Will new Chicago edition of NY Times undermine Trib's core subscriber base?


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Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 22, 2009 at 15:33:53:

In Reply to: Trib vet O'Shea will supply N.Y. Times content for Chicago section posted by chicagomedia.org on October 22, 2009 at 15:33:00:

Will new Chicago edition of New York Times undermine Trib's core subscriber base?

Posted in Media by Frank Sennett of Time Out Chicago
on October 22nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm

One of the recurring reader complaints about the Chicago Tribune since the bankruptcy, layoffs, redesign and dramatic changes in editorial management went down has been that there's simply less substantial, serious news reporting in the paper. Fairly or unfairly, that perception has been solidified by changes in the online product, including an embrace of community bloggers with ChicagoNow and a shift in news values toward maximizing page views (such as the recent prominent homepage placement of a slide show of images of ESPN sports reporter Erin Andrews right below stories about how her privacy was violated by a lecherous creep who video-recorded her in the nude through a hotel room peephole–an unfortunate juxtaposition of content that shows an almost-singleminded focus on driving traffic). Here's the thing, though: For those older readers who comprise the paper's most loyal subscriber base, and who have been most apt to complain about such shifts in focus, the Trib's been the only game in town.

That equation may change significantly, however, with the addition of a Chicago-focused section of the New York Times filled with stories produced by a new local news consortium with an impressive pedigree. Key players include spurned ex-Tribsters Jim Warren and Jim O'Shea. (Wait: Wasn't O'Shea serving as an adviser to the Reader?) I wonder if either Jim is entertaining thoughts of the "payback's a b#tch" variety. Because what do those essential readers -- the gray-haired consumers of serious news who've been putting up with the changes at the Trib only because they felt chained to it -- do when presented with an attractive alternative? I don't think it's really a question of whether readers like that will jump ship to the New York Times local edition if it's a good product. The real questions in that case will be how many will leave the Trib (or go Sunday-only) and how fast.

And speaking of ChicagoNow (disclosure: my wife's blog is hosted by that network), Vocalo.org, the community media-focused outlet of Chicago Public Radio, is raising its profile with a strategy that includes high-profile blogs, which might give the Trib's online initiative a run for its money. That effort kicks off with the much-anticipated return of my pal Rob Feder, the distinguished former Sun-Times media columnist who will be showing off some new tricks with his Vocalo blog. I'm excited to see how that initiative turns out, but my bet is that the Trib faces its most imminent threat from the local edition of the Times. We'll find out starting next month.


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