve newspapers’ readers.

This is one of the ways in which multimedia journalism has presented challenges as well as opportunities. Journalists must now find the balance between keeping up with the changing industry while maintaining journalistic values and enhancing journalism through multimedia. Stories are now being written differently, perhaps using a “feature style” or being written shorter, and the journalists and designers need to work together to find a way to report the news while making it interesting.

Multimedia journalism poses another challenge for journalists. Diana Day, who created the blogs BeTwinned and inSierra Madre, wrote in an email interview about the challenges and the ways in which multimedia journalism can be counterproductive:

“The worst quality of multimedia journalism is when the multimedia aspect is trivial or is done just to fit a trend or just to “go multimedia” for its own sake. When the story is primary and when the storytelling medium chosen fits the story that is being told, that's when multimedia is at its best,” Day wrote.

C. NEW TECHNOLOGY

Blogs

Blogs have been around for about ten years and become more popular over time, becoming almost an expected presence in many newspapers. Blogs present another opportunity for increased reader engagement and satisfaction, giving reporters another outlet for reporting the news or expressing their informed opinion on a topic, while allowing readers to comment and read others’ comments. Most online newspapers have “official” blogs, but blogs can be created by anyone who has Internet access. In The New York Times, blogs range from “The Caucus,” in which the Times’ politics staff covers the latest news in the presidential election, to “The Pour,” in which Eric Asimov discusses “the pleasure, culture and business of wine, beer and spirits.”

Monitoring blogs

There are difficult issues though regarding the most effective way to monitor blogs. The opportunities offered by blogs are severely limited by the bookend problems of too much or inappropriate censorship, on the one end, and senseless ranting, on the other end. Even with blogs on news sites there is usually some sort of comment filtering system to avoid people breaking out into fights and to maintain a level of civility. When dealing with blogs, newspapers are facing three main problems: 1) how to make sure the most opinionated people commenting aren’t turning off more moderately opinionated people; 2) how to most effectively filter comments; and 3) whether comments should be filtered at all. The major problem, according to Mark Glaser in the article “Traditional Media Ready to Elevate the Conversation Online – with Moderation” (2008), is: “How do you harness the audience’s knowledge and participation without the forums devolving into a messy online brawl that requires time-intensive moderation?”

Currently there is no set or uniform way in which newspapers are dealing with this issue, although some have come up with various techniques. The New York Times, for example, has a feature in which readers can recommend other readers’ comments. There are also “Editor’s Selections,” which allow editors to choose which comments they think are “worthy” of being profiled in some way. By doing this, the New York Times is letting readers decide what they think are the “best” comments. If readers are skeptical about allowing other readers decide what is “good,” they can also look at “Editor’s Selections” or just look through all the comments themselves.

In the same article, Jonathan Landman, deputy managing editor for digital journalism at the New York Times, said positive and negative reinforcement is the way to make blog-commenting successful. This suggestion makes much sense, as it is human nature for people to want to feel “special” or feel that they may be more knowledgeable about certain subjects than another person. People – and in this case it becomes especially true for readers – like to be rewarded for their hard work and the time they took to comment.

“Blog comments should absolutely be monitored using technological tools and also human intervention. Trash (i.e. slander, hatred, etc.) should not be published,” Day wrote. “For my blogs, I generally do not allow comments to run until I have moderated them. Obviously I do not edit comments. They either run or they don't.”

Newspapers need to work towards having comments of quality. Although newspapers are seeking high-quality comments, who has the right to decide which comments are appropriate or “of high quality”? The “who” usually consists of editors or readers who provide rating feedback. However, when deciding what is “high quality,” there is always the risk of too much censorship. Readers may rate others’ comments poorly because they disagree with others’ views, or the readers themselves don’t understand the issue and thus can’t “grade” appropriately. On the other hand, the potential for inappropriate censorship existed even with print. Readers never knew how many comments may have been submitted but not published.

Chances are that if a comment shows understanding of the issue at hand and is written in a logical, balanced and convincing manner, then it will be viewed that way by other readers. If a standard is set, then a majority of those who comment will match that standard. If someone doesn’t adhere to the standards, readers will be able to notice them right away. Also, readers have to have some faith in editors’ ability to view the comments in a balanced way (or objectively) and that any comments they’re filtering are probably best for the reader, either because the comment is illogical, the person doesn’t understand the issue, or there is unnecessary profanity.

An example of “high quality commenting” is seen with the blog IndyMoms, which targets moms in Indiana. According to the article “IndyMoms Draws Busy Parents with Discussion, Niche Content” by Rich Gordon, 10 “discussion leaders” were hired, or rather, moms who were paid $25 a week to “initiate and participate in discussions on the site” (p. 2). In the article, Jennifer Gombach, a brand manager in the Indianapolis Star’s marketing department, was quoted on the role of these discussion leaders:

“They often start discussions that are at a higher sophistication level than some other posters. They kind of set the tone from the get-go.”

In addition, Elpha Riche, who was hired by the Star, was quoted in the article saying that knowing which topics are heated or controversial helps beforehand. She said in the article:

“Sometimes I’ll go in and say, ‘OK, everyone, let’s take a breather. Step away from the computer and think before you type.’ If it’s not something you would say to a room full of people you just met, you should twice about posting it to our forum.”

This mindset needs to become the norm among bloggers. By having this mindset, readers can present more logical comments that don’t yell out “you have to believe what I believe, and I’m going to keep arguing until you do.”

