What Do You Expect from Your Newspaper?

The monetary value, circulation, profits, and influence of newspapers in the US has been plummeting. Look for them to ask for bailout funds and laws to restrict their competition such as the Internet and Talk Radio.

There is a simple, and free to the taxpayers, way for many of the newspapers to recover financial health and profitability. It involves listening to the customers and then giving them what they want. Not a new or novel concept but a basic rule of business survival.

Instead, most US newspapers, with a very few exceptions, print what they want to further the liberal agenda and the Democratic Party and then try to force it on their customers. Well, the customers are reacting and leaving the newspapers by the millions. For example, the New York Times recently had to mortgage its building to meet expenses.

What Would You like from Your Newspaper?

I would like unbiased information in their news, weather, and sports sections, editorials clearly labeled as such, a good funnies page, and helpful advertising when I am trying to find something. I would also appreciate speedier (less than 24 hours late) reporting of the news. Finally, I would appreciate it if the newspapers tried to take a patriotic, pro-American stance on major issues of the day.

What I don’t want is what we have now. Newspapers that are so far left as to be out of touch with the majority of Americans, newspapers that are almost exclusively a tool of the leftist Democrats, newspapers that reach to find ways to blame America for many of the world’s problems when in fact we have made most of them better. And most importantly, newspapers that censor the news by spinning everything positively for the leftists, spinning it negatively for the majority of Americans, and refusing to report news that does not either help the leftist radicals or harm the conservative patriots.

In short, “we don’t need no stinking propaganda rags”, we need fair and honest and decent newspapers reporting in the broad public interest.

How The Newspapers Can Survive and Prosper

First meet the customers needs as outlined above. Get rid of the liars, leftist radicals on a mission for their personal agendas, and make journalism a profession again. Staff the paper with professional editors dedicated to the news.

Second, provide content. Talk Radio and the Internet will always be faster and more current. To make up for this disadvantage the newspapers can provide unbiased, in-depth reporting based on reporters at the scene and digging deep into the facts--content.

Television went from black and white to color and USA Today has proven that newspapers can too. They need to add more color graphics and photographs with readable, state-of-the art printing.

The Newspapers really are in Trouble

As an example, Lee Enterprises of Davenport, IA publishes 49 daily newspapers across the country. In the last year their stock has gone from a high of $14.91 per share to a low of $0.30 per share. Revenues keep falling as advertisers leave the newspapers and now Lee Enterprises may lose its NYSE listing if they don’t improve substantially within 6 months. Being kicked of the stock exchange because it does not meet revenue and capitalization standards may signal the end of Lee Enterprises and many of its newspapers. But you know liberals, it is very hard for them to give up their biases and dogma and almost impossible for them to learn. Many follow the radical leftist agenda right into bankruptcy.

No Bailouts are Needed!

But, this is natural and good. It is not a disaster or a tragedy and newspapers do not need a bailout. Companies that do not put their customers first should perish and they should be replaced by companies that will put the customers’ needs first. This must happen if newspapers are to survive and serve their rightful place in informing the public of the unbiased news and facts and providing honest in-depth content.