Newspapers 'need to innovate to survive'
Play
The print media business has become so tough that newspapers need to come up with innovative ways of holding on to readers in order to survive.
“There is no other way, we have to change and look at the larger picture,” Wong Chun Wai, chief group editor for Malaysia’s Star Publications, said.
Wong was speaking at the “Innovation in the Newsroom” session at the World Editors Forum being held at Bangkok’s Centara Grand Hotel.
“Journalists are now thinking differently, they have to do a lot more than just cover print. The job has become tougher but there is no extra pay for them,” he said.
Last year, The Star newspaper launched iSnap – much like The Nation – which is an augmented reality application that complements print content by letting readers view videos and related photos using their smart phone.
Since its launch, the application has had more than 210,000 downloads and 6.7 million impressions.
In addition, The Star’s e-paper – an exact replica of the print version – has won it 50,000 new subscribers.
“As business has become tougher, we can’t use the old business models anymore. We are grappling with how to do our business, how to deliver news, how to increase revenue and profit,” Wong said.
Technology is providing new ways to deliver content and allow media companies to experiment.
“We have different ways of interacting with our audience,” Lisa MacLeod, head of operations at The Financial Times, said.
Jeff Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Journalism, noted two trends that media companies are undertaking – either going smaller and becoming more efficient or expanding operations globally.
He also said media companies need to see value in collaborations.
“We can specialise but we can‘t be everything. We need to become more efficient,” Jarvis explained.
