America’s newspapers continue to lose favor with readers in a persistent negative trend which seems to go on and on. The latest report finds that U.S. newspapers lost another 8.7 percent of their readership in just the last 6 month period. That’s incredible.

These figures were released April 26, 2010 by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Even the ever popular Sunday edition of local papers dropped a sharp 6.5 percent.

USA Today, once the most popular paper in the country, is reported to have lost 13.6% of its circulation. That’s enormous. My theory is that developed premium city domain names in leading web addresses will eventually replace the traditional local newspaper. The logic, familiarity, and instant public recognition built into a pure city domain name creates the ideal portal for local news.

Local newspaper ad revenue is reported to have also slipped further although the degree of loss appears to be slowing over time.

Interestingly, the Audit Bureau report stated The Wall Street Journal is the only paper among the top 25 that actually experienced an increase in readership! It’s circulation increased .5% allowing it to surpass USA Today as the nation’s most read paper.

What this means is nearly self-evident. The news delivery model has experienced an unprecedented sea change, and traditional hardcopy news organizations found themselves on the wrong side of a new internet equation. Many of them continued to brand under an old moniker that was illogical, and yesteryear.

Want to see it done right? Visit Boston.com! They’re receiving over 3 million visitors per month and in excess of 20 million monthly visits (source: Compete.com). Try competing with that.

What about the #3 circulation, The New York Times, you ask? The answer: A staggering 8.5% loss of circulation in their weekday readership. No matter how it’s sliced, times are changing. The question is … what will these news organizations have to do to reinvent themselves? I believe they must look to the Boston.com example. Therein lies about 75% of the answer.

More on this topic …

Huge Newspaper Investor Pulls Out, Way Out!

More Shocking Newspaper Decline

Newspapers in America Being Led to the Exit

.US Domain Names, Internet Domains city domain names, news, newspaper

Amid the steady decline of newspaper revenues across the country, the Chicago Tribune has not been spared. Tribune Co., the larger parent, own the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Orlando Sentinel, and approximately 24 TV news stations in the United States.

Since 2005, the Chicago Tribune have periodically thinned their staff as revenues steadily sank. And Tribune Co. eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008. Currently saddled with billions in debt, Tribune Co. newspapers are just now looking at ways to remake their websites in an effort to breathe life into the company again. Discussed throughout the year has been the proposed sale of the Chicago Cubs baseball team franchise. Obviously a huge asset, but one which must be sold to reduce Tribune Co.’s massive debt load.

In a story dated 8/21/2009, the wealthy Ricketts family are reported to have signed an agreement with Tribune Co. to buy out a 95% ownership in the Chicago Cubs franchise, Wrigley Field, and a 25% stake in Comcast SportsNet (CSN) for $845 million. One must ponder how a monolith in American news publishing for over 150 years could begin to evaporate before our eyes, and forced into selling time honored assets simply to survive. What does this dramatic shift represent? And did failure to adapt lead to this eventual implosion?

The Chicago Tribune is obviously a famous brand, and as your might surmise their online website is ChicagoTribune.com. Logically enough, the Chicago Cubs’ website can be found at Cubs.com. Gerould Kern, the newly appointed editor in charge of revamping the Chicago Tribune, is quoted as saying about the newspaper …

“We’ve got to turn over every stone, do every smart thing we can do to stretch our resources. The newspaper business is in crisis. I want to do everything in my power to save it.”

As a domainer, I naturally think that “doing everything … to save it” would (and should) include purchasing the two definitive geo properties for Chicago, i.e. Chicago.com and Chicago.US. The first domain is the hands down ultra familiar .com destination, and the second domain is the one with the global footprint as the USA’s official country code. Whether Tribune Co. could afford these domains is a legitimate question. Whether they can afford not to own these domains is even more critical.

The Chicago Tribune is just now trying to figure out how they can reinvent themselves. No more resting on yesterday’s laurels. Can they someday become profitable again as the internet world moves forward at a dizzying pace? Will Tribune Co. miss the boat again by failing to recognize the power contained in a premium domain name?

I don’t know if the owners of Chicago.com and Chicago.US are even interested in selling their properties. But the Chicago Tribune, in my opinion, should find out. Unless another door to their future be closed in their face. My guess is that one day these premium domains will exchange hands. And the Chicago Tribune will either take that lead, or find themselves having lost out on their own future … failing to grab onto important future lifelines.

.US Domain Names .us, chicago, newspaper, tribune

The media industry continues its major sea change. Another traditional newspaper company, Gannett (who publish USA Today plus 84 other daily newspapers), suffered a nearly 8% drop in their stock price Tuesday, May 12.

Why? Because their single biggest investor, AXA SA (a large multinational insurance co.), sold off almost 30 million shares they held in Gannett. Fortunately for Gannett, their online version at USAToday.com has experienced a 12% year over year increase in their online traffic yielding more evidence that people are going to the internet for their news.

In my opinion, Gannett are in a rather poor position to rebound from their decline over the long term. I reviewed their daily newspapers and it appears Gannett have only three premium domains on which to build their news organization: Tallahassee.com, Cincinnati.com, and Hawaii.com (travel portal). These are obviously cream of the crop for those geographical areas.

The real trouble is that Gannett’s money losing newspapers (once their bread and butter) are not represented online with a city domain name. The online presence for each newspaper is based on the local newspaper name = bad plan!

For example, Gannett’s website for their Indianapolis newspaper is IndyStar.com. Boulevards New Media own Indianapolis.com. And PremiumDomains.US own Indianapolis.US.

