Study: Papers that invest in the newsroom make more money

I've made this argument before on this board.
We're not losing the battle of "readership." We have the eyes.
We're losing the battle on Madison Ave.
Newspapers, in the eyes of advertising agencies -- not necessarily advertisers -- are viewed as "old school," "archaic," and "yesterday." It's not necessarily the reality that is nicking our vein, but the perception.

 

For most papers, though, national advertising is a significant but far from dominant slice of the whole. For my paper, which has a fairly upscale readership and thus always was and always will be attractive to advertisers, the big problem has been several major advertisers going out of business or being swallowed by big chains that either already advertise or usually don't advertise in newspapers. That, and classified. I don't think we'll lose appeal to local advertisers as long as we deliver the cream of our market -- the most affluent, engaged people, the economic rock of the community. Even if we lose half our circ, advertisers still will want to reach these people. To keep them we can't insult their intelligence.

 

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I know. I've had this debate with you before.
(And, they won't always be there if they're not there.)
But, like I typed, we've been there before.