Earlier this week, we reported that the Philadelphia Inquirer laid off 68 people in the newsroom. As the news sinks in, the anger and despair felt by many is coming to the surface. For outsiders, at least, the comments section of an Inquirer blog seems to be where much of it is being expressed. We noted the rueful note there from WBUR’s Michael Goldfarb in our earlier coverage. Since then, the most provocative note has been from Pulitzer Prize winner and ex-Inquirer writer Buzz Bissinger, who used the forum to call for the departure of two columnist who have significant outside revenue sources (TV, books) because “they have both hit the jackpot in other realms and could care less about what they write for the paper … Neither deserve jobs at the Inquirer as it so desperately struggles, nor do they need the money.”
Behind that, it’s interesting how the move to online is figuring into the comments from journalists and readers. One journalist led with a battle cry to “Shut down the Web sites. Reinvest in the printed products.” The trick is to do both and differentiate. It’s an argument worth following: a reader is willing to pay to read the newspaper online, while the journalist maintains that the move to online is damaging to the newspaper’s business. Most journalists don’t have to be businesspeople, thank goodness, but journalists who look at digital media know that online is a growing source of revenue and readership that is saving many newspapers from turning in even worse advertising and circulation numbers.
We have an interesting juxtaposition just a bit north of Philly. There are many things to admire about this week’s Wall Street Journal redesign, but most impressive was the publisher’s letter, which made a clear distinction between what the WSJ is trying to do online and in print. Who thinks the Inquirer has figured out how to differentiate?
Related:
— Philadelphia Inquirer Lays Off 68; Online Saves a Few
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