WSJ: Local Papers' Web Scramble

Emily Steel of the Wall Street Journal writes about the difficulties that local newspapers are having in turning their local advertising base into online dollars. She thinks that part of the problem is due to a slowness to adapt to the online marketplace:

Local media companies, because they are based in the communities they serve, would seem to have an edge over Internet sellers when it comes to persuading the diner or corner hardware store to take out an ad. But they have largely failed to convert that advantage into sales. Instead of tailoring their sales to local businesses, many newspaper companies initially focused on selling ads to bigger advertisers who were already buying space in their print products.

While this strategy allowed them to quickly and cheaply create a customer base for their online ventures, it also limited their growth, because they weren't expanding their customer base. Many newspapers also hurt themselves by simply plopping their papers online instead of creating new Web sites that offered advertisers something they couldn't get in print. Meanwhile, Web companies such as Google and Local.com are growing rapidly because they have made it cheap and easy for local companies to take out ads.

Read the entire article here »

Posted by Jeff on December 18, 2007 at 04:57 PM in General | Permalink