Gabordi to newspapers: Spend

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

1

My friend and former Citizen-Times editor Bob Gabordi is probably one of the most passionate journalists I know, so I listen when he speaks. Here he is, via Gannett Blog:

You’ve no doubt heard that newspaper circulation across the nation is down. Online classified-advertising sites are dinging our revenues on one side. Higher fuel costs and worrywart analysts have talked us into a slower economy on the other side. The impact here has been far less than what I read about other areas; here, we have grown our Internet site to keep up, but we’re not immune totally to the trend.

You hear about newspaper layoffs, especially in metro markets, and you worry what it means for your own newspaper. We actually lost a darn good employee the other day because, among other reasons, he is worried about the future of our industry, not so much at this newspaper but in general.

So, my friend’s question was really more personal than it might seem on the surface. She knows the industry stresses are bound to take a toll. The intensity of my response actually surprised me:

“I’m still in love with what I do, and that includes almost all of it. … But if it were all easy, what fun is that?”

In the ellipsis, I wrote about how this is the right time, in my opinion, for investment in our business, not cutbacks. You cannot sustain a business model that relies on cutting over the long haul. You have to figure out new revenue streams and be willing to try new things. Some will work, some won’t, but you have to try.

The reality is I really am still very much in love with newspapers, and more and more that has moved beyond the journalism part. Newspapers – quite simply – still work. Our advertisers know that. Combined with the Internet, there is no stronger delivery mechanism for information.

Click here for Gabordi’s full column.