U.S. Weekly Newspapers Embrace Web Sites

Newspaper Research Journal, Fall 2007 by Adams, Jennifer Wood

Most respondents see the Internet as the future of publishing and are exploring how their sites can increase readership and revenues. They also see online editions as complementary to the printed paper.

The Internet has transformed the newspaper business and to keep up with readers' ever-changing habits many newspapers have launched electronic editions. Worldwide, there are more than 5,000 daily, weekly and other newspapers online.1 In a study of National Newspaper Association members in May 2006, it was found that half of the 7,000 community newspapers in the United States have online newspapers.2 Two-thirds of those without an online newspaper said they plan to begin one, while one-third said they would launch a site in the next 18 months.3

Small newspapers will be the innovators as the newspaper industry sits on the frontier of the Internet era, according to Charles Pittman, senior vice president for Schurz Communications, in a speech delivered at the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention in April 2006.4 Pittman said with ever-evolving new technology capabilities, such as the Internet, Podcasts, Wi-Fi and Really Simple Sydication (RSS), newspaper managers continually have to make evaluations and determine how those technological advances will fit into the companies' business models.5

This nationwide study adds to the literature by examining the state of the online newspaper at U.S. weekly newspapers and the management of the online editions. It explores how weekly newspaper managers are producing and supervising their online newspapers.

The newspaper industry is in a state of transition as is transforms from newspaper companies to information companies, according to the NNA.6 Newspapers have an advantage online over other traditional media when it comes to users seeking out local news. They have the "ability to speak to a community as part of the community," and are in a better position than traditional media to extend their brand in the local community with their online newspapers, the organization said.7

Knowing the local market better than any other media can translate into revenue. Local businesses across the United States are pouring billions into advertising on local media's Web sites. Local online advertising spending was $4.8 billion in 2005, up 78 percent from the $2.7 billion spent in 2004, according to a 2006 Borrell Associates study."8 Borrell defines "local online advertising" as "advertising placed by locally based businesses for locally focused online messages."9 The company estimates spending on local advertising would reach $5.8 billion in 2006, a 21 percent increase.10 Classified advertising also saw an increase in revenue. In 2005, classified ads accounted for 75 percent of the newspapers online revenue, up from 70 percent in 2004.11

Borrell said in its report:

The big sites are getting bigger-and shockingly more profitable. In fact, the largest local Web site in most markets, typically run by a local newspaper, will generate more in ad sales this year than the largest-grossing radio station in that market.12

While newspapers still get the most local ad spending, their share of total local market advertising is declining. It fell from 44 percent in 2004 to 41 percent in 2005.13 National search engines are getting one-third of locally spent online advertising.14 Local advertisers are turning to Google, Realtor.com, Craigslist, Yahoo, Monster and 800dentist.com to reach local consumers.15

Weekly newspapers have much to gain by producing successful online newspapers. The management of these sites is critically important in reaching the newspaper's readership and revenue goals.

Most previous studies related to online newspapers examined the content and structure of newspaper Web sites,16 diffusion of innovation,17 the relationship between the newspaper's online and print editions,18 placement of advertisements in news stories19 or on Web pages,20 how ads affect perceptions of online news,21 responses to links and layers in stories,22 online storytelling23 and readers' adoption24 and use25 of online newspapers. This study's significance is that it is a nationwide study of the management of weekly newspapers' electronic editions, an area of study that has been lacking in the literature.

The issues investigated in this study include what weekly newspaper managers do to sustain a quality online newspaper, what they see as key benefits to having a Web edition and whether they feel the site is complementing or cannibalizing the printed newspaper subscription base or a combination of the two. One goal of this article is to generate information about the characteristics of the online weekly newspaper. This study will describe important elements of the online weekly newspaper, such as how often content is updated, percentage of original online content, whether users have to subscribe or register for the site, and what, if any, interactive features are available. These findings make a needed contribution to the field by serving as a baseline for future research in this area.