However, some blogs are not worth monitoring. Cheré Coen, who was Readership Editor at The Bakersfield Californian and whose job was to make the newspaper more reader-friendly, wrote in an email interview about unofficial blogs:

“Now, blogs are another story. As a journalist, I cringe when I hear about people accepting things like blogs and unofficial stories as news,” she wrote. “One big difference is you know you're getting some form of professionalism with print as opposed to sites that aren't part of the mainstream media.”

Videos

Videos have become an important storytelling tool of multimedia journalism and have potential for growing readership. They are visually stimulating and bring people in a story to life. Use of news videos has grown significantly over the past 12 to 18 months, according to the American Journalism Review (2008). In addition, video consumers – which can include those who visit sites like YouTube – generally tend to be younger than the overall population. According to “The Video Explosion” (2008) in the American Journalism Review, the audiences attracted to videos “have higher incomes and more education” (2008, p. 5). The article reported that the Nielsen Co. reported that 129 million Americans have access to broadband, and that a report made by the Pew Internet and American Life Project in July shows that 57 percent of all online viewers watch or download videos. The number increases to 74 percent for broadband users. Based on these numbers, it seems that having videos accompanying articles is bound to attract more readers, especially the younger generation, which is crucial in contributing to increased newspaper readership.

In the same article, an author named Gene Weingarten (Washington Post) wrote a story about Joshua Bell, “one of the world's most esteemed classical violinists” (2008), impersonating a street performer, whom the public ignored. The article ran in the print version of the paper with photos, but video clips were added to the online version of the story. Weingarten was quoted in the article saying that his story was more effective online with the video, although this isn’t necessarily always the case. His definition of effective seemed to stem from the fact that the story reached more people than it would have without the video, including those in Beijing.

Frame grabs are also a new part of journalism and have arisen from video. Frame grabs are still shots taken from a video camera, able to be put on print as seen with the San Jose Mercury News or the Detroit Free Press, or online. They serve as a new, creative way to display information and add to multimedia journalism. David Leeson, who was interviewed in “The Video Explosion” (2008), started shooting video for the Dallas Morning News in 2000, and said in the article that he believes a journalist will soon win a Pulitzer Prize in photography from frame grabs. Videos play an important role in journalism, in particular online journalism, and are becoming a form of interactivity that is continually gaining popularity.

Other interactive features

Although videos are one of the most prominent forms of multimedia, others include sound clips, timelines, maps, and whatever else newspapers can create. Interactive features like maps are another way to attract readers to a story – while having readers read the actual story is ideal, as researched in my first two papers, they often don’t have the time. Interactive features accompanying articles allow the reader to get quick information about what happened and help grab their attention. A good example of an interactive map was seen in the New York Times regarding the Virginia Tech tragedy; the map had 16 slides that showed different areas of campus and the killer’s path, as well as descriptions of different scenes and facts.

D. JOURNALISTS’ CHANGING ROLE

These new ways of storytelling are pushing journalists beyond reporting the story in the conventional way. They now must add whatever supplemental material they can gather, as well as present the story in such a way that all the multimedia aspects of the story mesh together well. Also, stories do not have to be just an article anymore – they can be things like graphics or slideshows that stand alone. Integration of multimedia features requires tighter integration and smoother transition from text to multimedia features to sidebars to pull-out boxes, and more. This is all very taxing on the people who have to layout and design the online page, as well as gather the information, and journalists have to coordinate more closely to enable this.

Multimedia journalism has created opportunity for journalists, but it requires them, no matter what age, to learn new skills.

“Not everyone is adept with all the new storytelling tools, so sending reporters out into the field with videocameras [sic], for example, may or may not be helpful if the reporter is not a visual person,” Day wrote in an email interview. “Reporters have to want to use new tools and have to understand how these many new tools can add to a story. It's challenging to use multimedia tools in an additive fashion rather than in a subtractive fashion. It takes practice to shoot good video, to record compelling sound.”

If you asked a journalist ten years ago what their job was, they could respond with “I’m a print journalist” or “I do broadcast.” Today, though, a journalist has to be multi-skilled to keep up with the changing world. They need to know how to write the story and also supplement it and perhaps take video or record sound clips. Not only that, but once the story has been uploaded or printed, they now have a responsibility to lead discussion and to actively engage in it. Journalists can no longer sit idly after reporting a story, expecting readers to read it and then move on. Readers want to talk about what they read and engage with people all over the world. Journalists need to embrace this new movement and serve as leaders and role models.

A BRIEF PREVIEW OF MY FOURTH PAPER

In my fourth paper I will prove my thesis that print and online newspapers can survive in the future while making each other stronger. Based on my research I will propose suggestions as to how this partnership would best work while ensuring that journalism and reporters live up to journalistic standards and ethics.

Works Cited
Balgobin, Shera. (2007). Marketing in the Newsroom. (Unpublished research paper).

Glaser, Mark. (2008). Traditional Media Ready to Elevate the Conversation Online – with Moderation. Media Shift. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

Gordon, Rich. IndyMoms Draws Busy Parents with Discussion, Niche Content. Growing Audience: A Toolkit for Change. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

Layton, Charles. (2008). The Video Explosion. American Journalism Review. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

Lenhart, Amanda and Macgill Alexandra Rankin and Madden, Mary and and Smith, Aaron. (2007). Teens and Social Media: The use of social media gains a greater foothold in teen lifeas they embrace the conversational nature of interactive online media. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved January 7, 2008.

Macgill, Alexandra Rankin. (2008). Parent and Teen Internet Use. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved January 7, 2008.

Madden, Mary. (2007). Online Video: 57% of internet users have watched videos online and most of them share what they find with others. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved January 7, 2008.

