The broad sheet must pass through very narrowly

US newspaper industry The American
The newspaper business is in crisis. The second largest newspaper chain
Knight Ridder is for sale.with each semi-annual release
the circulation figures of the industry association Audit Bureau of Circulations
The industry is always in for a shock. If the circulation
for weekday editions in the first half of the year by an average of
1.9 percent, it fell by a further 2.6 percent in the subsequent period.
percent - the worst figures in the last ten years. "I expect
that this will change any time soon," says newspaper analyst John
Morton. "Newspaper subscribers are dying faster than they are being replaced
can."
The reasons for the burglary are manifold: frequently mentioned is the
Competition from Internet services and special interest magazines and
the general slump in the advertising market. Furthermore, the recent
ban on telemarketers had a negative impact. As a result, the industry in
In the past, the company has gained up to two thirds of its new subscribers.
Competition from free tabloid titles is also seen as a stumbling block.
for the traditional newspapers.

Newspaper companies in Europe are struggling with similar problems. But in
In addition, there is enormous pressure of expectation in the USA, which
profit margins. US newspapers in the 90s did not show
rarely achieve profit margins of 30 percent. With the competition from
digital media, these have fallen by a good 10 percent. "It is
absurd that under different economic conditions the
same expectations," says Thomas Kunkel, publisher of the
American Journalism Review.  
The Knight Ridder Group has now been hit particularly hard,
the second-largest newspaper chain in the USA after Gannett. Under pressure from the
investor group Private Capital Management (PVM), which holds 19 percent of the
in the company, Knight Ridder offered its services a few weeks ago.
itself for purchase, in the hope that another news company
would carefully integrate the chain of 33 regional newspapers into its
integrate the company. Although the Group under its boss, Tony
Ridder, massively expanded the online area in order to compensate for the lack of revenue.
to be able to compensate for this.
However, investors in the USA often do not show the necessary patience to allow new
strategies a chance, which is why the company is to be sold.
become. However, potential buyers such as the New York Times Company or
Gannett are struggling with similar problems themselves and have so far expressed
no interest. "The worst-case scenario would be if a pure
investor group Knight Ridder would take over," believes Kunkel, who
himself worked as an editor at the company for a while.
Kunkel fears that this could lead to further staff cuts and
would result in office closures. "It would be a tragedy."

But according to the latest developments, this is exactly what could happen: A
Investor group consisting of three companies, Blackstone Group,
Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co,
are preparing a takeover bid, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal
before.
Yet American newspaper makers have been on the
feverish search for new business ideas. In addition to various
online strategies, the content aspect is also increasingly being taken into account.
scrutinized. For example, the Readership Institute recommends
Northwestern University in Chicago developed the concept of "Experience
Newspaper" to attract young readers. "We can no longer just
news," says Institute Director Mary Nesbitt.
must also take into account what kind of reporting they
and what kind of presentation will keep them interested."
Some newspaper companies such as Gannett, the Chicago Tribune, the New
York Times and the Washington Post have responded to the problem by
In addition to the normal format, free tabloid editions with
reduced content on the market. Handy formats are available in
are just as popular in the USA as they are in Europe, as they are
easier to read than the large-format broad sheet.
Newspaper consultant Vin Crosbie therefore believes that: "The broad sheet will be
be dead for 20 years."

Gerti Schön