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What a week in the newspaper industry. We knew this was coming but still when the news hits, it’s jolting for anyone who remembers the time when newspapers were the source for news. Our world is changing. Newspapers all over the country are vanishing. The Rocky Mountain News in Denver is shutting down after tomorrow’s edition. Media giant Hearst first put the Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale and now my San Francisco Chronicle is on the block. As a Bay Area native, I am queasy just thinking about losing a newspaper I grew up with. The San Francisco Chronicle could join the endangered species list of newspapers if they don’t reach break-even levels.

My hometown newspaper Hemorrhaging

Why is this happening? Part of the blame is on the shoulders of the newspapers. For years, they gave away free content online which they were charging for in the newsprint edition. Many people decided why pay for something if it’s free. Some newspapers tried to maintain the same ad-based model online that worked in the newsprint world but revenue was not sufficient. There is no question that to survive, the future of newspapers is online. The only successful models so far are pay-per-view or online subscriptions. Just look at the Wall Street Journal which for years was criticized for charging for their newspaper content online or the Christian Science Monitor who had the courage to shut down its newsprint edition and shift its newspaper entirely online. There is still hope for the newspaper industry. It’s just that it’s online. A Pew Research study shows “The balance between online and print readership changed substantially between 2006 and 2008. In 2008, online readers comprised more than a third of all newspaper readers. Two years earlier, fewer than a quarter of newspaper readers viewed them on the Web. This is being driven by a substantial shift in how younger generations read newspapers.” Can you believe how fast the online world is growing? For more proof, check out these facts comparing two of our other traditional media industries, radio and tv.

Radio reached 50 million listeners in 38 years

Television reached 50 million viewers in 13 years

The Internet reached 50 million users in 4 years

The Ipod reached 50 million users within 3 years

Facebook reached 50 million users within 2 years

Check out this video, it’s off the hook.

This video is OFF THE CHARTS!

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