News Journal to close print operations
Sad day for 46 workers at the News Journal.
I remember going on a tour there as a youngster many moons ago.
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20110106/NEWS01/1010603...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ThomasP on -
I remember a tour of the Inquirer printing plant as well in its heyday.
This is part of a major shift in resources in two ways -- first, toward online resources versus print, and second, toward a less locally-based product. Gannett has previously unveiled plans to create regional design centers; their Ohio newspapers (including the News Journal and Telegraph Forum), if memory serves, will soon be put together in Louisville, Kentucky. Gannett has already outsourced monitoring of their online forum discussions, so the person making calls on terms of service violations is now sitting far away from the scene.
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Permalink Reply by Anthony on -
Sad to see all of this go on. According to the Audit Bureau, circulation figures for the NEWS JOURNAL have been crushed in the last decade.
Average daily circulation numbers were 34,432 in 2000, now standing at 19,986 in 2010. A business can not sustain itself for long when you lose nearly 50% of your customers in 10 years.
I actually delivered the News Journal as a kid. I recall they had a small shack like building in Galion at the corner of Church and New Washington. The circulation manager had what we called the money tree. If you did a good job, no complaints, recruited new customers for your route you got to take envelopes off the tree. You never knew what was inside, but always something good. Sometimes cash, Indians tickets, Browns Tickets, Cedar Point tickets etc. The only thing that sucked is they had Sunday Delivery, and those papers were heavy.
ThomasP said:I remember a tour of the Inquirer printing plant as well in its heyday.
This is part of a major shift in resources in two ways -- first, toward online resources versus print, and second, toward a less locally-based product. Gannett has previously unveiled plans to create regional design centers; their Ohio newspapers (including the News Journal and Telegraph Forum), if memory serves, will soon be put together in Louisville, Kentucky. Gannett has already outsourced monitoring of their online forum discussions, so the person making calls on terms of service violations is now sitting far away from the scene.
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Permalink Reply by ThomasP on
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I do not think that it's all doom and gloom -- consider these News Journal online numbers for April 2010:
- Monthly page views -- 5,137,192
- Monthly unique visitors -- 246,900
The trouble is that like other "legacy media" (traditional newspapers), the News Journal is operated in a way that is still primarily based on the print product. In the opinion of many new media pundits, what the NJ, TF and their counterparts need to do is to jettison print (or at least put it on the back burner) and to focus on making their respective online sites more profitable. That is not a direction in which Gannett, Ohio Community Media or others appear to be heading, however.
Online operations do not lend themselves to multiple levels of well-paid editors, publishers, etc., and so there is obviously great internal resistance to such change. Instead, you continue to see paywalls appearing -- not only coming this spring to the New York Times, but already in place for the Galion Inquirer in the form of story teasers with the "full story" on the printed product.
It does make for a rather strange combination, however. Today's Inquirer online story, for instance, talks about the importance of the local Red Cross Blood Drive. Even though it is a story which obviously has great importance to encourage donations, it cannot be read online in its entirety.
Anthony said:Sad to see all of this go on. According to the Audit Bureau, circulation figures for the NEWS JOURNAL have been crushed in the last decade.
Average daily circulation numbers were 34,432 in 2000, now standing at 19,986 in 2010. A business can not sustain itself for long when you lose nearly 50% of your customers in 10 years.
I actually delivered the News Journal as a kid. I recall they had a small shack like building in Galion at the corner of Church and New Washington. The circulation manager had what we called the money tree. If you did a good job, no complaints, recruited new customers for your route you got to take envelopes off the tree. You never knew what was inside, but always something good. Sometimes cash, Indians tickets, Browns Tickets, Cedar Point tickets etc. The only thing that sucked is they had Sunday Delivery, and those papers were heavy.
ThomasP said:I remember a tour of the Inquirer printing plant as well in its heyday.
This is part of a major shift in resources in two ways -- first, toward online resources versus print, and second, toward a less locally-based product. Gannett has previously unveiled plans to create regional design centers; their Ohio newspapers (including the News Journal and Telegraph Forum), if memory serves, will soon be put together in Louisville, Kentucky. Gannett has already outsourced monitoring of their online forum discussions, so the person making calls on terms of service violations is now sitting far away from the scene.
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Permalink Reply by Anthony on
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I do believe the NJ will survive, as Gannett does have very deep pockets. A matter of adapting and changing to what is going on.
I admit I read several online paper editions, but I do prefer it the old fashioned way.
I would also like fresh milk delivered to my home every other day, but that's not going to happen either.
ThomasP said:I do not think that it's all doom and gloom -- consider these News Journal online numbers for April 2010:
- Monthly page views -- 5,137,192
- Monthly unique visitors -- 246,900
The trouble is that like other "legacy media" (traditional newspapers), the News Journal is operated in a way that is still primarily based on the print product. In the opinion of many new media pundits, what the NJ, TF and their counterparts need to do is to jettison print (or at least put it on the back burner) and to focus on making their respective online sites more profitable. That is not a direction in which Gannett, Ohio Community Media or others appear to be heading, however.
