Promise and Reality: The Integration of Print and Online Versions of Major Metropolitan Newspapers

Abstract

Newspapers that seek first-mover advantage too often have expended financial capital and personnel resources on new media initiatives without fully appreciating the obstacles or the potential outcomes, an approach that may be understandable in an increasingly competitive marketplace fueled by the explosive growth of the Internet. Newspaper editors still question whether and how to integrate their Internet editions into existing newsrooms in hopes of leveraging the strengths of each. A survey of 63 major metropolitan U.S. newspaper editors showed that these managers have a high level of commitment to integration. In addition, a statistically significant relationship was found between multiple procedural or policy factors and management perception that integration had met management objectives. If integration between the newspaper and its online service is the desired outcome, the most important factors appear to include having a partnership with other media, instituting a converged news desk that handles stories regardless of medium or distribution method, having management commitment to integration, equalizing perceptions of status between newspaper workers and online workers, empowering online staff to actively participate in planning meetings, utilizing the online service for breaking news that occurs off-publication cycle, and encouraging print-side staff members to generate content for exclusive use online.