Are Newspapers Going Back to Their Roots?

Time Magazine explores the new phenomenon of newspapers publishing sensational articles to grow circulation.

The papers are now publishing mugshots of everyone arrested locally and posting them to their Web sites. Even the Chicago Tribune has caught on to this tactic. I remember always reading the local "police blotter" to my dad (he was blind, so I read a lot to him). It was amusing, until someone you knew showed up in the column. Then I felt like a voyeur.

But isn't the strategy that helps most media grow? Think of AM radio, TV news and even, the Internet.

My biggest concern with the decline of the newspaper industry is no one will be able to afford to cover in-depth local stories. TV stations are about the "here and now." Our local paper has been covering an enormous case of state-funded child care fraud. Without a local paper, my fear is these items won't get coverage.

So, if they have to expose a few local arrests to maintain their revenue stream, so be it. If we didn't want to know, it wouldn't sell.

Advertising Accountability - An Oxymoron?

Anyone who has studied advertising has heard, "I know half of my advertising is wasted, but I don't know which half." Ah, the days before online metrics.

Per Adweek, manufacturers are shifting more of their budgets online. The obvious reason is media habits shifting online. But what's more important is accountability.

Web site traffic lead conversions can be measured. What's still difficult, however, to measure is awareness. Advertising is both and art and a science. Science is becoming a bigger player, but it will never take over completely. There will always be a degree of unpredictability. That's what makes it fun.

I will never forget when someone cold-called me about buying signage at the local airport. Since I worked for a local retail automobile dealer group, I pointed out that half of the people seeing the ads don't live in the market, as they're traveling to town from somewhere else. They would not be likely to buy a car here. The salesperson pointed out the axiom about 50% of advertising is wasted and I would at least know which half was wasted.