HUFFINGTON POST: Newspapers need to prioritize digital advertising sales if they expect to thrive, according to a Pew Research Center study released Monday.
As advertisers shift spending from traditional print media to the Internet, newspapers are failing to make up for the decline in print advertising revenue with gains in online ads. Pew studied 38 large and small newspapers and found that for every $7 in print ad revenue declines, the companies only generated about $1 in new digital advertising sales.
The study suggests, however, that newspapers have the power to change _if they alter their approach to advertising sales. Papers with the largest circulations and biggest sales forces do a better job increasing online ad sales. But even newspapers with a daily circulation of less than 25,000 printed copies show hefty digital gains with a properly aligned sales force, training and commissions that encourage online ad sales… (more)
EDITOR: Newspapers will have to compete on the basis of content since, apart for local news, the same information can come from various good sources. This should encourage investment in news gathering. They may even begin better paying reporters.
