Scott Hatfield has it right. After noting a headline in today’s edition of the Fresno Bee—”McClatchy profits up, but earnings fall”—he responds:
The outcome outlined in the headline was entirely predictable for anyone who has followed the Bee’s evolution to a leaner, but also less filling, product. The Bee’s decision to change formats to reduce printing costs doubtless helped raise the profit margin, but there was also a reduction in content, especially in local content. If you want to make your newspaper relevant, you need to invest more in local content by local writers, and (frankly) in content that will provoke people to respond.
. . .
You need content that others don’t have if you want your market share to grow. Otherwise, you can keep slashing the cost of production all you want, but your overall revenues will drop because your share of the market will shrink. The Internet changes the equation: if McClatchy does not invest in generating more unique, local content they should get out of the newspaper business.
Exactly. Local, unique, and interesting content is everything. But wait, haven’t I heard something kind of like that before?