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On technology adoption rates, where Gannett gets its profits, and what happens as print newspapers fade away
While adoption rates have long been a popular way to track as new technologies surge into the public consciousness, it’s less clear to tell how declining technologies should be tracked. A technology that achieves a 50% household penetration rate is clearly on the rise, but when does a technology become clearly “out”?
■ The former Gannett Co. (now USA Today Co.) is right on the verge of getting 50% of its revenues from digital advertising and subscriptions. Newspapers were notoriously reluctant to embrace digital models because classic print advertising was such a cash cow for so long.
■ But the numbers leave little room for alternate interpretations: The “paper” part is no longer the defining feature of a “newspaper”. A portion of this really does represent a real cultural loss, since information isn’t just carried by the content of the news stories alone. The layout of a paper, with its embedded cues about where stories rank, is an artifact that offers meaning to historians, among others.
■ And the archival role played by a print edition of a newspaper is noteworthy, too, since old Internet links die out all the time. These sentimental and academic values of newspapers aren’t enough to justify extraordinary interventions, but they’re worth noting. As digital content continues its relentless march across the landscape, the subtle consequences are worth occasional note, as well.