It’s no secret the news industry isn’t the healthiest it has ever been.
The slowing economy and shifts in how news is gathered and received by readers has had a major impact on newspapers. For an industry so steeped in tradition, change isn’t always easy to accept.
Newspaper circulation is the lowest it has been since 1946, according to Jeff Jarvis, associate professor and director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism who blogs at BuzzMachine.com.
In 2007, newspaper revenue took the sharpest decline in 60 years and newsroom cuts have followed suit. In 2007, Jarvis said, 2,185 newsroom jobs were lost. Already in 2008, more than 8,100 have been lost.
We’ve seen this locally in major layoffs at papers across the Vancouver-Portland metro area. While the VBJ hasn’t sustained any losses, we’ve been watching with a close eye. Times are changing and we constantly discuss how to serve all of you valuable readers better.
What do we keep coming back to? Online. Online. Online.
According to Nielsen data, the online newspaper audience has reached 67 million – more than 26 percent higher than print newspaper circulation.
This means we in the newsroom have been busier than ever.
As some of you may be aware, we’ve launched a new email product and blog, Just Business, and have made an effort to beef up our Breaking News blasts.
Just Business is a twice weekly email blast and blog (www.justbizvbj.blogspot.com) that includes several features.
On the Record is a notable quote we’ve heard in conversations with and observations of any of you out there in the Southwest Washington business world. The Reporter’s Notebook is just what it sounds like – a brief snippet of news or our thoughts about information we’ve come across in our daily reporting.
News Around the Northwest is a group of links to relevant stories from business journals across the region. The blog also links to our new Press Room, which includes verbatim press releases we receive on a daily basis, to bring you up to speed on happenings and business news as soon as we know about it.
Just Business took a great deal of brainstorming and planning ahead of time from all departments at the VBJ, and it was a bit scary (for me, anyway) to launch a brand new product in a medium I’m not expert in yet. When I was in journalism school, online media was relatively new and I’m not sure anybody had a clue as to how big of an impact it would have.
But the response from readers has been overwhelming. I’ve heard from more readers since our renewed effort in Breaking News and the launch of Just Business two weeks ago than I have since I became Managing Editor.
Online, it seems, gets people talking.
For those who are not currently receiving Breaking News or Just Business and would like to, click on Get Breaking News. Entering your information will enroll you for both products.
