When I lived in DC, in the late 70’s and early 80’s, it was impossible not to start the day with the Post. When I visit now, I don’t even open the free copy in the hotel lobby. What for? Everything of interest is on line. However, I still subscribe to the paper version of The Economist and much prefer it to their on-line news. For Le Point, the French newsmagazine, I read it all on line and do not bother with the paper copy. But I’m old. I see my children and their friends (in their 40’s) mixing the two media efficiently. On line for breaking news and short formats, paper when it is substantial or thought-provoking. They buy on-line but rely on paper to browse. A newspaper is not TikTok. The two distribution channels serve a different purpose but are complementary. I’d be interested in knowing what percentage of subscribers look for the printed version of the WSJ on the screen of their tablet, instead of reading the pure electronic version. I am one of them.
What to do with all of this? Peter knows better! But his clever and well informed articles are on line and not printed.
Thanks Elie I advocate mix and match which is what people do with movies, theaters, streaming are different experiences, different price points. My sense is that media evolves as new formats come along. What are podcasts? Radio on demand.
Keep an eye out Peter for the new journalistic venture soon to be launched by Robert Allbritton. As you know, Allbritton founded Politico {initially named Capital Leader) when the sale of The Hill newspaper by Jerry Finklestein fell through. A couple of decades later the appetite for news remains unabated although the delivery systems and how to monetize the results remain in flux.
Hi Peter, That's a wonderful articulation of what a remodeled editorial direction of the Post might be. However, it has nothing to do with what a product development strategy might look like that would make the organization stronger, even more valuable to its audiences and presumably financially viable. The NYT is a bundle (recipes, games, etc.) and of course the extremely successful Post of years gone by was too, offering products and services that people had to have. What's so frustrating about the Ryan-Lewis regimes was the fact that they really never seemed to make a pass at this or even that they got it.
Thanks Merrill. My core point is that the Post cannot make it on bells and whistles. There is abundant now untapped revenue and readership in the 6.5 million people in the region who need sports, metro and local interest and a really valuable search Craiglist like classified. I live here now and I know the challanges of getting tech support etc.
My idea for foereign reporting is a Noosphere model and a higher subscrition price. Global and Metro. Peter
Makes sense to me. On line-- more reader involvement ....space for more than just comments on a given story...more emphasis on images and video...
a consortium of papers cOntRibuting to each ohers websites.....ways to do it with less pressure and tupidity than national TV news hours...watched by people between 65 and dead.
Peter--You know more about the economics of the newspaper business than I do, and your proposals for reviving the finances of the Post make intuitive sense to me. However, it must be said that a Post centered on national and international political coverage as well as investigative journalism must be free to publish stories that will enrage Trump and his allies in the worlds of technology and finance. If Jeff Bezos is going to interfere with that, everything else you propose will be pointless.
When I lived in DC, in the late 70’s and early 80’s, it was impossible not to start the day with the Post. When I visit now, I don’t even open the free copy in the hotel lobby. What for? Everything of interest is on line. However, I still subscribe to the paper version of The Economist and much prefer it to their on-line news. For Le Point, the French newsmagazine, I read it all on line and do not bother with the paper copy. But I’m old. I see my children and their friends (in their 40’s) mixing the two media efficiently. On line for breaking news and short formats, paper when it is substantial or thought-provoking. They buy on-line but rely on paper to browse. A newspaper is not TikTok. The two distribution channels serve a different purpose but are complementary. I’d be interested in knowing what percentage of subscribers look for the printed version of the WSJ on the screen of their tablet, instead of reading the pure electronic version. I am one of them.
What to do with all of this? Peter knows better! But his clever and well informed articles are on line and not printed.
Thanks Elie I advocate mix and match which is what people do with movies, theaters, streaming are different experiences, different price points. My sense is that media evolves as new formats come along. What are podcasts? Radio on demand.
Keep an eye out Peter for the new journalistic venture soon to be launched by Robert Allbritton. As you know, Allbritton founded Politico {initially named Capital Leader) when the sale of The Hill newspaper by Jerry Finklestein fell through. A couple of decades later the appetite for news remains unabated although the delivery systems and how to monetize the results remain in flux.
Hi Peter, That's a wonderful articulation of what a remodeled editorial direction of the Post might be. However, it has nothing to do with what a product development strategy might look like that would make the organization stronger, even more valuable to its audiences and presumably financially viable. The NYT is a bundle (recipes, games, etc.) and of course the extremely successful Post of years gone by was too, offering products and services that people had to have. What's so frustrating about the Ryan-Lewis regimes was the fact that they really never seemed to make a pass at this or even that they got it.
Thanks Merrill. My core point is that the Post cannot make it on bells and whistles. There is abundant now untapped revenue and readership in the 6.5 million people in the region who need sports, metro and local interest and a really valuable search Craiglist like classified. I live here now and I know the challanges of getting tech support etc.
My idea for foereign reporting is a Noosphere model and a higher subscrition price. Global and Metro. Peter
Makes sense to me. On line-- more reader involvement ....space for more than just comments on a given story...more emphasis on images and video...
a consortium of papers cOntRibuting to each ohers websites.....ways to do it with less pressure and tupidity than national TV news hours...watched by people between 65 and dead.
Peter--You know more about the economics of the newspaper business than I do, and your proposals for reviving the finances of the Post make intuitive sense to me. However, it must be said that a Post centered on national and international political coverage as well as investigative journalism must be free to publish stories that will enrage Trump and his allies in the worlds of technology and finance. If Jeff Bezos is going to interfere with that, everything else you propose will be pointless.