Its now official – Detroit Media Partnership has announced it will cease home delivery except for Thursday, Friday and Sunday editions and print a one-section street edition the remainder of the week for the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News.
There is a link here for a memo to employees from Detroit Media Partnership CEO David Hunke about the change. Also a link to obersvations from Poynter Media Business Analyst Rick Edmonds who does the math on Detroit’s gamble.
Only time will tell if this is a great idea, but it will be one other publishers will look at and follow in some form in the very near future. Someone had to be first. In this case it was Detroit. This might not save our industry, but it surely will change it.
Papers are looking for any alternatives to survive this economic downturn, now known 12 months later, to be a recession. Some are looking at severing their ties to AP. While that would change the content of the product, the Detroit plan begins the shift from print to web and a culture change that many didn’t think would come this fast.
Perhaps this will force executives to stop giving away their content for free on the Web and create sites that are reader friendly and perhaps advertisers will follow.
We quit making prints 20 years ago. Then they took away our film. Now its the end of the print edition. There was a lot of kicking and screaming over the first two in a lot of corners. Personally I’m much happier without fixer stains and embrace the ability of being able to easily transmit from just about anywhere.
I’m just not sure I want to loose those ink stains on my hands yet.
I just don’t think I’m going to have a choice in the matter.