Stepp, Carl Sessions. (2007). Transforming the Architecture. American Journalism Review. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

Teeling, Erin. (2007). American Newspapers and the Internet: Threat or Opportunity? The Bivings Report. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

2008. Innovations in Online Storytelling. Poynter Online. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

2006. Online Public Attitudes – 2006 Annual Report: Young Americans and their Attitudes Toward the Web. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved September 10, 200.

2006. Online Public Attitudes – 2006 Annual Report: Trust in the Internet. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved September 10, 2007.

The 21 drinking age was a stupid idea and it is past time for it to go.

Dozens of U.S. college and university presidents have signed a letter urging a public debate over lowering the nation's drinking age to 18. Let's make that debate swift, though. Millions of Americans already have spoken on the worth of the drinking age law.

By breaking it.

The 21 drinking age has done nothing - zero, zilch, nada - to stop people from drinking until they turn 21. All the drinking age does is turn under-21 drinkers into lawbreakers. That forces their drinking out of the public eye, away from parents, teachers and other responsible adults who could us their influence and example to enforce responsible drinking by young people.

And for some young people, "responsible drinking" may mean no drinking at all. I've seen the damage that alcoholism can do in a family and am trying to teach my kids that alcohol and their genes don't well mix.

Frankly, that job would be a lot easier if their friends who will start drinking were doing so in the open, where their parents and friends' parents could see it, rather than hidden away behind lies and cover-ups. The university presidents are talking about a drinking age of 18. Here's a crazy idea: How about 16? Or even 14?

Why? My kids are 11 and 8 now, and we enjoy frequent parties and dinners with them and their friends and their friends' parents. These get-togethers have helped all of us build a large, nurturing and healthy community at their school, one where parents feel comfortable helping the kids, and the kids feel comfortable with many of the parents.

I fear, though, that as some of the kids start drinking, they will segregate themselves from this community, to drink in private, and that they will start putting pressure upon their friends, including my children, to do the same. I don't buy the cynical idea that no teens ever want to socialize with their parents. Yes, they do need and will want time alone, as they do now, as pre-teens. But illegal drinking makes the parent/teen divide worse that it needs to be.

Laws should help protect communities, not segregate and destroy them. And when the vast majority of people affected by a law do not abide by it, as generations of Americans have kissed off the drinking age, we need to talk about why we have that law in the first place. (FWIW, I also find it ironic how so many Republicans and conservatives, who stereotypically support home-based solutions to social problems rather than government-based ones, flip on this issue and instead support the government setting rules on personal drinking.)

There are other, better, ways to address alcohol abuse in this country. Let's talk about them.

Part one: The Future of Print Readership: Following Cultural Trends

A. INTRODUCTION

For my second research paper I focus on how story content and the way news is presented impact print and online newspaper readership. This topic naturally follows the subject of my first paper – culture change. My first paper analyzed the effect of the Internet on readership, how people’s lives have changed their reading habits and the evolving perception of media. In this paper I discuss what turns readers on/off to newspapers based on the societal changes which I reported on in my first paper.

In a world where people’s time seems more valuable than ever, story content has become that much more important – it is one of the main factors drawing readers into or turning them away from reading newspapers. Without appealing content written in a reader-friendly manner, readers won’t want to read newspapers. Newspapers will serve no purpose if they don’t have an audience to inform.

As the decline in print readership continues, industry officials have identified the improvement of story content as one of the main ways for newspapers to turn their readership around and gain a more loyal audience. In fact, gaining readers through more interesting content and promotion have become so important that new positions have been created specifically to do just that at newspapers like “The Bakersfield Californian” and “Atlanta Journal-Constitution.” The Readership Institute (2001) reported that even the slightest increase in overall content satisfaction increases readership. And an article in “The Canadian Press” (2001) went so far to say that improving content will reverse the readership decline.

The way a story is presented and marketed also has huge potential to reverse the readership decline. Presentation denotes how journalists tell a story, design stories on a page or screen, and use different devices to make it more appealing and easy to read. Marketing includes techniques like in-content promotion and better service, both of which are main factors to gaining readers.

Cheré Coen, who was Readership Editor at “The Bakersfield Californian” and whose job was to make the newspaper more reader-friendly, wrote in an email interview about the important effect of story content and presentation on readership.
“It's everything. Readers can sense from the way a story begins and how it is placed on a page that it will be too long or too in-depth for the time they have allocated to read the paper,” Coen said. “Some readers only want the breakout boxes so if they don't see any, will skip the story. It's unfortunate, but most readers today don't have the time or the inclination to read long stories or stories they know they should read but don't want to (government meetings are an example).”

B. IMPORTANCE OF STORY CONTENT

Role of Story Content

Newspaper articles are supposed to inform the public of what’s going on in the world – but is the dissemination of facts by itself enough to attract readers? The answer seems to be “no” amongst many industry experts.

According to the Readership Institute, the types of articles that interest readers of all ages include those that: 1) give the reader something to talk about; 2) make the reader smarter; or 3) look out for the reader’s civic and personal interests. If journalists can write articles that offer readers one or more of these qualities or experiences, readership is likely to increase.

Reader Complaints

Newspapers can also increase readership by identifying and addressing reader complaints. A common complaint in a State of the News Media report (2007) is that stories have become “flat” and uninteresting. The Pew Research Center (2002, p. 3) reported that “many Americans only follow the news when something important occurs.” This means that when an event isn’t deemed “important” in readers’ eyes, they don’t have a compelling reason to pick up the paper, thus contributing to the decline in news readership.
Another reason for the declining interest in news may be because stories have become too “dry” and journalists assume readers know more than they really do, according to an article in “The Canadian Press” (2001). This is a turn-off to readers not only because the stories are boring, but because the writers are making it difficult for the readers to understand what they’re reading. People read to become informed about a topic of interest; if they struggle to understand a subject matter they find interesting in an article, they will not think it’s worth their time to continue reading. The struggle overwhelms readers’ interest.

