Statistical, Ecosystems and Competitiveness Analysis of the Media and Content Industries: The Newspaper Publishing Industry

The Newspaper Publishing Industry 
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3.2.1 Production 
Digitization has gradually been introduced in many aspects of the news gathering and 
production process. Many newsrooms have integrated their print and online workflows. 
Newspaper publishers do not only provide text, they also integrate photos and place videos 
and infographics on their websites. Journalists use computers and the internet for information 
gathering, communication with sources and to write, edit and lay-out their articles, adding 
graphics and illustrations. Field reporters have a number of mobile technologies to facilitate 
news production, such as smart phones, digital camera’s, laptops and voice recording 
equipment. Technology to record and stream news events have become increasingly smaller, 
easier to use and lighter to carry. A live news event can be recorded and instantly streamed by 
using a Blackberry or other smart phone. To deliver the news to consumers, print newspapers 
are combined with an array of internet technologies like email, website editions, RSS feeds, 
links on search engines and social network sites etc. etc.
A 2005 e-business survey in the printing and publishing industry by the European 
Commission showed a substantial adoption of digital technologies in all business areas in the 
newspaper publishing industry, including procurement, managing of supplies, content 
production and publishing processes, marketing and the distribution of products and services. 
Compared to other industries the level of adoption and effective deployment of ICT and 
internet-based applications to support key business processes internally, as well as with 
customers, turned out to be rather high in the printing and publishing sector (European 
Commission, 2005). Most newspapers were also implementing digital workflow management 
systems, which enable them to organize work processes more resource-efficient and cost 
effective, particularly in servicing advertising customer demands. (European Commission, 
2005). To what extent this digital technologies adoption level has continued since then is 
unclear, as the European Commission no longer provides updates of the survey. It might be 
the case that regular updates and renewals of digital administrative systems and software has 
become standard procedure, for newspaper publishers, like it has for many other companies. 
Digital technologies doe not only affect internal administrative and management systems 
though, they often also lead to new ways of working, different products and services and 
different relationships with customers and these are often more difficult to develop and 
implement. 
One example of such an effect on working routines and end products is that publishing and 
distributing news through the internet has changed the news-cycle. News production is no 
longer limited to a 24-hour cycle but can be produced permanently and made available 24/7. 
For online news sites there are few spatial limitations (in terms of the number of pages and 
inches available in the printed newspaper) and news can be constantly updated. In times of 
breaking news and crises, many news providers generate a constant news stream online. The 
Guardian, for example, is keeping a live blog in times of crisis.
Another example is how the internet has become an important source for news and 
information gathering. Journalists use the internet and Twitter to find story ideas, check their 
facts, approach and interview news sources and search additional photo and video footage.
A major difference with the print era is that the internet has lowered entry barriers. Online the 
costs for paper and printing have disappeared and distribution costs are substantially lower. 
Some costs however remain. News gathering and the creation of content has not necessarily 
become less costly. It still depends to a large extent on the human labour of journalists and 
correspondents reporting on events, checking sources, interviewing, collecting evidence, 
writing news and background stories, as well as on photographers taking pictures, on editors 
reviewing stories and on people taking care of marketing and sales activities. Although some 

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