WSJ editor: Newspapers & magazines will thrive during recession
Newspapers and magazines will thrive during the recession, according to the Wall Street Journal‘s managing editor, Robert Thomson.
Speaking at the Reuters Media Summit in New York last week, Thomson said: “You’re starting to see them emerge in the sunlight after this period of darkness.”
Advertisers are slowly returning but are looking for safer options when spending money following the recent economic crisis, according to Thomson.
He said: “Once they show up again, they are seeking to spend money in ways that are proven by decades of experience. People are looking for a safe harbor in times of turbelence.”
The newspaper industry has seen a number of cutbacks and redundancies due to the downturn, while online has proved resilient over the past few months.
Presenters at the recent IAB engage for finance event suggested that online provides a solution to advertisers in the current financial climate (see IAB engage for finance: “Online provides the solution”).
However, Thomson believes that advertisers are starting to understand that consumers often concentrate more on print ads, rather than online as they are doing other things at the same time.
“With papers, the ads may be more valuable because they stick around with the printed page. Online, people get distracted, flipping from page to page, and if they notices ads at all, it is because they are annoyed by their intrusion,” he said.
Wall Street Journal: online.wsj.com