Whither newspapers in the age of global technology? The answer, according to Mr Nick Chapman, managing director of The Irish Times Ltd, is that the print media are facing exciting and more profitable times, characterised by drastic changes as newspapers begin to deliver a whole new range of services.
"Clearly, we as media owners need to add value through technology, amongst other things," he told members of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland at its annual conference in Killarney yesterday.
Mr Chapman cited the example of classified advertising on the Internet where, if a website was to yield good returns for the consumer, it would need to be equipped with an excellent search engine to match, for example, CVs to jobs very quickly and effectively.
He added: "But the technical expertise is out there and through a combination of innovation, research and investment, we can ensure that we have the most upto-date search engine. I would argue that the creative skills that you find in traditional media companies like The Irish Times will place them in a stronger position when married to this new technology. These well-honed skills give us an edge because these core skills can be applied."
Mr Chapman added that, having set the market context for the way forward, newspapers would also have to look at media brands. "Already you can see the emergence of global media brands. These brands are successful not only because they are trustworthy and reliable but also because they are very predictable in a positive sense," he said.
He cited examples such as Disney and the BBC. The latter organisation, he said, had a predictability in terms of quality and Disney had a predictability in terms of entertainment which had helped them sustain their success.
Mr Matt Cooper, the editor of the Sunday Tribune, said there was no reason why he as a newspaper editor should not wish to embrace the Internet. "After all, why should I care too much about the means of delivery, be it on the printed page or on the screen, as long as the reader gets the benefit of the work my journalists do? If people want to read the Sunday Tribune online rather than on the printed page, why should that matter to me? Indeed, it could be argued that it would help to keep my costs down as, if an online newspaper replaced a printed product, I would no longer have to worry about the costs of newsprint and printing - by far and away the most expensive weekly items in the production of the newspaper."
But, he said, as yet the Internet does not offer the sort of revenue now generated by the printed product and it did not make sense, therefore, to divert existing resources to the detriment of the core revenue-generating newspaper. "The Washington Post, for example, offers a range of services from local news and guides to job searches, shopping, property, education, auctions, entertainment and health. But these online ventures are haemorrhaging money. Last year, the Post spent $85 million (£53 million) on its Internet arm, yet revenues were just $17 million (£11 million).," he said.
