A retort to Rupert Murdoch

Many of the newspapers in the U.S., including The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer are experiencing decreased paid circulation "Pressure on the Presses,"Wall Street Journal. One contributing factor is the decline of readership of younger audiences and emergence of multimedia platforms on the Internet.

The other causal factor is the economical cost involved in the production and distribution of the newspaper product. Simply, it is expensive to produce a product that people can simply obtain online or via their mobile device. The outcome is younger citizens are technologically savvy and utilizing home computers and portable devices to get news information when and how they want it.

So, why is Rupert Murdoch more concern of government assistance than new platforms of information distribution? Well, the answer is simple. It is the corporate bottom line that was established by such conglomerates like News Corp.

A defining characteristic of media conglomerates is the practice of diversification and acquisitions of other media products across different media markets. News Corp practice diversification to ensure that performance does not depend on a single product or service News Corp's media products.

The main advantage of the diversification into different media businesses comes from sharable content across different platforms of distribution. The potential pitfall is the repurposing of information across these different platforms in local markets. Also, it will negatively impact the coverage of issues or angles of stories important to the local communities that newspapers serve.

Guess what, Mr. Murdoch? You have enabled the fall of print journalism with this practice of diversification and turning content into a “product” that is supposed to yield a return on your investment. Now, Internet and mobile technologies have given people another choice.

I agree with your second point content is not free. But, younger consumers will pay for quality content not repurposed content that is streamed from one distribution channel to another. Yes, the hyperlocal market will be the future of print journalism. It will bring back some of the early principles of reporting where journalists are reporting the operations of the government and even local governments, which are not covered much in local newspapers.

Secondly, the hyperlocal media markets will bring back investigative reporting in local communities, which has been phased out by diversified conglomerates like News Corp. Also, it will allow reporting of national stories with a local angle using local sources. Finally, the hyperlocal media markets allow users to interact with the story within their communities Printed Blog.



These new hyperlocal media markets will allow communities to connect. Also, they can generate advertising revenue from the untapped small business market. These small businesses can advertise cheaper comparatively to print ads. Again, younger consumers will pay for relevant content within their own communities. Also, small businesses can get voice in the sea of advertising competition of larger competitors at a local level.

I agree the First Amendment was designed for an informed citizenry by means of the press. Yet, the capitalistic model and greed of conglomerates such as News Corp have put a veil on citizens for at least three decades. Now, technology has enabled the younger audiences to see beyond this model and made them savvy of the repurposing of content.

Young news consumers are now able to stream video, Podcasts, blogs, and Tweet news events as they happen with others. I believe Rupert Murdoch’s next acquisitions venture will be in the hyperlocal market due to its potential to reach the local audience he has lost. He knows if there are many eyes reading content that there is money to be made.