So before we all agree that newspapers must go because now we have online news, I urge newspaper owners and executives to carefully study now and why people read newspapers.
They need to ask their customer/reader what they want from a printed newspaper and how they can deliver it. It is time for some customer research to uncover what that special relationship is between reader and newspaper. Let's understand why a person picks up that home delivery paper and wants to spend time consuming it. We need to become fully aware of the expectations of the consumer who buys a newspaper.
If the economy dictates that we reduce the size of newspapers but that the reader wants a paper no matter how small it is, then the job of publishers is to figure out how to profitably deliver what the reader wants. Maybe this is economy is a game changer for printed newspapers where reductions are needed but that print remains viable.
I strongly believe that the customer wants a printed newspaper and that they will pay for it and that they will continue to read and benefit from the printed advertisements. The challenge is to deliver what they want. First, newspaper managers must understand what they want and need.
The reader truly is the boss. The reader is the consumer.
