OT: The Post Standard

[MadNY3]

One of my fears in all this is the day is coming (if it's not here already) that you won't be able to get any local news (via the paper) if you're in town unless you have an online/smartphone subscription. Dicey times for generating news.

Local news has greater interest and upside looking at projections. Economic model has to, and is, being adjusted though.

 

[jekelish]

It really does make sense to shift more toward being primarily online, particularly because you can both report the news and get the news in a much more timely manner. Our need for immediacy in this day and age won't let us backtrack on this, either.

 

[Bornorange]

Anyone else remember the days when the Herald Journal printed 5 different editions every day.

 

[jekelish]

I don't know if they're going to try to force a payment system to use Syracuse.com.

I heard the Buffalo News tried to do that, and it was a disaster.

People are willing to pay for the NYT. Other papers? Not so much.

And the difference is that the NYT has a global readership, so if some people don't want to pay, so what? Millions of others still will.

With local papers like the PS, however, they don't have that luxury.

 

[Tcuse]

Ithaca Journal charges $10/ month for digital. But you have to take into consideration that there is zero content.

 

[Stern]

The Sub-Standard has been awful for years.

 

[jekelish]

Ithaca Journal charges $10/ month for digital. But you have to take into consideration that there is zero content.

"I may be short, but at least I'm also slow."

 

[dollarbill44]

THAT is what scares me about our future.

Yep. As a society, we need to be very careful as we go forward lest we end up with only a dwindling list of "credible" news outlets. I've never been one to fear "Big Brother" but we are headed in the direction where that scenario will be more likely to happen. If anyone hasn't seen the movie "Idiocracy", I highly recommend it, not just because it is very funny, but because I can totally see it happening.

 

[jekelish]

Yep. As a society, we need to be very careful as we go forward lest we end up with only a dwindling list of "credible" news outlets. I've never been one to fear "Big Brother" but we are headed in the direction where that scenario will be more likely to happen. If anyone hasn't seen the movie "Idiocracy", I highly recommend it, not just because it is very funny, but because I can totally see it happening.

That movie is only good because it has Electrolytes.

 

[rrlbees]

Anyone else remember the days when the Herald Journal printed 5 different editions every day.

And the Post Standard was the morning paper with the Herald in the evening. Parents used to get both.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

And the Post Standard was the morning paper with the Herald in the evening. Parents used to get both.

Didn't they used to have independent editorial staffs at one point?

 

[rrlbees]

Didn't they used to have independent editorial staffs at one point?

yep

 

[690West]

And the Post Standard was the morning paper with the Herald in the evening. Parents used to get both.

I delivered the Herald Journal when I was about 12. It was right when they came out with their slogan "Arrive by 5:00" Unfortunately, my personal slogan was "Arrive by 9:00" I didn't last long

 

[Chris02M]

what days will it print?

 

[MikeSU02]

what days will it print?

I believe it said Tue, Thur and Sunday.

 

[bevosu]

By no means an internet economics expert, but I've got to think that charging for content has to reduce clicks which in turn would reduce the advertising appeal of your website.

Rob Peter to pay Paul kind of thing.

No?

 

[billsin01]

From the comments:


Trish LaMonte, syracuse.com



Hi bcole, There are no plans to put up a pay wall around syracuse.com.

Would a pay wall work somewhat like the wall Schiano built around NJ?

 

[billsin01]

By no means an internet economics expert, but I've got to think that charging for content has to reduce clicks which in turn would reduce the advertising appeal of your website.

Rob Peter to pay Paul kind of thing.

No?

I think the idea would be to charge for certain features but allow a fairly expansive free offering. As an aside, this news saddens me. I get why it's happening but as a former journalist and big fan of traditional daily newspapers, it bums me out.

 

[Chris02M]

I believe it said Tue, Thur and Sunday.

so id guess thursday would be the big su football preview for each weeks game?

 

[Millhouse]

By no means an internet economics expert, but I've got to think that charging for content has to reduce clicks which in turn would reduce the advertising appeal of your website.

Rob Peter to pay Paul kind of thing.

No?

newspapers put up a paywall to keep their print subscribers on board.

they pass up eyeballs in order to avoid losing print subscribers to free digital content

 

[OrangeXtreme]

In other news ... Perry White announced today that The Daily Planet will be renamed The Wednesday and Saturday Planet.

 

[JD]

In other news ... Perry White announced today that The Daily Planet will be renamed The Wednesday and Saturday Planet.

While laying off Clark and Lois leaving Nolan ...er Jimmy Olson to report the days events.

 

[ottodaorange]

I agree. A great industry is almost gone. In terms of resources, energy, etc., hard copy papers do not make sense, not with the Internet a click away, even from your smart phone.

But I love the smell of a newspaper, feeling the heft of a Sunday paper, leafing through the sections one by one. The hard copy is special and I was willing to pay for it even though it was more convenient in many ways (and cheaper) to just read articles on line. Probably goes back to the days when I delivered papers as a kid.

Anyway, I agree, it is a very sad day, particularly for people in the newspaper industry. There is a ton of wasted money spent on paper, ink, binding, distribution, etc. I hope some of the money saved will be used to keep the writers, editors and photographers of the newspapers employed and well compensated. If I lose Dave Rahme, Mike Waters, Donna Ditota, Pete Thamel, Peter Gammons, Kevin McNamara, Chico Harlan, et al, life would not be nearly as interesting or entertaining.

Agree! When I was in graduate school, I especially used to like Sundays on Westcott St. reading the NY Times with Bagels and Lox and arguing politics.

 

[Scooch]

I'm sympathetic to the plight of newspapers. I got my first article published in my local weekly town rag at age 16, and my step-father still works for said local weekly town rag.

But time marches on.

Personally I love having access to thousands of sources, not just what the accident of geography forces down my throat.

That being said, this brave new world does require a large amount of intelligence on the part of the reader, to seperate the wheat from the chaff. Sadly too many people just retreat to the echo chamber.

 

[Scooch]

Local news has greater interest and upside looking at projections. Economic model has to, and is, being adjusted though.

Theoretically. But to-date hyper-local efforts like Patch have largely been a financial disaster.