Good morning,
On Monday night, I am slated to give a brief talk on Delaware Business Now and the overall state of the media business.
The prognosis is not good on the print side. We are still seeing double-digit declines in newspaper advertising revenue
Granted, some of the wounds are self-inflicted, due to revolving door management and flavor of the day sales strategies. There is one report of a media company shuffling off small advertisers to a call center.
Digital revenues are growing, but not at a rate that comes close to making up for the loss of print business.
The two biggest print players in Delaware, Gannett and Gatehouse, appear to be in a slow liquidation mode by slashing costs and hoping to capture some big profits during the downward spiral.
We are hearing scattered reports outside of Delaware of outsourcing routine reporting of police and other types as “scanner” news moving over to staff in Iowa, New Jersey or elsewhere. So much for knowing how to spell Capitol Trail, Hockessin or Edgemoor.
In some cities that have seen severe cuts, the reporting staff is down to a couple of people.
Already, copy and design desks have moved to remote locations. Gannett abolished business desks a couple of years ago.
Lower Delaware is in a little better shape, with the locally owned Cape Gazette covering the waterfront in Coastal Sussex and the scrappy Coastal Point working the quiet beach areas. WHYY, Delaware Public Media, Delaware State News, Delaware Business Times, Town Square and TV stations fill some gaps in central and northern areas.
Other business models exist, one example being this website and newsletter.
Delaware Business Now is a long-time member of the LION association of digital publishers, a group committed to innovation and sharing of best practices among nonprofit and for-profit outlets.
I am happy to report that LION now has members representing more than 200 hyperlocal sites that are making a difference in their communities.
Here’s hoping for sunnier skies this week. This newsletter returns tomorrow. – Doug Rainey, publisher.
