Published: May 16, 2009 10:31 pm      

A newspaper's print edition is still special

By — By Terry Connor

cnhi news service



The images will live forever. The heartbreaking moment caught in time when firefighter Chris Fields carried the body of baby Baylee Almon from the rubble of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.

The fiery Twin Towers just seconds after two airplanes crashed into them and minutes before the buildings collapsed into an enormous cloud of dust on Sept. 11, 2001.

The smiling face of then President-elect Barack Obama holding hands with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha as thousands cheered on election night 2008.

These three historic photographs, displayed on front pages everywhere, exemplify the staying power of newspapers.

There are few, if any, of you reading these words who cannot recall those photographs or other front-page images that made an impression yesterday or yesteryear. Whether they have national or international impact or are as local as a hometown high school celebrating a state championship, memorable front-page photos are part of our culture and will be for many more tomorrows.

There is something special about a newspaper front page that pundits who want to say goodbye to this enduring industry just don't understand. As is often said today, "They just don't get it."

For many of us who entered this industry because we really do live the cliché that "ink is in our blood," it's too early to type "30" at the end of the Fourth Estate's story. There are still a lot of presses that have not yet been shuttered.

In today's constantly changing newspaper industry, community newspapers in print and online continue to capture events and deliver information better than any other medium. They serve San Marcos, Texas, Albemarle, N.C., Gloucester, Mass., Ottumwa, Iowa, and towns from coast to coast. These same community newspapers are a mirror of the places where we live.

Overall the newspaper industry that was one dimensional for years is now a multimedia platform with a larger audience reading and using its portfolio of products and services than ever before. And in the communities they serve, there is likely no stronger brand than the local newspaper.

Additionally, what other medium continues to deliver information without an agenda? With the exception of newspaper journalists, who consistently asks the real questions, not those with a predetermined answer? Not television. Not radio. Not blogs.

In most communities, those other media outlets typically play catch-up to local newspapers when it comes to delivering news, including the watchdog-type journalism that our founding fathers considered when drafting the First Amendment.

Research shows millions of newspaper readers are not ready for a world of mostly videos, sound bites and blogs with little substance.

Almost 50 percent of all adults read a newspaper on an average weekday. More than 50 percent of adults read a newspaper on an average Sunday. More than 65 percent of adults read a daily newspaper in the past five days. And almost 70 percent of adults read a Sunday newspaper in the past month. All are significant statistics.

Newspaper loyalty was also confirmed in a recent Wall Street Journal article focusing on the buying power of community newspaper readers that continues to be recognized by advertisers. In response to the article, Suburban Newspapers of America President Nancy Lane said smaller newspapers are still attractive because of "their hyperlocal coverage and 'news you can't get anywhere else' advantage."

Here are a few more unscientific observations from a journalist who has been observing people and taking notes for almost 30 years:

Walk into any coffee shop and see if anything goes better with a good cup of java than today's newspaper.

Stroll through an airport and count the hundreds of people entrenched in today's headlines while awaiting a flight.

Or, better yet, be at a newspaper office when the press runs late and witness the endless number of calls from subscribers asking, "Why is my newspaper late?" They emphasize the words "my newspaper," because people take ownership when a part of their daily lives - their community newspaper - is not on time.

Sure, the newspaper industry continues to change, but what business doesn't? Despite tales of constant demise being spewed by naysayers, especially those recently ordained experts who have little knowledge of the business, newspapers are no different than any other industry working through a difficult economic period.

There's no doubt tomorrow's newspaper will be different from today's in content, format and delivery options. But change is good and will only make the industry better.

Yes, there's room for the Internet, Facebook, Twitter and other unknown delivery forms that are just a click away on the horizon. Like the Internet, newspapers will continue to embrace successful delivery options to compliment print editions.

However, there will always be something special about holding a print edition, the one that sometimes leaves black ink smudges on your fingertips.

And it doesn't matter if that print edition displays a Pulitzer Prize winning photo or a local photo that will be clipped and displayed on a proud parent's refrigerator. Those of us who continue to make newspapering our profession anxiously await the next time the presses begin rolling to print another front page.



Terry Connor, a former newspaper editor and publisher, is now a vice president and division manager for Community

Newspaper Holdings Inc.'s Gulf Coast Division.