In many ways old media is better then new media

By Matt Dunlap on July 13th, 2009

Tweet Tags: newspapers, old media

You hear the term “old media” thrown around a lot now a days, usually when talking about the newspaper companies hemorrhaging cash on a quarterly basis.

The New York Times Company reported a first-quarter loss [2009] of $74.5 million on Tuesday, compared with a loss of $335,000 in the period a year ago
Source: nyt

The fact is old media is not dying, it’s the medium to which they use is dying. The cost to print and distribute newspapers to a shrinking subscription group is obviously not working. It still amazes me that I see newspaper salesmen outside of Safeway by my house. “Free paper today?” he says, and I just wonder if he knows me? I see him probably 3 times a week… and I never see anyone taking the free paper. Sad thing is, I do read the news, but online. He should, and probably will eventually, try to sell premium content on the website of the newspaper. I do read the paper when I’m in a coffee shop waiting for a drink. I just hate clutter in my house and if I have newspapers coming daily Iwill end up having a huge pile of paper in some corner.

What should they do? Simple, sell all the equipment on Craigslist and move towards magazines… People still love magazines!

Old media is really the new media, but many bloggers don’t want you to know that. all 100 of the top Technorati blogs are media companies. They have multiple editors, writers, journalists bloggers, etc… They didn’t start that way. Most were started by one person, then evolved into a media company. Granted old media like the New York Times is still trying to figure out how to use the internet, but in the long run, many “old media” news sources will make their ways up the list of top blogs because they have a true understanding for how to deliver news whether it is on paper or pixels. Is this a threat to new media? of course it is, so you will continue to only see stories on the web about the death of old media, not real story which is the death of old medium.

People still read newspapers, it’s just the way they deliver them is wrong. Every Friday morning I get a local newspaper on my steps, which then makes it directly to the trash. As I’m throwing it away I wonder why they do this? Wouldn’t they save money if they just asked me if I want it? Send me return stamped postcard with the paragraph: “Due to hemorrhaging money, we would like to know if you are reading our paper? ” I would gladly check NO and send back… better yet, just say “Send back now” without having to even check a box.