Readership through circulation and news quality are key ingredients to profitability in the newspaper business industry. In a 2-3 page paper, examine what Arthur Sulzberger can do to revive the failing newspaper whose financial performance is lagging. Can New York Times, with its journalistic pride compete with the digital media and still deliver the best news?
The New York Times was a family owned business and since 1896, the newspaper had covered stories of world wars, great recessions, strikes and so forth. The New York Times had been through tough family crisis and had been revived at each occasion. Once Ochs-Sulzberger had reinvented the newspaper by spending heavily to add new sections and a profusion of color illustration. Sulzberger made the Times the first and the only metro newspaper to broaden the distribution in America. The circulation of the newspaper expanded beyond the border the New York City and entered the new markets throughout America. However, the Times is struggling again to sustain as its circulation is experiencing competition from USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. In 1998, the Times had lost 96,000 subscribers in the home city. The management of the New York Times need to take serious steps to revive sales that have declined steadily due to the rise of internet media and social media. Creating a marketing plan and spending on advertising is one way to reach out to the consumers. YouTube ads are a convenient way to make customers aware of the quality of the newspaper.
The article mentioned that the Times is facing a stiff competition from the digital media, despite the fact the Times provide quality information as claimed by Sulzberger (New York Times, 2005). Digital media is widely used by millions at very low cost. Therefore, I think Arthur Sulzberger needs to enter cyber space where newsreaders can access to the quality information using personal computers and smart phones. To generate revenues, the Times could set up an affordable subscription fees using a cost leadership strategy. Since the digital media does not need any printing press, it could easily achieve cost leadership. Cost leadership strategy will allow Sulzberger to lower the overall cost of production and marketing to attract price-sensitive customers by selling at relatively lower prices than competition (Finch, 2012). This will help the Times to increase circulation not only in the hometown but also throughout the United States.
The author mentioned that the Times had declined to explore the foreign markets. I think it was harsh decision for the Times and foreign consumers. Sulzberger needs to rethink about this decision. Entering a new market could open doors to attract new customers and increase revenues. Market focus strategy need to be designed to penetrate foreign markets. The newspaper needs to introduce foreign language editions to capture a global market. The Times needs to introduce new and free edition for the young adult readers. This will help bring traffic to the website. The traffic may become loyal visitor and potentially turn into subscription buyers, which is the sole motive of Sulzberger.
The Times had been the largest documentary programs producer in the U.S. Partnered with Discovery Communications Inc., it had reached to millions of homes (New York Times, 2005). It was good for the company in 2007. However, today the technology is evolving at an alarming rate. To survive and longevity of the newspaper, Sulzberger need to invest in the broadband technology. It is critical for him to master the three skill sets - print, internet, and video. Sulzberger acknowledges that he and his newspaper are going through tough times and are sticking to the long-term plan set nearly a decade ago, while enhancing its reach into virgin territories of the Hudson and building multimedia capacity (New York Times, 2005).
Sulzberger will not be able to compete with digital media just on the basis on quality of information. However, by adopting the advertising and marketing strategies explained above, I am sure Sulzberger will be able to turn around his company. The New York Times will revive and re-establish its financial performance, which is lagging. This is a challenging task but achievable. The print media is a costly affair compared to digital media. The subscribers of print media are leaning towards digital media. For example, the Times had lost 96,000 subscribers and digital media could be a reason for this. I am person who likes to read printed books, but when it comes to news, I prefer digital media because I do not want to carry a newspaper with me. Print media is not that bad, it is just that digital media is better. Digital media has many advantages: ubiquity, speed, permanence, search ability, the ability to update, and interaction (Bloomberg Business, 2008). The logistic cost associated with the print media is also a killer compared to digital media, which is easy to distribute at a minimum cost. Digital media reduces the cost of production and distribution to a minimum. Technology and speed of connectivity have made it possible for content of digital media to be available everywhere and at a lowest cost. Therefore, for New York Times to survive, they need to digitize to sustain the competition even though the newspaper has its journalistic pride.
To conclude, Sulzberger can deliver the best news but to survive the competition, he will have to switch gears from print media to digital media. The key to make transition is that advertisers know that their customers are digital and marketing online is inexpensive and exponentially more efficient and effective.
Reference
Finch, J. (2012). Managerial Marketing. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Jarvis, J (2008). The Print Media Are Doomed. The Debate Room. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2008/12/the_print_media_are_doomed.html
The Future Of The New York Times (2005, January). Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-01-16/the-future-of-the-new-york-times