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Post by Rich Fisher on Jul 16, 2008 12:19:23 GMT -4
Every year I hear that the internet is killing newspapers and things like the phone book / yellow book. What do you think - will newspapers and the yellow pages become a thing of the past?
I found this online:
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like ReachLocal and Yodle. Factors like an acceleration of the print "fade rate" and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
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Post by Ann on Jul 16, 2008 16:23:13 GMT -4
I hope not, I must confess that I run to the comp. now b4 the paper but I still do enjoy my paper. The ritual of reading the Sunday paper will not be matched by this machine. Not to mention, that reading is fundamental
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Post by speedergurl68 on Jul 16, 2008 16:25:29 GMT -4
I agree with Ann. While the ease of gleaning information on the internet is a very nice luxury, I find a sort of "comfort", if you will, in picking up a book and reading it. I can only hope that the written word will continue to survive for future generations.
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Post by baglady on Jul 31, 2008 11:54:49 GMT -4
I can see the Yellow Pages falling by the wayside, it's not exactly "reading for pleasure", but not books or newspapers.
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Post by moosie on Jul 31, 2008 12:35:21 GMT -4
i hope not--reading the paper in bed or during breakfast cannot be replaced by a computer, just as an example. many other reasons.
regarding phone books--i wanted to order a new book for our place where the moose run, but found it would cost 35+$. an annapolis book would cost 50$+. when did all this happen?
problem with this is the presumption and assumption that everyone has access to a computer all the time/anytime. not so if your power is out, if you are in an area with no service, blah blah.
that assumption that all people have access all the time, or are even able to sit at a computer long enough to, for example, read a paper, is not the right way to serve the public.
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Post by chickennecker11 on Jul 31, 2008 13:41:48 GMT -4
Newspapers CAN'T go ANYWHERE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! What would puppies pee on? ?? We can't eat crabs on top of our laptops! ! ! ! ! ! ! What would we use to wrap our breakables when we move ??
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Post by dej on Jul 31, 2008 13:46:37 GMT -4
I second baglady's comments. I do use the internet more than the Yellow pages (or white pages too) for lookups.
When it comes to newspapers, I'd rather sit on the deck with my coffee & paper than with my laptop. I use the Internet for alternate sources of news, or to learn more about items mentioned in news stories, but it supliments, not replaces printed newspapers or books for me.
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Post by Rich Fisher on Aug 1, 2008 14:20:51 GMT -4
Yipes! The Washington Post is losing readers and ad revenue in all of it's print publications, but it's internet .com is up. That's a big deal... Post's Ad Revenue & Subs Continue Slumping - 8/1 - The Washington Post Company reported a second-quarter loss of $2.7 million today, as the education and media company absorbed the cost of early-retirement packages offered to employees at the Post earlier this year. In the second quarter, the newspaper division - the flagship Post, the suburban Gazettes, Express, and El Tiempo Latino - reported an operating loss of $96.7 million, compared to $17.8 million in the same quarter of 2007. Print advertising revenue at the Post was down 22 percent for the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, and was down 17 percent for the first six months of the year. Advertising revenue at the company's online units - including washingtonpost.com and the Slate Group - was up 4 percent for the quarter to $29 million. For the first six months of the year, Post daily circulation was down 2.6 percent, with Sunday circulation dropping 3.7 percent. More: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080101000.html?hpid=moreheadlines
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Post by baglady on Aug 1, 2008 14:38:45 GMT -4
Just read chickennecker's comment. How true! As long as there are puppies, crabs and breakables, we need the newspapers!!!
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Post by bchevy on Aug 1, 2008 16:29:25 GMT -4
We were just talking about dropping the paper subscription, AND dropping the house phone line.
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Post by baglady on Aug 2, 2008 9:06:13 GMT -4
I've heard folks talk about dropping their house phone line, but cell phone service around Centreville is kind of spotty with dead zones around, or is that just Verizon Wireless?
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Post by linda712 on Aug 2, 2008 15:33:33 GMT -4
You know that Verizon commercial on TV about the "dead zones"......well, my house should be in that commercial! At the end of my two-year imprisonment, I think I'll go to AT&T.
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Post by falgar25 on Aug 2, 2008 16:17:35 GMT -4
You know that Verizon commercial on TV about the "dead zones"......well, my house should be in that commercial! At the end of my two-year imprisonment, I think I'll go to AT&T. AT&T can be spotty too; doesn't work well at all at my house. Very acceptable service otherwise and it's the company I use, but really need to check that it works where you need it before starting another two-year term.
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Post by barney on Aug 2, 2008 16:44:12 GMT -4
AT&T can be spotty too; doesn't work well at all at my house. Very acceptable service otherwise and it's the company I use, but really need to check that it works where you need it before starting another two-year term. Certainly off topic, but currently have Verizon. Towards the north end of the island it's marginally better than Nextel was. Now, back on topic, haven't gotten a "paper" in years. All news comes from either TV or the Internet. For steamed crabs I buy a roll of kraft paper now and then. Works better than newspaper anyway.
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Post by falgar25 on Aug 2, 2008 17:12:17 GMT -4
I get the Bay Times partially for the small amount of local news, partially to see the local adds, and partially for use as crab paper.