C. INSIDE THE NEWSPAPER

Popular and Unpopular Stories

While there are no silver bullets or easy solutions to addressing the decline of print readership, there are quite a few changes that may stem this decline. Among these, the biggest change most readers want to see in their newspapers is a greater focus on community news. This desire for more community news can be attributed to several reasons. One is that news is becoming more impersonal, according to the Readership Institute and State of the News Media 2007. Another is that by having more community news, the paper feels more like the readers’; this is because the newspaper is incorporating readers’ input instead of having its journalists insist they know what the readers want to read. The journalists are still in charge of what’s being written, but now they are taking the input of the readers into account and adding more stories of interest.
Some industry officials may argue that by doing this, newspapers are compromising their integrity and ignoring news that should be covered. Editors at newspapers need to refrain from knee-jerk reactions of thinking “they know best,” and challenge themselves to ask objectively whether the stories being replaced were space-fillers and not significant or interesting to begin with for the readers. If so, newer stories that are more relevant to the readers’ lives should replace them. Also, perhaps these so-called “necessary” stories are already being covered in national newspapers like “The New York Times.” If the newspaper wants to cover a global issue, it should localize the story to engage its target audience.

Another useful change concerns local, health and crime news, which are followed by readers across all audiences and prove to be widely read stories, reports The Pew Research Center (1998). However, there is evidence that readers still want to know more about the “goings-on” in the community, as well as understanding “how we are governed,” reported an article in the American Journalism Review (2003, p. 2). Again, people want to read about news that directly affects them.

Stories on health, home, food, fashion and travel have the second greatest potential for growing readership, reported the Readership Institute (2007). This is because these stories are easier to read, thus making the paper more personable and relatable to readers’ lives. Readers are also very eclectic in their tastes, allowing these types of stories to span across a greater area of news.

Yet another area for effective change is the editorial section. Improving editorial (and advertising) content was one of the “four cornerstones of readership growth,” according to an article in the American Journalism Review (2003-2004, p. 2). The Readership Institute (2005) also found that editorials matter, especially to older, more loyal readers. Perhaps this is because editorials reveal the voice and passion of the journalists and editors behind the newspaper. If editorials are written in a logical, mature and interesting manner, chances are the writers understand how to convey messages and information. Also, editorials draw in readers based on the subject matter – if readers can see that the journalists understand what’s interesting and important, that can lead to greater reader interest. Editorials are in a way another type of storytelling, making the content and the journalist “come alive.”

Stories that include “go and do” information have also become extremely popular. Readers do not want to sit idly after reading a story. Stories should provide phone numbers, addresses, online sites, etc. so that if readers wants to know more, it’s easy for them to find out how to do so, according to an article in the American Journalism Review (2003-2004). “Go and do” stories also provide the reader with the opportunity or possibility of further action beyond just passively reading the newspaper. Stories with no further supplemental information are just that – a story. However, with more interactivity with “go and do” stories, a reader can take the new information and knowledge from the story and apply it to their lives – this added touch to a story relates back to the story tenets of what draws in readers.

Newspapers should also focus on which subjects offer the greatest appeal to readers and the relationship between the topic and length of articles. A NAA- and ASNE-backed Readership Institute (2004) research undertaking found that readers wanted fewer stories and photos about natural disasters and accidents; shorter stories about movies, TV and weather; more stories about business, economics and personal finance, especially ones offering commentary and advice; more and longer stories about science, technology and the environment; fewer but more locally focused stories about crime and justice; and more features and commentary about all levels and types of sports. All these findings are supported by previous research. Readers preferred those stories directly relating to people’s lives that could also be considered “hard news,” like business and economics. Why? Because those are stories directly affecting them, and they can take in the information and then “go and do.”

The research findings above strongly suggest that newspapers need to be sensitive and receptive to reader preferences, when deciding what topics to cover and the length of different stories. For stories which may not directly relate to readers’ lives but are still of interest, like those about science and technology, longer stories might be more appropriate as these topics are more difficult to understand and require more space to explain in a way for the average reader to understand.

Coen said she has seen a trend among what newspapers strive for in a story.

“Most newspapers today shun stories that are written more than 25 inches. The last place I worked they were demanded about 10! This is a huge difference from when I first started and we wrote long,” Coen wrote. “And most newspapers today want breakout boxes, a real person in the story, boxes that explain contact information, etc. As a reader, I like these things and have little time, so I can understand the significance very well.”

Feature-Style Writing

As a budding journalist, I have learned that the inverted pyramid writing style – in which the most important news is placed at the top of the story and the least important at the bottom – is the basic way to write a news story. This way, stories can be cut, if necessary, from the bottom up. However, this style is appealing to fewer readers, while articles written in a feature or narrative style are the preferred type of story according to numerous sources like the Readership Institute and an article in the American Journalism Review (2003-2004).

Feature-style stories often begin with a “microlede” focusing in on one person, and then relate that person to the bigger issue in the article. Newspapers which lean towards feature-style writing are viewed as more “honest, fun, neighborly, intelligent, ‘in the know’ and more in touch with the values of readers,” according to the Readership Institute (2005, p. 3). By writing in a feature-style, hard news is not receiving the short end of the stick, as some readers might assume. Feature-style writing is just that – a style of writing. All the news will still be in the article; however, the journalists will be writing the article as if they’re telling a story, enticing readers to read just beyond the first few paragraphs to take in the bland and basic “who, what, where, when, why and how.”

