WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS NAVIGATE RAPIDLY CHANGING ADVERTISING MARKET, BUTYET TO FULLY ADOPT AN ONLINE SALES STRATEGYBy Alan Dean BlanchardThe general population studied for this study consisted of 6,055 U.S. weekly newspapers, with managers at 1,000 of them surveyed electronically. The survey sample was proportionate to the number of weeklies in the 48 continental states.This research project found that weekly newspaper publishers were retaining and attracting advertisers and readers, even though a majority of weeklies generate very limited revenue dollars from online media efforts. Most of the owners responding to this survey predicted they would remain in business in the years to come and were generally more optimistic than the conventional wisdom would suggest regarding the future viability of print newspapers. Weekly newspapers receiving competition from radio stations for advertising dollars was confirmed, but came as no surprise. While the selling of online advertising occurred among some, not all, weekly newspapers, most of the managers indicated they did not have a strategy for online ad sales.The findings point to a need to do more investigation of the weekly newspaper industry, which is its own unique segment, and the impact of digital distribution on the segment. It's clear that what may be true for daily newspapers is not always applicable to weekly newspapers. Key recommendations would include researching to discover if newspapers are retaining certain segments like grocers, for example, but earning fewer advertising dollars from those segments in the process. For years, grocers routinely bought full-page print newspaper advertisements in weeklies and dailies, but several decades ago they shifted to newspaper circular advertisement inserts. The inserted circular ads communicated the same sales information that in-paper ads contained, but cost less than in-paper display advertisements.Further research focusing on the competitive relationship between weekly newspapers and radio stations would be helpful in better understanding the future viability of both of those mediums in the marketplace. Finally, it would be beneficial to investigate just rural weeklies to learn what best practices they are engaged in that are contributing their ability to keep their heads above water and even thrive in certain communities.
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