The Internet is a great place to search for information but for delivering news, it isn't quite so good. Sure, there are online "papers" and I read some daily, but I've noticed a trend towards filling 3/4 of the page with adds and spreading the article across two or three pages. Yes, I can ignore the adds and click to the next page, but it feels like the focus is less on delivering news and more on selling adds.
With rising material and delivery costs and declining readership it's likely that papers that carry news will begin to disappear soon. Unfortunately, I don't believe reading news off the Internet will take their place.
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Post by baglady on Aug 4, 2008 12:16:08 GMT -4
Unfortunately, small businesses/non-profits usually can't afford to advertise on the internet and count on the "advertising specials" that the Bay Times offer, so I hope they stay around for a long time!
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Post by bluecrabber on Aug 12, 2008 10:29:32 GMT -4
Chesapeake publishing does have some good ad plans for small business.. I used them for years and had good response.
The phone companies with their yellow pages need a wake up call.. Talk about a cash cow! I got talked into advertising in yellow pages several years ago. The salesman had all these statistics showing how many calls I could expect from a certain size ad..
I ended up paying about $1500 a month for ads in the local shore market and got more phone calls from the Ches Pub papers (Bay Times, Star Democrat, Record Observer, etc.) for a $100 a month.
And, while on the subject of Verizon, here's another example of how unscrupulous the company has been: I decided I wanted a toll free 800 number for my small business. I called Verizon and they politely told me they didn't have any but could give me an 877 of something like that.. I did not want that since I thought lots of people might think it was a $10 a minute sex line!
Anyhow, I finally settled on an 866 number. I checked it out the day it was supposed to activated and it worked! I signed up the next day for a week long ad in the Balto Sun. Big bucks! On Tuesday a friend called me and asked if I knew the number did not work! I checked and sure enough it was not in service.
I called Verizon. They told me it was impossible for me to have that number because they didn't even own it.. it belonged to MCI. The sales person politely told me that I must have made a mistake even though the number worked three days before and I had a confirmation from Verizon on the order!
After the explanation that MCI owned the number the light bulb went on.. I then checked with AT&T. The lady at AT&T told me they had lots of 800 numbers. She even offered to help me select a "vanity" number for the business. Plus, she gave mea block of ten 800 vanity numbers that I could use for different ads to help determine which ads were the most effective.
Boy was I mad at Verizon. I sent letters and made irate phone calls to no avail.
Funny thing was, not long after I was talking to a competitor in the New Jersey area. Darned if he didn't have the same experience with Verizon!
It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if Verizon went out of business. The company is morally bankrupt.
Best regards, BC
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Post by baglady on Aug 12, 2008 11:15:27 GMT -4
Boy, that sounds like a pain in the hind end! Hope you got it straightened out with your sanity intact.
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Post by moosie on Aug 18, 2008 15:19:46 GMT -4
sidebar on phone issue: i wanted to get a phonebook for our home away from home in moose country. we have no landline there yet, and barely cell phone connectivity, and most definitely no internet. phonebook would be useful for here or there, BUT, did you know that they are no longer free? it would have cost me some 35-40$; cities cost 55$ or so upwards. what's up with that?
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Post by bchevy on Aug 18, 2008 17:12:27 GMT -4
sidebar on phone issue: i wanted to get a phonebook for our home away from home in moose country. we have no landline there yet, and barely cell phone connectivity, and most definitely no internet. phonebook would be useful for here or there, BUT, did you know that they are no longer free? it would have cost me some 35-40$; cities cost 55$ or so upwards. what's up with that? They still land one in my driveway each year here, if I'm lucky I find it before the rains set in..... Maybe because it's your home away from home?
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Post by moosie on Aug 18, 2008 20:55:32 GMT -4
i don't think so any more (i did just get the ki one). it used to be you could ask for a book from anywhere--say from other counties in md--and they would mail them free of charge. even send you a new one very year without asking. i think this may be a response to the online availability, but the prices they are asking are ridiculous. and, of course, it causes real problems for those w/o internet for whatever reason. sure, you can call information--IF you know the name of the place/person, IF you don't mind paying a fee for that after a few calls, etc. there are times when i miss the days of at&t and bell!
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Post by baglady on Aug 21, 2008 17:35:43 GMT -4
You could steal one from a payphone booth, oh wait, they don't have those anymore!
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Post by Rich Fisher on Oct 28, 2008 16:30:06 GMT -4
Another newspaper says bye-bye and goes to the web: From: The Christian Science Monitor, which is known for its international and analytic news coverage, said today that it will no longer print a daily newspaper, but instead will transfer most content online and publish a weekly edition. The moves, expected to happen in April, are meant to save money and rejuvenate the website of a publication based in Boston, and the moves come as many newspapers struggle with circulation declines as readers and ad dollars migrate from the printed page to the Internet. From DCRTV: Gannett To Cut 3K Jobs - 10/28 - McLean-based media giant Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, is planning to cut about 10 percent or about 3,200 jobs at its local papers as it fights advertising declines made worse by the global financial crisis. It is the second round of layoffs that Gannett has planned in the past two months. In August, Gannett said it would eliminate 1,000 newspaper jobs, with 600 being laid off.
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