MinnPost founder talks about future of newspaper industry

By Lauren Rothering
Arts & Entertainment Editor

Joel Kramer, founder of MinnPost.com and former editor and publisher of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, spoke about the declining newspaper industry and the coping mechanisms of journalists and readers on Sept. 15.

“The demand for news has not gone down,” said Kramer. “There are just so many different ways to get it.”

The variety of news sources is causing newspapers to lose profits, declare bankruptcy and, in some cases, fold completely. This situation is so severe, said Kramer, that in the past three years one in three newspapers have “gone under” because of financial trouble.

These circumstances are mostly the result of the loss of revenue from advertising, said Kramer. A newspaper typically only makes 15 to 20 percent of its profits from readers; the rest comes from advertising. During the past few years, said Kramer, companies who used to depend on newspapers as a main source of advertising have taken their business elsewhere, namely to Internet sites such as Google. Classified ads, once the main source of profit for newspapers, have been replaced by sites such as Craigslist. Department stores that used to take out full-page colored ads in newspapers now simply e-mail customers with new information and special offers.

“What pays the bills in journalism is advertising,” said Kramer. “This (lack of advertising) is basically the problem with all journalism today.”

Even worse than the failing newspaper industry, said Kramer, is public reaction, mostly the fact that “the public doesn’t seem to care all that much,” Kramer said. Public opinion of journalists and the news they produce has been steadily declining for years, said Kramer. According to Kramer, this has caused many newspapers to report on what they know will garner reader attention: celebrities. Even Kramer’s own MinnPost.com, an online newssource he claims is “a little bit elitist…and (geared toward) people who think,” experiences triple the normal “hits” for stories that mention political celebrity Congresswoman Michelle Bachman or Minnesota native Bob Dylan.

“There is a reason you get so much celebrity coverage in newspapers,” said Kramer. The practically guaranteed readership makes advertisers more willing to place ads.

Although traditional, professional journalism may be dying, Kramer argues that the outcome is not completely negative. R­ising from the ruins of failed newspapers is a new league of citizen journalists, common people who use the Internet to comment on political, economic and societal issues said Kramer. Some critics believe that this “crowd wisdom” is getting people excited about the news again.

“It’s energizing, exciting,” said Kramer. “You don’t get that at the New York Times.”