DNews: Lone survivor
The Associated Press has moved a story nationwide that could be titled, The Curious Case of the Deseret News. As newspapers around the country lose circulation, the DNews actually saw a small gain. National newspaper analyst John Morton told the AP that The Salt Lake Tribune is financially viable, but that the DNews has the protection of owner with deep pockets — the LDS church — and may outlast the larger-circulation Trib.The Deseret News will survive because the church wants it to.
DNews editor Joe Cannon, a former lobbyist and state GOP chairman, took the paper back to its Mormon roots (something that triggered a small revolt in the newsroom) and its Web site rakes in 17 million page views a month, but still not much ad revenue, says the AP story.
Imagine KSL-dominated Salt Lake as a one-newspaper city, with that only voice being church-owned.Visitors tend to linger, and half of them are from outside Utah, affirming Cannon's strategy even as online advertising revenues remain marginal.
His aim is to reach out to "a very large Mormon diaspora across the country" that "puts us into a much larger pond."
11 Comments:
I think that is one of the great things about Salt Lake. If/when the Trib does fail, and the church becomes the only news outlet, non-church members will quickly appreciate what they've lost and help bring a counterpoint news source back.
That's what I've been telling you. From my posting yesterday:
"The ugly thought - and it could well happen - is if SLC becomes a one-newspaper town, does anyone really believe it will be the one not owned by the Mormon church?"
I'm curious how a Tribune bankruptcy filing would affect the JOA - Joint Operating Agreement - it has with the Mormon-owned rag.
The JOA was set up by Congress so that in a two-newspaper town the larger and more prosperous paper could align with the weaker paper to help keep it afloat. The Seattle Times had a JOA with the Post-Intelligencer until the latter went tits up.
Very interesting scenario. I didn't see the wire service story, so I wonder if it even touched on the JOA issue. Wondering if the AP talked with Singleton, Cannon or Wall, the News' publisher.
The Deseret News will not go down. All Tommie the prophet has to do is order church-goers to subscribe or they'll go straight to hell on the day they die. No planets in their eternal future, no 27 virgins either.
But, can you imagine how uninformed this valley would be with just the Deseret News and the church's other money maker, KSL as the only distributors of news? It's a very ugly thought. I think I'm about to lose my lunch. I need a shot of Jack and a Kirin back.
I don't think there is another newspaper market in the nation like Utah's. Where else do you have a a news oligarchy that has openly admitted they are going to be skewing their news - and using that skewing as a promotional tool. (As a child I was horrified to learn that for my parents to receive the Church news on Sunday, they had to subscribe to the DesNews daily. They didn't which is probably why I'm a poor mormon today.) It's time that the SLTrib came down from their ivory tower and got dirty.
Here's a freebie - "The Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake's only unfiltered news source".
They need to attack the poison that is the DesNews under Cannon head on! Additionally, there are a lot of things the SLTrib could be doing with its website to help it survive and thrive. Unfortunately, those ones will cost them.
The dnews will survive because it has stayed relevant. Its increase in mormon news has brought additional readers. The church hasn't needed to prop it up and its been smart business not prophetic edict that has led to its increased circulation. But if the incredible shrinking trib needs bogymen to feel good than more power too them.
There's always City Weekly, so why worry, Glen? Neither of the big dogs like them and they don't like them back. They are independent as anyone else and should go daily.
Oh, come on you whiners. Before you jump to conclusions about Wall, Singleton, the JOA, etc., be an INFORMED READER. Go read the AP story. It's on the Des News site... if you can lower yourselves to go there.
For the record, they are mentioned and Singleton even states that he likes the new DesNews focus (presumably because it helps him differentiate the Trib).
Read before you jump off the deep end with old biases and stereotypes. So much for the Trib having the informed readers.
The Trib feeds of of anger (and hate) towards MOs - it's as simple as that. Yes, I DO read it; however, I read it to take a pulse on Utah's no MOs and SLC (in particular).
The stories are pretty much shit. The liberal bias is shit. In all candor, the paper is a rag. It's "free" for many of us (myself included). Would I pay for it; fuck no! I've seen better journalism from Jr. High newspaper "reporters".
It's too bad we don't have a real paper here. The News is sugar coated ... all the news the Church want you to know. However, the Trib is the same; they give us what THEY want us to see.
The News will survive long after the Trib is dust. Regardless of the journalist quality of (some) newspapers, the industry is toast. It's not much different on the web either. The web version of this paper is so laden with ads that it is getting to the point where I know (myself) that I am looking "less". This fucked up soccer ad is a case in point; it is fucking retarded. I am sick of all the pop-up ads ... something a self respecting paper would never do.
The Trib is on borrowed time. I've know for years (I've worked in the industry) that newspapers' days were numbered. However, I didn't think it would come in my lifetime. I was wrong; it surely will happen. I believe I will live to see the end of newspapers as we know it.
Uh, why don't all you daily papers get together and start charging people a subscription to read online? Is that so radical? You have a service, and a good one. Make people pay for it. Advertising will follow.
Only in Utah would the Trib be considered a "liberal" newspaper. Liberal newspapers all over the country backed Bush twice? Liberal newspapers all over the country continually go after teachers' associations? Sheesh.
Quit worrying about the DN...and fix your own paper.
If the Trib's circ is down, perhaps its because the Trib is like most US newspapers...liberally slanted. Oh, and it sure helps to be antagonistic toward the majority of the market's customer base.
A biblical analogy is appropriate here. Quit worrying about the mote in someone else's eye...and take care of the beam in your own eye.
Anything less than blind neocon nationalism == Liberal Bias right? I can't imagine what you think of NPR.
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