This is the smartest concept I've seen from a newspaper company lately. It will depress their earnings for years, probably, but might ensure Gannett's survival as a news company. It appears to be somewhat contrary to what the Newspaper Next research project has been suggesting with Harvard Business School academic input -- which is to repurpose newspapers for the readers they aren't getting. Gannett seems to be saying they aren't going to push water uphill -- they'll stop trying to edit newspapers to attract non newspaper readers and instead reach those consumers digitally.
BELOW FROM:
http://www.editorsweblog.org/print_newspapers/2006/12/us_gannett_to_focus_its_print_products_o.php
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
US: Gannett to focus its print products on over 45s
Once Gannetts 24/7 newsroom operation is fully operative, they plan to focus on the older generation according to a presentation at the New York Media meetings last week.
"Our newspapers are going to be positioned more in the direction to those more comfortable reading print," said Sue-Clark Johnson, president of Gannett's newspaper division. "Our Information Centers enable us to connect to the community, engage readers and provide a more customer-centric approach for our advertisers." She believes the core newspaper readership is aged 45 and over. The newsroom will focus breaking news on web sites and digital services whilst newspapers will have less of a "news" focus. The plan is that as the Information Centre matures, the print product will become smaller and more targeted towards the 45-years plus market in the middle to upper income bracket.
EXCERPTED FROM: followthemedia.com; ORIGINAL URL: http://www.followthemedia.com/fittoprint/aarp12122006.htm.prn?PHPSESSID=ebe99950a14d3546f8310437f5140475
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