Death of the Newspaper? Not So Fast, Says Media General

Media General and the Richmond Times-Dispatch describe plans to inform and entertain their audience as business models change and circulation declines.

By Paul B. O'Brien

Competing in an environment where many customers expect to receive its product free online, the Richmond Times-Dispatch meets such expectations and projects survival with plans for the future.

Times-Dispatch Executive Editor Glenn Proctor acknowledged the internet has “hurt all newspapers” and that availability of free online news is a double-edged sword.

“Just like everybody else, we’re looking to the internet as a plus,” he said.

A big part of Media General’s online strategy is geared around the relaunch of Richmond.com in April. The site was purchased from The Whitlock Group by Times-Dispatch parent company Media General in October 2008. Set to replace inRich.com as Media General’s current community news site, Richmond.com will complement TimesDispatch.com.

Publisher Thomas A. Silvestri clarified the role of the two sites, explaining that each one will bring a different focus to the table.

“We will continue to build out the news component of TimesDispatch.com with the goal of establishing it as the site for breaking news in the region,” he said.

“We think Media General’s purchase of Richmond.com is a great addition and offers a unique option for a true city site with a broad focus on information and entertainment,” said Silvestri. “We all hope it will be the site everyone is talking about.”

Expanding on the intended audience for the new and improved Richmond.com, Multimedia Editor John Witt explained that its mission “is more in the line of social networking than delivering news.”

Richmond.com will focus on “serving as a community portal, aggregating content from a variety of sources, including the Times-Dispatch, with a focus on entertainment and lifestyles,” he said.

Witt explained the renewed focus of TimesDispatch.com on breaking news as a natural progression of how the paper’s delivery systems have evolved.

“It used to be that the broadcasters would say ‘we're the source of breaking news’,” he said. “Well, now we can beat them, because all we have to do is get somebody with a cell phone ... for video and photos and send everything right from the scene of that latest car crash.”

While making such gains on traditional broadcast territory has been a bonus for newspapers, financial woes have recently caused many to shorten or even eliminate their print runs.

As for the Times-Dispatch, Silvestri was emphatic that “this is not on the table.”

“Right now, I don’t see us discontinuing any printed days of the week,” he said. “Papers that are cutting days are doing it based on profitability. We think it’s wise to preserve our seven-day distribution system.

“Media General is working on ways to deliver other newspapers and possible other products. Cutting days of the week have more to do with the cost of providing the product than online. Newspaper subscribers want a printed product.”

While Silvestri acknowledged some tension between the online and print products, he is also optimistic about their current joint efforts.

“We complement each other. We’re working very well together,” he said. “If there is friction between the two, it’s because we’re trying to get news online faster and two or more creative ideas are confronting each other. In the end, we all want all of our sites to succeed as each is part of a larger whole and that’s what matters.”

Meanwhile, decreased daily circulation of the print edition has been a cause for concern. It has shrunk by more than 34,000, from 195,529 in 2001 to 160,886 in 2008, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

According to Bonnie Newman Davis, former Times-Dispatch editor and reporter, the paper’s plans “to ride the storm” are admirable.

“I am certain that, given Richmond Newspapers' longtime presence here, its doors will not close anytime soon,” she said. “Yet, it's obvious from various layoffs, unfilled positions, decreased circulation, combined sections and recently announced furloughs that the daily Times-Dispatch and perhaps Media General at large are struggling.”

Despite the declining numbers, Proctor dismissed those who herald the death of the printed newspaper. “People have said that about our death now for years. We may be smaller, or in a different format, but there will still be a print format.

“We're not going anywhere.”