Murdoch’s Digital Conversion Marked Turning Point For UK Newspapers

Peter Cole’s gone over the top with the assertion that the “most significant date” in online news history was April 13, 2005 — the date of Rupert Murdoch’s address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors about the digital future. Still, it works as a demarcation line between the pioneers of online news and the last-in crowd.
Cole’s choice for second-most important date: May 30, 2006, when the FT played up a projection that the internet would see 13.3 percent of the ad spend for UK media in 2006, just edging out 13.2 percent to national newspapers. Again, over the top but a valid sign of how the media landscape is shifting although it’s not clear whether the newspaper sites are included in the internet spending projection. What’s indisputable is the rush of announcements from UK papers about online strategy whether it’s The Guardian putting its news online prior to print or the Daily Telegraph changing going print first. At the same time, online access has broadened the boundaries for many UK papers; 5.1 million of The Guardian’s 12.9 million monthly uniques come from the U.S.
Sunday Times: A look at the UK advertising picture portends for Ireland and the ultimate effect on newsrooms: “When the internet starts biting into traditional media revenues, management will be able to slash costs in one way only: by reducing headcount. If these are supposed to be the good times, what will the bad times be like?”

Comments have been disabled for this post