Based on the findings in my first research paper, this shift to feature-style writing seems to be the key to attracting younger readers to read the news.

“Younger adult readers are not stupid,” said Readership Institute Managing Director Mary Nesbitt in an article in the CQ Researcher Online (2006). “They react very badly to being talked down to. But they also don’t want to be bored to tears by stories that are not well told, stories that are of no interest to them in the first place.”

The Readership Institute has listed numerous reasons for the value of feature-style writing, including attracting more readers through focusing on people like them, and attracting more women readers too. Currently only 18 percent of stories are written in a feature-style, while 69 percent of stories are written in an inverted pyramid style, according to the Readership Institute.

D. EFFECT OF PRESENTATION

Presentation of content in newspapers ranges from the design of the print and online newspaper to when and how the newspaper is delivered at your doorstep every morning. Now with so many options to choose from to access news, newspapers can no longer expect people to want to read their papers based solely on the information they contain. Because the odds are that most, if not all, the content your newspaper is covering has already been covered by another competitor paper. Presentation becomes one of the key factors in differentiating your paper among the hundreds of print or online papers hoping to gain your loyalty through subscriptions or site visits.

Jumps

People have many misconceptions about how to turn the newspaper industry around. Some solutions seem realistic, but others have been disproved by certain news research organizations. For example, contrary to common belief, jumps do not seem to affect how people judge a story’s content, according to the Readership Institute (2001). One reason for this could be that if readers are interested in reading an article, the inconvenience of following jumps is not onerous enough to overcome readers’ interest in finishing the story. Perhaps by custom or force of habit, readers have come to expect and accept jumps in a newspaper, but newspapers should still try to minimize their frequency. They do take up more of the readers’ time, which could potentially affect readership.

Service

Better service will help turn the industry around, but media organizations do not take this as seriously as they should. A newspaper that arrives every morning on time and in good condition has a huge effect on whether the reader will want to continue subscribing and reading that newspaper, according to an article in the American Journalism Review (2003-2004). If readers can trust not only what is reported in the newspapers but how the news gets to them, they will be more inclined to stay loyal customers.

Design

Another common misconception is that more attractive design, like more color, draws in a larger crowd. While perhaps the more vivid color may initially catch a reader’s eye, people do not pick up newspapers to look at only pictures. For a paper to maintain a healthy readership, its content must have substance.

Also, a common improvement many readers want is for their newspapers to be more easily navigable, according to numerous sources. If newspapers provided more cues to “go here for this story,” readers would know where to find the stories they want to read. And they would be able to find it more easily, increasing their satisfaction with that paper. Different audiences want to read different stories, and by laying out clearly the location of each story, the paper serves audiences with different interests better while still covering and informing about a wide range of issues.

Advertisements

Advertisements or ads are a newspaper’s main source of revenue. However, ads are mostly ignored by readers. This is especially true on news sites, according to a Poynteronline study amongst 46 San Francisco people (2004). Yet there are still readers who buy Sunday newspapers for their inserts or readers who go to newspapers for the “marketplace” aspect, wrote Professor Mary Nesbitt of the Readership Institute. And because some ads do attract attention, their placement still matters. Currently when people glance at ads, it is only for 0.5 to 1.5 seconds; however, improved ad placement can increase that figure, according to the same article.

Nesbitt also highlighted the fact that print and online newspaper advertisements are received differently.

“Print is often described as a ‘lean back’ medium – you’re sitting in your own bubble of time, often relaxing, and paging through a limited and defined product that mixes news and advertising but in a way that allows you totally ignore one or the other,” she wrote. “Now consider online, a ‘lean forward’ medium that is all about doing things – clicking, linking, scrolling. Along come ads that pop up on your screen or leap about or are garish – and can be intrusive. Ads haven’t been integrated smoothly yet online the way they mostly have in print.”

Also, there is evidence that different racial and ethnic groups respond to ads in varying ways. A study by the NAA- and ASNE-backed Readership Institute (2004) reveals that African American and Hispanic readers “tend to be single-copy buyers at double the rate of white readers, so making the paper easily accessible is priority.” It added that both minority groups “spend significantly more time reading advertising” than Caucasian readers. If this is true, understanding the make-up of the paper’s audience and seeking the placement of advertisements that appeal to its core constituency would be one way possibly to increase readership.

Promotion and Marketing

In-content promotion, which involves a newspaper promoting its own content, is another contributing factor to building readership. Yet many newspapers are not doing it. Common excuses include, “We don’t have time” or “We aren’t good at planning ahead,” according to the Readership Institute (2005). But these are just excuses, and newspapers need to start making time. How are readers expected to be drawn to a newspaper if it is not being actively promoted? Newspapers cannot just passively report the news – they must report it, and then market it. Because time is precious, promotion becomes that much more important – it’ll catch the less-frequent reader according to the Readership Institute (2005), and help readers choose more quickly which stories will interest them, through the use of teasers and other promotional strategies. Combine in-content promotion with making it easier for readers to find articles of interest, and the newspaper will already have improved a great deal.

When Coen worked at “The Bakersfield Californian,” promotion of the newspaper was one of the most difficult tasks for her.

“The hardest part was getting information from all of the departments to create "Coming" boxes and other promotional editorial,” Coen said.

Online Homepages

Although people are increasingly turning towards the Internet for news, this does not mean that online news sites are perfect. The best way to present online news is still being debated, although a Poynteronline study (2004) conducted a test to see what worked best in attracting readers amongst 46 participants in San Francisco.

