April 10, 2008

City Paper Goes Where Tennessean Will Eventually Follow

The Nashville City Paper is about to do what all newspapers will eventually be forced to do: Move more of their business online and evolve away from print. The paper is being purchased by the owner of NashvillePost.com, and will publish a print version only on Mondays and Fridays, and will beef up its online offerings including the addition of video coverage. That's the direction that newspapers have to go, in the opinion of this former newspaper writer.

The City Paper and the Nashville Scene both have reports on the sale and changes ahead for the City Paper.

Some time ago I wrote a piece asserting that newspapers, while they seem to be a more obsolete technology than broadcast news outlets, actually have the advantage over television in the transition to the new media world.

Briefly, I'll recap why.

It comes down to cost. Newspapers have two huge costs that broadcasters don't - the cost of newsprint and the cost of fuel for the delivery trucks. Broadcasters' unique big costs include such things as satellite remote trucks, video cameras, video editing and production equipment, and multi-person crews to produce stories.

Cheap digital technologies have given newspapers a way to dump their two biggest costs - and beef up their products - sooner than broadcasters can reduce theirs.

The City Paper is moving in the right direction - the direction that will soon become a trend among daily newspapers generally.