Gannett’s newspaper in Detroit, Michigan is called The Detroit Free Press. Do Gannett happen to have a premium city domain name for that paper. Unfortunately, no. Boulevards New Media have Detroit.com. And PremiumDomains.US own Detroit.US.

I don’t know what Gannett’s strategy is for surviving, but it better be based on an online model. When your biggest investor dumps 30 million shares in your company, that’s the ultimate loss of confidence. And a clear signal they think you’re headed for a cliff.

Update: Gannett just announced they are completely abandoning the print edition of the Tucson Citizen newspaper (Arizona’s oldest paper), and will be going with an online only version beginning this Sunday May 17, 2009.

Internet Domains newspaper

Just over one month ago, I informed readers of the decline of American newspapers and the reported $661 million debt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which led to their declaration of bankruptcy (article here). Ad revenues had fallen off dramatically as a result of advertisers channeling their dollars to the internet.

Today, the Associated Press reported that McClatchy Co. (owner of the Sacramento Bee), have cut another 1600 jobs in their ongoing push to reduce staff numbers. McClatchy Co. have eliminated nearly one-third of their workforce in less than a year! A significant reason …

Classified ads have shifted to the Internet in recent years, and the recession has been siphoning away more revenue in all ad categories since last summer.

The publisher owns 30 daily newspapers, including the Miami Herald, and have let go of 4150 employees since June 2008 consequently saving around $300 milllion in total. It is noted that McClatchy Co. have also reduced wages across the board, including the CEO, whose annual salary has been trimmed by 15%.

Even more alarming, the company’s stock has plunged by almost $40 per share closing recently at just 41 cents. Unbelievable! This is evidence that eyeballs are looking elsewhere for news & information. The internet is the new medium of choice, make no mistake.

The AP writer notes that McClatchy Co. have adopted a bare-bones approach for sustaining their hardcopy newspaper, and alternatively refocused efforts toward building their online format. The problem, however, is that there are now many internet portals for both global and local news. The monopoly is over. The game has changed.

I wonder where traditional newspapers will be in another year or two?

Interestingly, the Sacramento Bee appear to be utilizing a yellow pages only search function for Sacramento.com. No news, no sports, no headlines, or other content is provided there. I find this very odd. However, they have their online news site still located at SacBee.com, an obviously inferior domain name to Sacramento.com. There is no reason that the Sacramento Bee cannot consolidate their yellow pages search & news site all on the superior Sacramento.com domain name.

I’m wondering who’s making strategic decisions for the Sacramento Bee. Time will tell the story. Some companies can have a major asset right under their nose, and yet fail to properly utilize it.

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I hate to say I told you so. Because good people work at America’s newspapers in every city across the country. And that’s the part that bothers my heart about the slow disintegration of the black and white.

The flip side is that some of the most ruthless, cutthroat competitors you’ll ever meet in the world of business work for these same newspapers. I consider myself a generous and fair individual by most standards. But often in the business world, generous and fair, will get you nothing but a bloody nose.

I’ve had my fair share of let downs and hurt feelings trying to work with my local newspaper. If nothing else, they fed me a dose of reality. If they want to shut you out, they’ll shut you out. And your journey of 10 miles becomes 50. Lesson learned. But times change, and tables turn. Perhaps there is a thing called karma after all.

Reality check: There is a steady decline occurring year after year in newspaper circulation and advertising revenue. The paper is a static, somewhat outdated rendering of news that occurred yesterday. No video or sound, no hi-definition picture, no reader comment or interactive component … at all.

Hello, internet technology! Just as the 8-track surrendered to the cassette tape, and the horse & buggy gave way to the automobile, such is the fate of the traditional newspaper company.

Now, it’s not like they didn’t have fair warning. In fact, some of the age-old papers secured their city’s geodomain. Take Boston.com (The Boston Globe) for example. Nearly 4 million visitors per month and a 52% increase in online viewership in the past year. That’s saying something. The shift is more like an earthquake and approaching tidal wave.

All of this leads to one conclusion –> geo domains. To have the city in .com is a literal gold mine of opportunity. No question about it. Now, it won’t be cheap either as city geodomains in .com are like owning the holy grail.  But, there are several excellent alternatives that will also feed the dream and perhaps still leave one above water financially speaking. My favorites for geodomain development are .biz (business), .US (United States), .info (information), and .TV (television/online media). Also for the mobile phone market is .mobi which provides standards for displaying the internet on mobile phones …  growing in popularity by the minute.

Some domainers have looked ahead, made the investment, and laid the proper groundwork for becoming the center of the universe in their corner of the domain world. Hard working domain investor & blogger, Elliot Silver, acquired Burbank.com recently and launched into development. He holds the keys to the city, as do brothers Michael & David Castello with PalmSprings.com, or Skip Hoagland with Atlanta.com. Let’s not forget state geodomains and even countries such as Spain.info. These geodomain websites are the future. They are connected to the entire world via the internet. And unless my dog eats through my internet cable, they’ll be receiving my patronage, my business, my revenue, and my recommendation. Will there still be a newspaper floating about in those cities 5 years from now? Perhaps, lining the parakeet cage.

Goodbye newspapers of the world. I no longer need you. I have my own media empire at my disposal. Strange irony.

Almost forgot to post the story that fueled tonight’s writing. It is the bankruptcy declaration of the Minneapolis Star Tribune who presently are claiming $661 million dollars in debt. Something about a “severe decline in advertising revenue”.

I read all about it … on the internet!

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