Participants first looked at the flag/logo and top headlines in the upper left portion of the page. Users were also found to read more of the articles or blurbs with smaller type, while bigger type led to more scanning. So the most logical thing would be to put the main articles at the top of the page, which most online newspapers do. Headline writing was also found to be extremely important, as many readers only read the first few words of a headline unless it catches their attention. To entice readers, copy editors should make new headlines for online stories, and cater to the way the audience sees the news on a computer screen.

Online stories that were shorter received more views as well, suggesting that when readers go online, they’re not looking for in-depth stories, but rather the quick facts.

A BRIEF PREVIEW OF MY THIRD PAPER

In my next paper, I will examine the changing relationship between reporter and citizen, and how new technology has fueled this evolving relationship. I will focus particularly on the role of multimedia in the news industry and the different mediums through which news can be received. I will also look at whether and how print and online counterparts of newspapers, like the “LA Times,” have begun to use technology to work together.

Works Cited

Jost, Kenneth. (2006). Future of newspapers. CQ Researcher Online. Retrieved October 19, 2007.

Outing, Steve. (2004). Eyetrack III: What News Websites Look Like Through Readers’ Eyes. Poynter Online. Retrieved December 2, 2007.

Small, Jay. (2004). When It Comes to Homepages, It is Polite to Stare. Poynter Online. Retrieved December 2, 2007.

Stepp, Carl Sessions. (2003-2004). Why Do People Read Newspapers? American Journalism Review. Retrieved October 26, 2007.

2007. Digital. The State of the News Media 2007: An Annual Report on American Journalism. Retrieved September 8, 2007.

2005. The Value of Feature-style Writing. The Readership Institute. Retrieved September 10, 2007.

2005. Understanding and Improving “Easy to Read” Content. The Readership Institute. Retrieved September 10, 2007.

2005. Why Don’t Newspapers Promote More? The Readership Institute. Retrieved December 2, 2007.

2001. Newspaper Content: What Makes Readers More Satisfied. The Readership Institute. Retrieved September 9, 2007.

1998. Internet News Takes Off. The Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 18, 2007.

I had to share a quote from Annette Haddad's story in this morning's Los Angeles Times on July home sales and prices in Southern California.

The quote, a paraphrase really, comes from homebuyer Dale Smet of Santa Clarita. Haddad writes: "Smet, who works in marketing for Southern California Gas Co., said he carefully conserved an equity line of credit during the boom years, which he tapped to pay $300,000 cash last month for two foreclosed condos near his house."

She goes on: "After a 15-day escrow, Smet did the necessary cosmetic repairs himself and said he had no trouble finding renters willing to pay about $1,500 a month for each unit. He hopes eventually to take a first mortgage on each with monthly payments that he figures would be less than his rental income."

O.M.F.G.

"[H]e carefully conserved an equity line of credit" (emphasis mine). What the heck does that mean? I think it means that this gambler borrowed 300 large against the value of some other property, then used that loan to buy a couple condos against which he now plans to borrow again.

This reminds me of a blackjack player on a losing streak who keeps doubling down in the hopes of scoring a big win to get back in the black. Casinos luuuuuuve these guys, 'cause they almost always end up broke.

Just like people who borrow against depreciating assets to buy... more depreciating assets.

A. INTRODUCTION

Research Goals

Over the past several years, it has been widely reported that print newspaper circulation has declined substantially. More and more readers prefer to get their news from other forms of media. Consequently, advertisements have been migrating away from print newspapers to other channels that have wider and growing audiences. With fewer advertising dollars to support the operations of print media organizations, hundreds of journalist positions have been eliminated, adversely impacting print newspapers and arguably the quality of their content.

As a budding journalist, I have naturally been following these developments with keen interest for quite some time now. The world is becoming increasingly driven by technological advances and the news industry is transforming rapidly in unexpected ways. Since many media experts are predicting the inevitable death of print media, I decided to research this topic to examine the reasons behind this prediction. My goals are to explore whether print media is destined to die off as so many have forecast and to suggest changes which print media can make to remain relevant going forward. This research is extremely pertinent to today’s society and helps us better understand the rapidly transforming face of journalism and its impact on and interaction with society.

Research Approach

My research approach isolates the main factors causing this consumer shift from print to online media, and seeks to determine whether the content, presentation and delivery of print media can be adapted to incorporate and address these factors, in order for print newspapers to survive and thrive in the future.

I will analyze the shift from print newspapers to online media from three perspectives: cultural changes, story content/presentation and new technologies. My focus is especially on
1) the reader’s behavioral changes in response to these three developments,
2) how these changes determine the types of stories that appeal to different audiences and the underlying reasons for this appeal, as well as
3) how technological advancements have shaped journalism.

Targeted Sources

Traditionally, books represent a fertile research source. However, given how quickly the developments in the media industry are unfolding, I find that the best research sources for my topic are those that are available on a timely basis and track industry developments as they occur. There is a trove of sources that are readily accessible on the Internet, including articles written by research organizations and universities. Both print and online newspaper articles that I’ve been collecting have also proven useful.

Since my research focuses on reader behavior and preferences, I plan on augmenting my research by conducting small-scale surveys, if feasible, to determine and gauge consumer preferences and behavior. In addition, I plan to interview and consult industry experts, such as journalism and communication professors at research universities, and industry professionals like Meredith Artley, who is the executive online editor at the Los Angeles Times. Researching what industry professionals are seeing on a daily basis in terms of audience behavior and circulation trends as well as what they are doing to adapt to the changing landscape should prove extremely instructive.

