05/21/09

            Although classifieds in print are tanking --- and we've said for 11 years that print classified "liners" will be dead in due course, to be replaced by branding ads for cars, homes and jobs --- we're also still (believe it or not) big believers in the value of newsprint. It works. And it'll be around for a long time.

            So we do not count among the doom-and-gloom prophets for the newspaper industry. Sure, it's facing very tough times. And sure, some newspapers are cutting from seven days (in print) to five, or even two. And a handful --- mostly second newspapers in a two-newspaper city --- have folded. But the "newspapers are dying" song is patent nonsense, and those who are singing it are really not paying attention.

            Therefore, I was impressed with the latest piece of marketing material from the NAA.

            In the full-page newspaper ad, which is supposed to appear tomorrow in The New York Times, NAA president John Sturm makes the case for newspapers as survivors, offering "myths" and "realities" that show the U.S. newspaper industry is generally sound. His bottom line: "This is not a portrait of a dying industry. It's illustrative of transformation. Newspapers are reinventing themselves to focus on serving distinct audiences with a variety of products, and delivering those audiences effectively to advertisers across media channels."

            Amen to that (although some are certainly doing a better job transforming themselves than others). And as people who have been critical of the NAA's marketing efforts from time to time, we think this one hits the mark.