Newspaper down, online up

BBC Radio 4 this morning covered the Economists story on the declining circulation of newspapers. It seemed to merely confirm what the Carnegie Corporation said last year: that sub-25 year olds get the majority of their news from online sources. Over the coming years this demographic will inexorably tightening the noose on the conventional printed paper.

Papers, if they are to survive, need to reinvent their business model. They need to create an online presence which can raise revenue either by advertising or subscription. One of the humbling truths is they will need to downsize as the online environment is ferociously competitive and inundated with every type of offering, comment and blog.

Whether the demise of the newspaper will leave the consumer in relative ignorance is a subject for another time, the real issue is clarion call to PR to take the online environment that much more seriously. There is a need to understand the online community you interact with, to understand who are the influencers and build relationships with them. But how do you figure who the influencers are? – an intriguing question….