Editor & Publisher

Steve Outing's Nov. 30 "Stop the Presses" column in E&P focuses on community newspapers and their struggles to define the role of their online editions. Specifically, whether or not to erect pay walls. Outing tells about some smaller newspapers who come down on each side of the debate and fairly summarizes pros and cons. If you're looking to make sure you consider all your options before you make a final decision on putting online content behind a pay wall, be sure to read this column. And especially, read through to the end and look at his section on the four negative consequences to your paper of putting most content behind the wall. There's so much discussion out there on this issue right now, but Outing summarizes the issues fairly, so take time to look at this one.

A new National Newspaper Association survey has yielded some results that will be useful for advertising salespeople who are selling the value of a community newspaper ad buy. Here are the stats you will want to pass along to your salespeople:
- On average, readers share their paper with 2.36 additional readers.
- Nearly 40 percent keep their community newspaper more than a week.
- Three-quarters of readers read local news "often to very often" in their community newspaper.
- Among those going online for local news, 63 percent found it on the local newspaper's website, compared to 17 percent for sites such as Yahoo, MSN or Google, and 12 percent from the website of a local television station.
- 60 percent read local education news "somewhat to very often" in their newspaper, while 65 percent never read local education news online.
- And finally, something to brighten the day of everyone in your ad department: 47 percent say there are days they read the newspaper as much for the ads as for the news.
And in other survey news, community newspapers experienced a slight decline in circulation volume in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter, down about 2 percent as a group, according to the latest audit data from Circulation Verification Council.
The CVC survey said 45 percent of community newspaper publishers reported that circulation increased, with the heaviest declines in the Southeast.

Successful managers are always looking for ideas. And sometimes, they find great ideas in articles – or from people – that they don’t always agree with. That’s why I want you to read Steve Outing’s piece on making online profits. There may be some things that don’t apply to you; there may be things you don’t think you can do right now; and there may be a few things you just disagree with you. But Steve gives 12 ideas, and I’ll bet that there are one or two that will work for you. It’s worth checking out.

Steve Outing's latest column on E&P's site goes into detail with a persuasive psychologist on the psychology behind paid content. His expert is Dr. B.J. Fogg, an expert in how technology can be used persuasively and the head of Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab. "Often, it seems like the CEOs of newspaper companies are talking only among themselves," Outing writes, "and not thinking about what the online news consumer wants -- or is willing to accept."

Editor & Publisher reports that the Audit Bureau of Circulations will begin offering a new service for community newspapers, assuming the ABC board officially approves it. The new service is expected to appeal to community newspaper publishers with lower rates and a simplified auditing process.

Take a few minutes to read this E&P article and to watch the short video, and you’ll get a great summary of the various points of view—and arguments pro and con—in the free vs. paid online content debate.

Editor & Publisher's Fitz & Jen are reporting on a report from Moody’s Investors Service that takes newspapers to task over their cost structures. The report notes that 70 percent of newspaper costs are tied up in printing -- not the best cost structure in the online era.