신문의 미래

최근에 Amazon.com 의 최고경영자인 Bezos 씨는 거대 신문사인 워싱턴 포스트를 사들였다고 합니다. Bezos 씨는 앞으로 20년 후면 종이신문은 거의 사라질 것이라고 합니다. 사람들은 온라인 뉴스를 점점 더 많이 사용하고 있고 테블릿을 이용한 신문도 점점 늘어날 것이라고 예상하고 있습니다. Bezos 씨의 이런 예측이 Washington Post 에 어떤 변화를 가져올 지 궁금합니다. 신문이 점점 온라인으로 옮겨간다면 많은 변화가 생길 것 입니다. 우선 사람들이 뉴스를 읽는 방식이 바뀔 것입니다. 신문을 종이로 보던 시절엔 보통 처음부터 끝까지 훑어보았지만 온라인 뉴스 같은 경우에는 자신의 관심사 위주로 보게 됩니다. 가격적인 측면도 사람들이 어떤 신문사의 뉴스를 읽으냐 마느냐를 판가름 하는 중요한 요소가 될 것입니다.

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Bezos In 2012: People Won't Pay For News On The Web, Print Will Be Dead In 20 Years

by Gregory Ferenstein|August 6, 2013

Before Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million, he had some choice words for the ailing print news industry. In a wide-ranging interview with the German paper,Berliner-Zeitung, the newly-minted media mogul said at the time that no one would bother paying for news online and print would be dead in 20 years (translation from our awesome Europe writer, Frederic Lardinois).

“There is one thing I’m certain about: there won’t be printed newspapers in twenty years. Maybe as luxury items in some hotels that want to offer them as an extravagant service. Printed papers won’t be normal in twenty years.” said Bezos. That’s a pretty long timeline (think what happened in technology since 1993), but it does given an indication that Bezos may pressure his new newspaper to accelerate abandonment of their print version.

During the last quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post’s print division posted a 4% decline in revenue. Revenue from online publishing, mostly from Washingtonpost.com and Slate properties, increased 8% to $25.8 million.

Perhaps most importantly, Bezos claimed that, “On the Web, people don’t pay for news and it’s too late for that to change”. Last March, the Washington Post put up a metered paywall, charging readers who access more than 20 articles a month. While Bezos may not interfere with editorial, it is within his role as owner to see the paper to profitability. If Bezos thinks paywalls are misguided, we may see the Washington Post drop theirs.

Bezos did not think Kindle was the salvation of papers, since “the problem is that many readers still prefer the printed version.” There will be a significant transition period where publishers will need both digital and print.

Interestingly enough, Bezos says “We [Amazon] realized that people are willing to pay for newspaper subscriptions on tablets. In the near future, every household will have multiple tablets. That’s going to be the default and will provide momentum for newspapers, too”, so we may see some creative subscription models on the Kindle or bundled with other products.

I’m curious to see how Bezos will be applying these ideas to his newly-purchased newspaper. Either that, or he will be ‘clarifying’ his words very soon.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/05/bezos-in-2012-people-wont-pay-for-news-on-the-web-print-will-be-dead-in-20-years/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews