And prospects 2009 will be much execrable

At the Congress of the press in Lyon, late October, the plight of the French publishers was patent. While the monopoly of the book CGT in the printing and distribution of daily newspapers is regularly named as one major headaches in the sector in France, the subject had almost been relegated to the second plan. The concern of professionals has moved on another essential topic: they understood that Internet, while having become mandatory, was not the solution to their economic problems. The emergence of the Web always translates to news organizations by a deadweight loss of income, and thus profitability. And the conclusion is the same at the global level. In fact, paper newspapers do more to justify to the reader a regularity of purchase and price often considered too high to the abundance of free information on the Web. This is reflected in their accounts by a decline in income distribution and advertising, in volume and value, whereas the cost of too high contact advertisers. With the acceleration of the economic crisis, the situation worsened at the end: collected by print media communication budgets are reduced be shrinking.

In the United States, newspapers record cuts up to 20 of their advertising revenues on the paper. And prospects 2009 will be much execrable. At the same time, websites created by the newspapers do not generate the revenue needed to offset losses suffered on the printout. Lyon, Frédéric Filloux mentioned a shock figure: "When the"Washington Post"is 1 dollar of sales on the Net, he lost at the same time 9.6 dollars of income on paper." But without the Web, it would be a shortfall in revenue of $ 10.6. "For cause: the Internet is much less rewarding than paper. On average, an online reader would do ten times less than a paper drive. With a bloated offer on the Web, inserts prices do not increase. Newspaper sites undergo head-on slower advertising growth on the Net, the market of the banners being the presentation. It is Google that captures the essence of growth through advertising related research ( sponsored links).

Economic equilibrium of news organizations are so upset. Without that to sketch, for the moment, a model out of the tunnel. In the United States, where newspapers had yet a healthy financial position with significant broadcasts, the shock is brutal: evidenced by the collapse of the "Los Angeles Times" and the "Chicago Tribune". More than 13,000 journalists have already lost their jobs since the beginning of the year, after more than 2,000 deletions of posts in 2007. In France, where companies daily press including are already weakened by the lack of own funds, the wickets of voluntary departures are cycled through. These staff reductions might soon find their limits. Because it is at the point where they are forced to reduce the wing that newspapers must increase their production of information for print and the Web.

Or identify the financial resources, they may deplete their content simply propose flows without real added value. However, the unmarked information does sells more. However, the drive remains willing to pay for what has value in its eyes. The increase in sales recorded by the generalist daily during the presidential election in 2007 reflected, and the craze for the economic press since the crisis of the "subprime". In the speech, the subject does indeed more debate among editors: all are convinced that, to regain readers, they must provide original content or value-added requiring the employment of qualified editors. It is and today ' hui print media faces an apparently equation without solution. Resources from sales and advertising cover more in more difficult to the operating expenses of newspapers, consisting for the most part of fixed costs. On the other, the drive requires information differentiated to buy.

The future is obscure to publishers because none can boast to hold the Holy Grail. Certainty, the publishers of newspapers will have to demonstrate great creativity on the content, the Organization of editors, creating products. There are chances that the press, even if it is reinvents sentence still to balance its accounts. It must therefore find new ways to ensure the survival of newspapers and the profitability of magazines. For the richest groups that were able to finance acquisitions, it could through beneficial diversification, services for example. If this is not enough, newspapers, and in particular the General information dailies, will employ other solutions yet. Why not the patronage or public funds But with what editorial independence