Online operations do not lend themselves to multiple levels of well-paid editors, publishers, etc., and so there is obviously great internal resistance to such change. Instead, you continue to see paywalls appearing -- not only coming this spring to the New York Times, but already in place for the Galion Inquirer in the form of story teasers with the "full story" on the printed product.
It does make for a rather strange combination, however. Today's Inquirer online story, for instance, talks about the importance of the local Red Cross Blood Drive. Even though it is a story which obviously has great importance to encourage donations, it cannot be read online in its entirety.
Anthony said:Sad to see all of this go on. According to the Audit Bureau, circulation figures for the NEWS JOURNAL have been crushed in the last decade.
Average daily circulation numbers were 34,432 in 2000, now standing at 19,986 in 2010. A business can not sustain itself for long when you lose nearly 50% of your customers in 10 years.
I actually delivered the News Journal as a kid. I recall they had a small shack like building in Galion at the corner of Church and New Washington. The circulation manager had what we called the money tree. If you did a good job, no complaints, recruited new customers for your route you got to take envelopes off the tree. You never knew what was inside, but always something good. Sometimes cash, Indians tickets, Browns Tickets, Cedar Point tickets etc. The only thing that sucked is they had Sunday Delivery, and those papers were heavy.
ThomasP said:I remember a tour of the Inquirer printing plant as well in its heyday.
This is part of a major shift in resources in two ways -- first, toward online resources versus print, and second, toward a less locally-based product. Gannett has previously unveiled plans to create regional design centers; their Ohio newspapers (including the News Journal and Telegraph Forum), if memory serves, will soon be put together in Louisville, Kentucky. Gannett has already outsourced monitoring of their online forum discussions, so the person making calls on terms of service violations is now sitting far away from the scene.
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Permalink Reply by ThomasP on
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I agree with you that Gannett will survive, but I don't think that the print NJ, as is, has a long-term future.
In the end, it will be faced with two insurmountable obstacles -- first, the ever-increasing cost of newsprint, and second and maybe most importantly, the changing attitudes of merchants, etc. when it comes to advertising methods. If the day should come when the giant collection of Best Buy/Mejier/Kroger/etc. advertising circulars goes away, that will pretty much seal the deal.
Anthony said:I do believe the NJ will survive, as Gannett does have very deep pockets. A matter of adapting and changing to what is going on.
I admit I read several online paper editions, but I do prefer it the old fashioned way.
I would also like fresh milk delivered to my home every other day, but that's not going to happen either.
ThomasP said:I do not think that it's all doom and gloom -- consider these News Journal online numbers for April 2010:
- Monthly page views -- 5,137,192
- Monthly unique visitors -- 246,900
The trouble is that like other "legacy media" (traditional newspapers), the News Journal is operated in a way that is still primarily based on the print product. In the opinion of many new media pundits, what the NJ, TF and their counterparts need to do is to jettison print (or at least put it on the back burner) and to focus on making their respective online sites more profitable. That is not a direction in which Gannett, Ohio Community Media or others appear to be heading, however.
Online operations do not lend themselves to multiple levels of well-paid editors, publishers, etc., and so there is obviously great internal resistance to such change. Instead, you continue to see paywalls appearing -- not only coming this spring to the New York Times, but already in place for the Galion Inquirer in the form of story teasers with the "full story" on the printed product.
It does make for a rather strange combination, however. Today's Inquirer online story, for instance, talks about the importance of the local Red Cross Blood Drive. Even though it is a story which obviously has great importance to encourage donations, it cannot be read online in its entirety.
Anthony said:Sad to see all of this go on. According to the Audit Bureau, circulation figures for the NEWS JOURNAL have been crushed in the last decade.
Average daily circulation numbers were 34,432 in 2000, now standing at 19,986 in 2010. A business can not sustain itself for long when you lose nearly 50% of your customers in 10 years.
I actually delivered the News Journal as a kid. I recall they had a small shack like building in Galion at the corner of Church and New Washington. The circulation manager had what we called the money tree. If you did a good job, no complaints, recruited new customers for your route you got to take envelopes off the tree. You never knew what was inside, but always something good. Sometimes cash, Indians tickets, Browns Tickets, Cedar Point tickets etc. The only thing that sucked is they had Sunday Delivery, and those papers were heavy.
ThomasP said:I remember a tour of the Inquirer printing plant as well in its heyday.
This is part of a major shift in resources in two ways -- first, toward online resources versus print, and second, toward a less locally-based product. Gannett has previously unveiled plans to create regional design centers; their Ohio newspapers (including the News Journal and Telegraph Forum), if memory serves, will soon be put together in Louisville, Kentucky. Gannett has already outsourced monitoring of their online forum discussions, so the person making calls on terms of service violations is now sitting far away from the scene.
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