Report identifies newspapers as dying industry

The rise of the Internet helped put the newspaper publishing industry on a list of “dying industries” after it was hit by competition from real-time reporting via Internet websites like Historic City News, and information sharing on social media websites like Twitter and Facebook.

“Many traditional industries fail to embrace new technologies to meet changing consumer preferences and ultimately fall under new waves of competition,” according to a report from Los Angeles-based publisher and analyst of financial information, IBISWorld, in an article authored by Caitlin Moldvay and Douglas Kelly.

The market-research group identified 10 “dying industries” based on performance over the last ten years; from 2002 to 2011. Newspaper publishing made the notorious “top ten” with its average 6.6% revenue decline over the decade to $29.3 billion. The report forecasts revenues will continue to fall 4.2% a year through 2017 — to $23.7 billion.

Newspapers are in the dubious company of:

• COSTUME AND TEAM UNIFORM MANUFACTURING
• DVD, GAME, VIDEO RENTAL
• SHOE MANUFACTURING
• MONEY MARKET BANKING
• WOMEN’S, GIRLS APPAREL MANUFACTURING
• APPLIANCE REPAIR
• HARDWARE MANUFACTURING
• PHOTOFINISHING
• RECORDABLE MEDIA MANUFACTURING

For the purposes of this report, researchers defined a “dying industry” as one in a declining life cycle — with both declining revenues and number of companies in the past decade; coupled with forecasts for further declines in the next five years.

Based on these parameters, newspaper publishing is clearly among the 10 industries that have exhibited exceptionally sour performances. Newspaper publishers, like the St Augustine Record’s parent Morris Communications, have been forced into bankruptcy.

Not only are these industries not participating in economic recovery; the article says some are “pushing up daisies”. These ten industries are coping with more than a recession, even one as tough as ours has been.