Bivings Report: Newspapers websites need reinvention to weather economic crisis

Even a 'dramatic' increase in traffic to US newspaper websites may not compensate for the declining advertising revenues of their print counterparts, a report from The Bivings Group has suggested.

The study, which reviewed the websites of the top 100 US newspapers according to the US Audit Bureau of Circulations' (ABC) figures, said website improvement is a 'crucial component for newspapers to weather the current economic downturn', but not enough on its own.

"Newspapers are focused on improving what they already have, when reinvention may be what is necessary in order for the industry to come out of the current crisis on the other side," it said.

According to the report, registration-free access is increasing on US newspaper websites.

Only 11 of the surveyed sites required readers to register to view articles in full – a decrease from 29 in 2007.

However, 40 per cent of the sites within the top 10 for circulation still required user registration.

The report found the number of sites using user-generated content has risen from 24 per cent in 2007 to 58 per cent this year and the amount allowing comments from readers has more than doubled over the same period.

While the inclusion of social networking functions had doubled year-on-year amongst the papers, only 10 per cent of those studied included them, the study suggested.

Of the new features examined this year, the report's findings suggested that 57 per cent of the sites offered PDF editions; 40 per cent SMS alerts; and 70 per cent community event calenders.

The most popular features among the 100 sites included reporter blogs, used by 95 per cent, and integration with social bookmarking sites, which featured on 92 per cent compared with just 7 per cent in 2006.

"This shift is not an easy one. Newspapers still have to find a way to be profitable while still expanding free readership. But rather then fight the changes in online media newspapers have slowly embraced them," it said.

"Rather than focusing on every internet trend, newspapers have been focusing on only those that would improve their relationship with their readers and expanding the page views for their articles. What remains to be seen is how these new tools will improve profitability in an increasingly digital age."

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