After all of the chatter about EPIC, these data points might seem quaint. But here goes: The majority of newspapers in the United States have not partnered with television and radio stations in their local communities, according to a Newspaper Association of America report.
Smaller-market papers (50,000 daily circulation and under) were least likely to partner. Among the biggies (250,000+), 32 percent formed a relationship with a TV station and an equal percentage has not linked up with a media partner. Only 4 percent of respondents work with a radio station, according to “Newspapers’ Online Operations: Performance Report 2004.”
“Newspapers’ Online Operations,” which also covers online revenue, audience size, staff support, propensity to require registration or a subscription fee and more, is based on 233 responses from daily newspapers. There’s better representation from the larger circulation sizes compared with the 50,000 and under crowd. Chasers can access the executive summary here.
The full report is available at no cost to NAA’s Federation members; it will be available to purchase soon for nonmembers – contact me for details.]
Maybe we’ve been drinking too much of the custom-brewed Chaser Kool-Aid, but this Chaser was disappointed by the small number of relationships forged between traditional media companies. Newspapers, broadcast and radio have embraced convergence and the Web’s role to very different degrees. Forward-thinking leaders at these companies should be energized by recent reports of increased ad spending and by advertisers’ increasing appetite for online media buys. There’s a powerful package in the offing – but only to those who recognize it and aggressively pursue it.
