Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Recent analysis from the Wall Street Journal shows that eight of the top 50 newspapers in the country could cease publishing in the next 18 months. Some of these newspapers are not the only major daily in their market, but others are. The notion of not having a major daily newspaper would have seemed outrageous a few years ago, but now is almost expected.

Newspapers are in trouble for many reasons - changing demographics, an increasingly mobile society and new media options. The heart of the problem is a disparity with newspapers' perceived value proposition and their revenue stream. Newspapers have long believed that their value comes from their editorial. It's been a source of pride and where they made investments. They protected editorial content from the revenue side of their business - no cross-promotional editorial deals with advertisers to boost readership.

As we all know, advertising provides most of newspapers' revenue, much of it as classified advertising. And while many say free and convenient availability of online news has led consumers to abandon the printed news, it's really the migration of classified advertising to the Web that has brought about this latest round of financial woes for newspapers.

When you look at recent research from PewResearch, it is evident that newspapers are not coming back. Most Americans get their news from other sources and only 1 in 3 would miss their newspaper a lot if it were to cease publishing.

What about the role of the press as a watchdog? According to Pew, over half of Americans do not feel that civic life would be hurt if their newspaper ceased publishing.

Newspapers, as they have existed in recent decades, are forever changed. For those of us in public relations who are tasked with helping our clients tell their story, what do we do with significantly fewer pages of ink and fewer people reading? Here are a few thoughts:

• Reset expectations with clients. The impact of a story in the newspaper is not as significant as it once was. This will be true both for positive and negative stories. Newspapers still have a role in communications but organizations have to look beyond newspapers to get their message out.

• Be smarter about what you pitch. Job cuts at newspapers and other media are forcing journalists to cover more. It's more important than ever to not waste a reporter's time so that you and your client are viewed as a valued resource.

• Capitalize on lean staffs. In some cases, doing part of the work for the news staff can make a difference. Recently, one of our teams picked up and shot film footage for a news outlet. The news staff covered the story, edited footage and determined what aired, but our client got more coverage because we did part of the work.

• Expand your outreach. As media consumption continues to fragment, public relations practitioners have to expand their outreach to other media, particularly online and social media. Identify new ways to reach the audiences that matter most to your clients. Become students of those channels in the same way you are now with every important reporter in traditional media.

There is undoubtedly sadness in the decline of newspapers as an institution. With any change comes opportunity, and the public relations profession can help organizations successfully navigate the imminent changes.