Shredding the Concept of the Morning “Paper”

by Dan Ward

The writing has been on the proverbial wall for some time, and now the wall is starting to crack. The Christian Science Monitor has announced that it will become the first major daily newspaper to forego a print edition, moving all daily news online.

Is it a harbinger of things to come in Florida? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Daily newspapers in Florida have been cutting staff and cutting copy for some time now, choosing to compete in the online environment rather than focusing on their core product. Think of the savings the Sam Zells of the world will achieve by eliminating production, distribution and real estate costs.

If other papers, such as the Orlando Sentinel, follow this model, it will force a serious change in habits for people like me, who enjoy thumbing through a “real” newspaper every morning.

More importantly, it will also force a major change in how retailers market their products and services. Spending on circulars and print advertising, for instance, will have to be directed to other areas. Will it simply be a transfer of spending to online advertising, or will it represent an opportunity for public relations to play a larger role in product marketing through targeted publicity and promotion, direct communications techniques, social networking, etc.?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and which newspapers will be the next to jump headfirst into Web-only distribution.