Oregon Media Insiders

...is one of life's true computing pleasures.

On Thursday morning, OPB aired a locally produced report (I think by Anna King?) about the laying off of 60 people at the Spokane newspaper. At the end of the report, it was stated that newspapers are increasingly losing readership to web sites, such as Craigslist and eBay.

What?

Granted, I am an Oregon Media outsider, so could someone tell me how eBay and Craigslist are news products, and directly competing with newspaper web sites?

If she said readership, she either misspoke or was reading from a bad script. Obviously, as I am sure you know, all newspapers are competing with free classifieds on Craig’s List and elsewhere, which have almost no costs compared to a newspaper gathering, writing, printing and distributing its product. Solve the revenue problem, solve the news problem. Readership without revenue is a nonprofit public service. Or a blog.

I find it interesting that no one has mentioned the price increase of the single copy oregonian at newstands.... 75 cents..... wow.....

Why is Debril Gil solo in the mornings on KPTV's Good Day Oregon weekends?

Amy Troy weekends on KGW? Francis left months ago.

It seems that Ken on KOIN has been alone for a while too? And that new branding looks cheap.

Thanks to Jim for dredging up the actual quote.

Yes, in that sense, I hadn't thought about the classified ad angle. There was nothing else in King's piece that even mentioned ad revenue, and I was thinking news.

As for the Oregonian newsstand price, both the Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times have been .75 for some time now, and each of those is a fraction of the paper that the O is, in terms of content. Both papers are owned by Lee Enterprises, and both just went through quite a round of layoffs a couple weeks ago. Two sections of the combined Sunday paper are being merged into one section, the physical size of the paper is set to shrink, and now the Sunday paper includes a banner advertisement across the bottom of Page One, which the DH's editor claimed was an effort "to help our advertisers better reach customers." Ha!

If McClatchy goes bankrupt, does that mean no more O? An online-only O? Even higher newsstand and subscription prices?

On the 10:00 CW newscast from 8 the bug reads "CU Portlan". Can't they move the bug to the left a few dozen pixels?

And then a lot of the time, e.g., we can only see about an inch or two of the weathercaster's body on the edge of the viewport. Can't the floor director or whoever keep them over where we can see their entire bod?

Is "CW" being delivered on widescreen somewhere on Comcast?

Thanks
VR

I think the reality is really starting to sink in for newspapers. Belt-tightenings are over, "right-sizings" are over, and newspapers are confronting the truth that the business they were in three years ago is gone. Over. We're no longer in a hierarchical media landscape but a horizontal one. Newspapers are now no better, and no worse, than a Blue Oregon, Townhall or KGW.com as a source for "news" in the eyes of a consumer on a daily basis. If anything, niche blogs with their narrowly defined readership provide advertisers with a better bang for their buck in reaching specific consumers.
Newspapers just don't have the market reach to be seen as the local institutions they once were.

Does anybody know what happened at the OAB awards over the weekend? Couldn't find anything on their website. It was this past weekend, wasn't it? Thanks, in advance.

how many people can log in here who simply have no grasp of the news business. of the sources the anonymous poster who says papers are dead listed, only KGW has reporters -- people skilled and trained in gathering news. opinions, blogged or otherwise, are like certain portions of the anatomy. everyone has one. but people who spend their whole work week asking questions and getting answers are considerably rarer and getting more so. facts matter.==no longer quick brown fox

I didn't say it was GOOD that consumers weren't more discriminating, I'm just saying that people are now "choosing" their own facts. The marketplace of ideas is no longer Sears or Walmart, but more like a Saturday Market or a vendor area at a state fair. Give people more of an opportunity to make a bad choice and more people will make a bad choice.
Hell, I agree, I wish KGW, The Oregonian and local papers were still seen and held as the central news source in their markets, but they're not anymore. And while they may hold a plurality, they no longer dominate.
People can read The New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN's website, just as easily as they can KGW.com or The Oregonian online.

I'm hearing about cutbacks at OPB on the radio side. Is this true? If so, to what degree? How does Think Out Loud factor in?

I realize change is constant in TV land, but I'm sure I'm not the only one noticing about a dozen or so new reporters on local stations in the last six months. The sad thing is, other than Nancy Francis and Wilson Chow, I can't think of anyone who isn't around anymore. Is there a list of departed local TV journos on the web somewhere?

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Advertising spending through 2009 could echo the record declines seen in 2001, with local ads expected to fare worse than national ads, an analyst said Tuesday.

Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes sees companies cutting back on advertising across the board given that the investment bank's economists have trimmed their outlook for U.S. gross domestic product — a bellwether for ad spending. Struggling automakers, for example, are expected to continue to trim advertising.

In a research note, he said local ad spending will see a steeper drop than national ads and advises investors to stay away for now from ad-related stocks. For 2009, he is forecasting that network television ads will fall 5 percent year-over-year, excluding the one-time lift enjoyed by NBC for Beijing Olympics coverage.

Cable networks should see a 1 percent drop but local TV stations ads are seen falling by 17 percent. Excluding political ads, ad spending is expected to decline by 7 percent year-over-year.

Ad spending declines for radio, outdoor, magazines and newspapers are expected to range between 5 percent and 10 percent.

Wienkes prefers companies with more national ad exposure than local, such as Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc. over CBS Corp. and News Corp. He lowered his price targets by 11 percent on average across the group.

He said national ad growth will slow down in the fourth quarter, but will be propped up by fairly stable profit trends for the top 10 sectors while the positioning of new products and market share fights will keep ad spending in some sectors stable.

In morning trading, Disney shares slipped 44 cents to $27.82, while Viacom shares dipped 54 cents to $23. CBS shares fell 20 cents to $12.73, and News Corp. slid 11 cents to $10.69.

I am trying to keep in mind that the main source for this article works for Goldman Sachs. :) Or is that just me trying to find the glass half full?

After the political money runs out in a month there would easily be a bloodbath in local tv stations across the country. Many people could lose their jobs. Just a prediction.

OK, I am clearer about what you were saying. Sorry.==no longer quick brown fox