Structure for Research Results

My research will be presented in four separate papers at the end of each quarter. This first paper discusses the cultural changes that have caused the migration of readers from print to online media. The second and third papers will examine how story content and new technologies, respectively, have affected print and online journalism. I will present in the final paper a list of features about print media that readers still like and enjoy and the aspects of online news that readers dislike. I will then conclude by recommending a series of changes to the content and presentation of both print and online media, enabling them to thrive and make each other better.

B. CURRENT STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

The advent and widespread availability of the Internet play a large role in why Americans are reading more news online instead of in print newspapers – the Internet is convenient and fast, and allows users to multitask. Roughly 92 million people go online to read news, and the time spent online is rapidly increasing as well, according to State of the News Media (2007) – Americans now go online roughly 8.9 hours per week, a one-hour increase from 2005, according to University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future (2007). It also reported (2007, p. 2) that about 68.1 percent of Americans use the Internet for various purposes, “a substantial increase from the 46.9 percent of users who reported home Internet use in 2000.”

With the increased use of the Internet, people don’t have to search deliberately for news – it comes to them. A State of the News Media report (2007) found that by spending more time online, Internet users stumble across more news sites, even if unintentionally. Although a speedier Internet should lead to users having to spend less time online, in fact they are spending more time online engaging in activities like e-mailing and finding information for work or school. The increase in the use of Internet broadband connections is one of the reasons for this substantial increase in time spent online, reported University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future (2007). Since readers only have a certain amount of time each day to follow the news, one might surmise that having news “served” on them while they are online results in less time and desire to get the news from other sources, including print newspapers.

While undoubtedly the decline in print newspaper readership is partly due to readers preferring to get their news from online sources, there is evidence that print media’s decline can also be attributed to fewer people reading news, whether online or in print. For example, adults now in their 20s have not consumed the news at the same rate as 20-year olds did in earlier generations, according to State of the News Media (2004).

This trend is not isolated to the “twenty-somethings.” The younger and middle-aged readers have grown up in an environment in which the need to follow the news is not as compelling as that experienced by those 65 and older. In fact, State of the News Media (2004) found evidence that many have stopped reading the news completely for whatever reason.

The same report stated that based on “2003 data from Scarborough Research, a consumer market company, only 40 percent of people aged 18 to 24 read a paper on weekdays, and less than half on Sundays (48 percent). The numbers are slightly higher for people 25-35 (41 percent weekdays and 52 percent Sundays)” (State of the News Media, 2004, p. 6).

Though the decline in newspaper readership is most acute among the younger generations, as the graph below shows, even the readership among those over 65 years old has dropped by one percent since 1999 for daily and Sunday newspapers, according to a State of the News Media report (2004). Still, the older generation grew up with print newspapers and has for the most part stayed consistent in news consumption habits.

C. CULTURAL CHANGES

Demographics and Rise of the Internet

The children of Baby-Boomers have had a huge impact on the relative fortunes of print and online news readership. One of the main differences between the current generation and our parents’ and grandparents’ generations is that they did not grow up with the Internet. In contrast, the current generation grew up along with the rise of the Internet, and we often look to the Internet as the primary source to get information, including news. In a 2004 survey conducted by the Readership Institute, 39 percent of respondents who are 35 years old and over said they read the newspaper growing up – for 18-24 year olds, it’s only 16 percent. Online news consumption, as with other types of online information, is naturally and culturally appealing to Generation X.

Not only is our generation going online for news, but the Internet has made converts out of older generations as well. The University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future reported that 77.6 percent of Americans who are 12 years old and over are now going online. As the graph below shows, the percentage of the people accessing the Internet has increased greatly since 1995.

Modeling Parents

The same 2004 study by the Readership Institute discovered that there is a link between the amount of news children consume and how much news their parents read while the children were growing up. Also, if reading and discussing news was not common in a child’s household, then based on the study the child would read less news as an adult. However, the study did not address online readership, posing the question: If parents began reading online newspapers when they were younger (most major print newspapers had online counterparts by the late 1990s), then are their children more prone to adopting those same readership habits?

Changing Nature of Daily Lives

In today’s fast-paced society, everything needs to be done as efficiently as possible and time cannot be wasted. Multitasking has become an important and almost necessary skill to be able to live a successful, productive life. Such behavior has become especially prevalent among teenagers, who are the most familiar with multitasking, doing things like listening to their iTunes, emailing their friends and finishing their school reports all at the same time.

In the 1950s when the only way to receive news was through the print newspaper that was delivered to your house every morning, many people had factory jobs with regular schedules, according to the State of the News Media (2004). Now, it is not realistic to expect people to wait for the paper to arrive every morning when there are other outlets to get news. Work schedules are not as predictable as they used to be and as a result, people are leaving and coming home at different times; often, people are working longer hours than are healthy. Therefore, the ability to receive updated news online at 11 p.m. or 6 a.m. is important for those who want to stay “in the know.” Even so, working longer hours does mean there is less time to read a print newspaper or watch T.V. to get news.

With new technology comes an impatient society in which people want their news on their own terms, meaning when and where they want it. Timeliness and convenience have become one of the key factors in people’s preference to read news online. People do not want to waste their time reading an article that is days or even hours old, or have to go out of their way to find the closest newsstand or wait for the morning paper to arrive.

Busy schedules have also led to less time for the news. There is too much to do, and readers are prioritizing different activities, with reading news near the bottom. A State of the News Media Report (2004, p. 7) stated that “the more important trend today may be what is happening to readers between the ages of 34 and 64, the people who should be the prime target for becoming citizens engaged in civil society. These are the people buying houses, having children, worrying about schools, building their careers, running for office, becoming leaders in their communities. Their numbers are declining as well, and in some cases at a faster rate than for people under 34.”

