Editor & Publisher posted an interview with Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. yesterday in which he argues that good solid journalism doesn’t have to be unprofitable.
Citing average newspaper companies’ profit-margin goals of 20% to 30%, Downie said such demands are unnecessarily hurting newspaper resources. He says a 15% return is about all any newspaper should require. “That is much better than supermarkets or some other businesses,” he said. “Most of the public is shocked when you tell them what the average profit margin is. You have to better think through how you make money and do the journalism on different platforms newspapers have,” such as the Web and niche products.
Downie goes on to suggest that the need to earn money needs to be weighed carefully against the need to put out a quality product, and that newspapers need to look carefully at how they operate. He especially wants papers to become more transparent to readers, in an attempt to ward off accusations of bias or foul play:
“Educate the public about what it takes to produce news,” he pleaded. “I’d like to see the public engaged in more of a discussion about how this business is going to continue to present good journalism.”
“The thing that surprised me most is just how polarized the country is … how strongly people react to coverage that does not reflect their point of view.”
The editor said such views are another reason that newspapers need to beef up resources and be careful to let readers know exactly how they process and report news. Otherwise, “fair and accurate coverage will not be as appreciated as it should be.”
For the Post, profitability is not as much of a problem; the company’s 2004 results show a slight uptick in revenue. The main challenge seems to be reversing the circulation slide, and from his tone, Downie would seem to prefer to focus on that goal and let the bottom line take care of itself.
none