Just about everything in the news these days is bad, including the future of newspapers themselves.
Staffs are shrinking around the country, and so are the sizes of newspapers. Layoffs are widespread, conglomerations and joint-operating agreements are common, and revenues are down. The actual price of newsprint is going up, and so are delivery costs. With the introduction of online classified methods, such as Craigslist and eBay, people aren't paying to auction their goods in the traditional back-pages way.
Locally, small changes are starting to take place that could signal a shift in the Roaring Fork Valley media market.
No laughing matter
The Glenwood Springs Post Independent recently announced the downsizing of its comics section. Traditionally, four pages of comics ran in its Sunday newspaper. Now, the paper will only run six comics, instead of the 13 that they were publishing. The paper will continue to vary those that they run on the weekend and during the week.
In a letter printed to the public on Sept. 29, the Post Independent wrote that "one of the biggest factors involved in our decision-making process was financial. Some comic strips are more expensive than others, and we needed to trim some of our costs."
The publishers of the Post Independent and The Aspen Times declined comment. Colorado Mountain News Media owns and operates advertising efforts for 16 Western Slope newspapers, including The Aspen Times, Post Independent, Valley Journal, Snowmass Village Sun and La Tribuna. Steve Pope, general manager of Colorado Mountain News Media, also declined comment.
The economy has also triggered belt-tightening at the Aspen Daily News.
Last week, the Aspen Daily News announced its suspension of distribution in New Castle, Silt and Rifle after 10 years of serving these markets.
"In this economy it's become necessary to closely monitor costs in relation to their benefit," said David Cook, publisher of the Aspen Daily News. "While this was a difficult decision, we knew our readers could still go online and read the same content they were receiving in print."
Though there haven't been widespread layoffs in the valley, budget-cutting and clipping excess costs is becoming more of a necessity.
"We run a tight ship, and we're gearing up for what could be a slowdown," said Madeleine Osberger, general manager and editor at the Snowmass Sun. "We have been cost-concious, but I don't forsee anything besides business as usual."
She notes that in these times, being a smaller newspaper that operates from a corporate revenue stream is a positive; with three employees the weekly can hardly afford to lose anyone. But, that didn't keep them from leaving a vacant position open for two months.
"We're planning ahead for the coming fire," she said. "But, it's not all doom and gloom because I think community newspapers offer something that nationals don't."
And though the Snowmass Sun's newspaper sizes are smaller, Osberger said, additional news stories are uploaded on the paper's Web site.
Lost advertisers
Though editorial and advertising content is separated like church and state, one would not exist without the other. And, as advertising moves both online and to alternative sources, coming up with new outlets and fighting for advertisers becomes more fierce.
This summer, Jim Pavelich, former founder of the Vail Daily, started the Vail Mountaineer. Like Aspen, there are now two newspapers in Vail - one that's owned by Swift Communications and another that's independent.
On Tuesday, Pavelich published an editorial and comic that alleges the Vail Daily of "putting its monopoly profits ahead of the wellbeing of children." He claims The Mountaineer was offering to run free advertisements for two different children's charities as a community service, but both advertisers retracted their ads at the last minute, saying the Vail Daily had threatened to pull ads and event sponsorships if the charities associated with The Mountaineer.
Putting advertising dollars over children's charities, Pavelich opined, "is stooping to a new low."
Aside from local newspapers competing against each other for ad revenue, they're up against online sites such as Craigslist and eBay too, both of which offer free classifieds on a national level.
But, as community newspapers try to move their products online, with enticements such as The Aspen Times' free online classifieds, the Web sector is struggling for profit too.
After 17 quarters of enormous growth, online revenue for advertisers is falling, The New York Times reported this week. Nationwide online revenue in the last quarter reported was down 2.4 percent from the year before to $777 million. Though added features such as video blogs, photo slide shows and podcasts are all meant to attract more advertisers, it's a market that finally appears to have slowed after years of growth.
"Online revenue hasn't tracked with readership," said Cook, adding that it doesn't support the money invested into most Web sites, either.
Newspapers in debt
Even before banks recently tightened their loans, newspapers were feeling the credit crunch and experiencing a first: debt.
After borrowing billions of dollars, many of America's major media companies now owe millions and billions. The list includes Tribune Co., the McClatchy Co., Freedom Communications, Morris Communications, and MediaNews Group Inc. Some companies are facing bankruptcy and others are facing asset sell-offs - a tricky trade in an industry in which it's rare to actually buy newspapers, according to Editor & Publisher magazine.
Locally, many industry watchers believe there's an oversaturation of media outlets, from radio to print, based primarily on a real estate dollars. If that market starts to shift, so might the shape of media in the Roaring Fork Valley.
"There will be a natural process of selection," Cook said.
christine@aspendailynews.com