Waning Interest in News

In addition to people’s busy schedules, reduced interest in news generally may also have contributed to the drop in print readership. Many readers say they don’t have time or the interest to read the news. A PEW Research Center for the People and the Press study (2002, p. 3) reported that “Just 41% of respondents say they read a paper the previous day, compared with 47% in 2000 and 48% in 1998.” Much of this decline occurred amongst those 35-49 years old. However, sites that readers do visit may not be considered by them to be “news sites,” which would alter the percentages. In any case, whether this decline in news readership is because readers aren’t interested or don’t have the time, the same outcome emerges – fewer people are reading the news. The pressing problem is that the news is not having a strong enough appeal to readers. I will further explore which stories appeal to and attract readers in my next research paper.

Desire for Interactivity

The Internet has led to a whole new wave of interactivity that print newspapers are unable to offer. This generation has become more outspoken and is looking to exchange and debate ideas, rather than just accept what news is given to them by the media. With print newspapers, the only interactivity readers have would be writing letters to the editor in hopes of getting them published. With the Internet, users can directly post comments on articles and electronically send in comments to the editor to generate discussion. When online users post their views on a topic, their ability to express their opinions make them feel like they are part of what shapes the presentation of news.

Blogs, a form of interactivity, have had a significant role in attracting readers to go online – more and more Internet users are going online to post their thoughts on stories or events, giving them a feeling of power and the assurance that their voices are being heard. This contributes to the overall allure of blogs and online news. University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future reported that some people have argued that their online and real-world communities are of equal importance. It also discovered that the number of Internet users who have blogs more than doubled in the past three years. Because anyone can create a blog and physical distance is no longer a factor in terms of who you can interact with, the number of bloggers and people accessing news online to post comments is bound to increase.

Multimedia features, lacking in print newspapers, are another significant reason why readers go online for their news. Online stories provide readers with the opportunity to watch videos on the scene and hear audio clips, as well as experience first-hand other interesting visuals that print newspapers cannot offer. Videos allow news consumers to see victims or bystanders at the scene and feel more “in the moment,” both qualities which humanize the story and affect the reader more emotionally. Watching video and listening to audio are much easier tasks than reading a lot of text. This is another appeal of multimedia stories, which appear much more exciting than seemingly bland, often text-heavy print stories. Also, by watching and/or hearing the story, it becomes more “real” for them.

When many print newspapers were chronicling the Virginia Tech tragedy, their online counterparts provided a story along with interactive visuals that allowed the reader to follow the path of the killer while learning facts at the same time. After going through this interactive visual, I found I was much keener to the specific details; if the numbers were spewed throughout a typical news article, I would have skimmed those sections. Multimedia is supplementing and improving already complete stories.

Loss of credibility

There is a cultural divide between journalists and readers, according to a State of the News Media report (2004). While journalists believe they are working for the public interest, readers think examples like the one set by Jayson Blair, a New York Times journalist who invented people and quotes, plagiarized the work of other reporters, and pretended to be on the scene when he wasn’t, happen frequently or at least occasionally. Also, readers do not think journalists care about complaints of inaccuracies from readers.

The most recent journalists who lied in their work are Jayson Blair, Stephen Glass and Jack Kelley – once one journalist lies in a highly publicized story and the scandal itself becomes highly publicized, other journalists become guilty by association. When a story is reported correctly, readers don’t take notice because the journalist was just doing her job. But when something is done incorrectly, readers are quick to play the blame game. Audiences also do not have a lot of faith in newspapers when compared to other media like television, where consumers can see the news. Multimedia online news is a step towards alleviating this problem.

Even if the general consensus is that journalists are not as trustworthy as they used to be, online news sites of major newspapers are considered the most reliable Internet sources, as reported by an Online Annual Report of Public Attitudes (2004). Younger Americans are much more likely to think the Internet is a credible source. Many have grown up with and get a majority of their information from the Internet, whether for a research project or entertainment. Americans under 30 are much more likely than those who are older to think blogs are credible sources, and younger people think the Internet is trustworthy and a learning tool, according to another Online Public Attitudes Report (2006). The younger generation seems to be the most open-minded to innovations, which suggests any other innovations involving news may be received better and thus better integrated into society.

A BRIEF PREVIEW OF MY SECOND PAPER

In my next paper, I will examine how story-telling and story presentation have contributed to the readership trend shift from print to online newspapers, as well as how and why stories are told differently in print and online. When I talked to Dean John Lavine of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, he listed a few main points that drive reader satisfaction, and I plan on further looking into them. I will also look at audience fragmentation in the context of story-telling.

Works Cited

McCauley, Todd and Nesbitt, Mary. (2004). The Effects of Childhood Exposure to Newspapers on Adult Readership. The Readership Institute. Retrieved September 5, 2007.

2007. Audience. The State of the News Media 2007: An Annual Report on American Journalism. Retrieved September 8, 2007.

2007. Digital. The State of the News Media 2007: An Annual Report on American Journalism. Retrieved September 8, 2007.

2007. Inside Newspaper Culture. The Readership Institute. Retrieved September 5, 2007.

Online World as Important to Internet Users as Real World? University of Southern California Center for the Digital Future. Retrieved September 18, 2007.

2006. The Appeal of the Internet. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved September 9, 2007.

2006. Trust in the Internet. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved September 13, 2007.

2004. Annual Report – Online Public Attitudes. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved September
13, 2007.

2004. Public Attitudes. The State of the News Media 2004: An Annual Report on American Journalism. Retrieved September 13, 2007.

2002. Public’s News Habits Little Changed by September 11. The Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 18, 2007.

1998. Internet News Takes Off. The Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 18, 2007.