TIME magazine's latest cover story, "How to save your Newspaper", repeats in its headline the very thinking that has contributed to the demise of newspapers.
Many in print journalism continue to confuse content with distribution. In a multimedia world, we should all want to "save journalism", if in fact journalism is endangered and needs to be saved.
However, there's nothing inherently sensible about expending energy saving a distribution method that has been usurped by technology. It's the same thing as launching a "save typewriters" campaign in the wake of the advent of word processors and PCs.
Newspapers are in trouble for a number of reasons, almost all of which derive from the newspaper's distribution method: The cost of printing and the cost of delivery put newspapers at a competitive disadvantage compared to other media; the lack of immediacy of newspapers compared to internet, radio and TV has cost newspapers subscribers; and the superior ad value provided by internet players like Craigslist, compared to print ads, has cost newspapers revenue.
The focus, for TIME and for newspaper executives, should be How to Re-Invent Newspapers to adapt to the changes in the competitive landscape.
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