Social Media Systems Social Media Marketing and Website Design Company

Click stars to vote (left is low, right is high)

Screen technologies are getter better, wireless access is abundant in any major US city and the amount of laptops, tablet PCs, PDAs and smart phone are spreading faster then an infectious disease. It’s time, finally, to predict the death of the majority of printed newspapers within the next two years. The average reader will be solely digesting the material in digital form and the local paperboy will fade into a memory.

Paper routes are two inefficient, in combination with dwindling subscription numbers and classified ad revenue; the end of printed newspapers is right around the corner. In a recent question and answer session on Slashdot a writer inquired about the future in being a syndicated columnist and he was absolutely blasted with negativity about the bleak future of being a professional syndicated writer.

Newspapers should be preparing for the transition into a fully digital existence, or face extinction. Subscription based news services don’t work well on the internet, because other companies are willing to make the same quality or better quality information available for free. Why would you pay for the exact same news story that other sites are giving away?

Something has to change. The extremely large and powerful sites like the Wall Street Journal may initially be able to generate large amounts of revenue by convincing former or existing print subscribers to go digital, but the future lies in free access.

If the major newspapers cut down on expenses, focus most their energy on their web presence, monetize them with a streamlined ad revenue source like Adsense and outsource the classified section of each paper to cut down on IT fees, then cultivate blog partnerships in addition to their staff content - I believe they could be able to create very profitable portals which would have a place in the changing technological world.

I, in contrast to most of the options in that post, I believe blogs and other forms of web publishing enable any writer the possibility to earn more and reach a wider audience.

New publishing and add technology (Google Adsense, Adbright, text link sales, etc.) enable writers to directly profit off their readers via targeted advertising, without the need to be censored and influenced by middle-man organizations that syndicate other people’s writing. There will always be a place for some of the MSM, but many of the news papers and shows are now outdated; with the advance of new technology, their publishing business models will cease to exist.

There is increased competition but, with the cost for distribution and exposure skyrocketing downward if people like what you can find an audience six figure salaries funded by advertising dollars are in ready supply. You just have to find an audience and that’s the hard part.

New distribution channels and technologies are opening more doors then they are closing! I LOVE the information revolution. More information, less filler, faster access, power to the people! Keep writing!

Post Script | Here is an article on how the world’s oldest paper has moved entirely online. (via webpronews)

Technorati Tags: newspapers, blogs, new media, syndicated columnists

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment. PLEASE register now and you'll be able to fill out a profile, upload an avatar or picture of yourself and get a FREE link to your website. After commenting you can use the same login to join in our forum discussions. If you haven't done so already subscribe to this site. We're always adding new information and we would love to have you participate.

Join the Discussion in Our Social Media Marketing Forums