Downward Spiral for Newspaper Industry

In 2005 newspapers took a 2 percent fall. In 2007 newspapers took a 3 percent fall. In 2008 newspapers took a 4 percent fall. Now, in 2009 newspaper companies are experiencing a greater downward spiral than ever before. Sales have now fallen 10.6 percent on weekdays and 7.5 percent on weekends. The newspaper industry has not experienced anything like this since 1940.

There are many causes for this screeching halt in sales. Internet readership, price increases due to sale decrease, and the recession, have all been probable reasons for the newspaper industry to find itself in its own depression. Since 1990 sales of newspapers have been falling about 1 percent per year. So, maybe we should have seen this coming, but with that being said, besides going digital and still taking an enormous cut in profit, what can the newspaper industry do to survive?

My generation is going digital, and consequently killing off industries that have been around for decades. The New York Times article gives statistics to exactly what the Internet has done to newspaper readership by saying that,

The Internet, where newspapers are generally free, has siphoned off circulation and advertising even as it made papers more widely read than ever before. This year, newspaper sites have had more than 72 million unique visitors a month, compared with 60 million in 2007, according to reports by Nielsen Online for the Newspaper Association

Because newspapers have had to cut their budget, newsrooms are smaller and papers themselves are thinner than ever before. Alan Mutter, a newspaper consultant who writes a blog about the industry called Reflections of a Newsosaur says that,

"I’ve worried for a long time that they’re losing readers because they’re offering less, and I think we’re seeing the effects of that."

Newspapers all over the world are facing the same problems. The problems are effecting even some of the largest companies we know today, such as: New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle, and the Wall Street Journal. As sales fall for these companies, with previously such large nationwide readership, we have to wonder if the newspaper can indeed survive our generation.

Some people say that there are times that a newspaper can never be replaced. Moments in history such as 9/11, Michael Jackson's death, or Obama's history shattering presidency, are things that people will want in its original paper document forever. But sometimes I begin to wonder if my generation will even know what paper is by the time my hair starts to get grey. For now, anything we predict will be just that, merely a prediction. But as times continues and technology continues to advance we will, indeed, see someone's prediction of: 'The Newspaper's Will to Survive' or 'The Slow Death of the Newspaper', come true after all.