Media News - Monday, July 21, 2008

Shrinking newsrooms dent papers’ quality, study shows

The many and deepening cuts at newspapers across the United States are starting to take a toll on their content, according to a study being released Monday. Newspapers must find more revenue on the Internet, says the Project for Excellence in Journalism's study, called "The Changing Newsroom: What is Being Gained and What is Being Lost in America's Daily Newspapers." Newspaper managers need to "find a way to monetise the rapid growth of web readership before newsroom staff cuts so weaken newspapers that their competitive advantage disappears." Stories are shorter overall, the study found, and staff coverage tends to focus on local and community news. Even when foreign and national news makes it into the papers, it is being relegated to less prominent pages. The reasons for the newsroom cutbacks are well known: Newsprint costs have jumped, and advertising and circulation revenue have quickened their descent this year as advertisers follow readers online. Newspaper websites capture only a small fraction of the revenue lost as they sell fewer print ads, which fetch more money. The results of the survey, conducted online by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between Jan. 29 and Feb. 29, include responses from over 50 percent of US papers with 100,000 or more in circulation and more than 30 percent of papers with 50,000 to 100,000 in circulation. (CNN)

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