By Don Irvine ——Bio and Archives--January 23, 2013
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…we must stick to the tested practices of good journalism: deep and original reporting based on multiple sources and a sharp eye for the scoop. But we must also recognise that the internet offers new avenues and platforms for the richer delivery and sharing of information.Barber cited Google, LinkedIn and Twitter as competitors that have disrupted the news business. He added that while print is still a vital source of advertising revenues, FT needs to adapt to the changing demands of its readers. That will require cutting staff on the print side, while offsetting some of those layoffs with increased hires on the digital side, but only to the point that it is cost effective to do so. As Barber noted, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as other competitors, not only have a keen cost advantage over FT and other print newspapers, but they are siphoning crucial advertising revenues away as well. Legacy newspapers like the Times have invested large sums in plants, equipment and employees, which can’t be easily dismantled, and it makes them less nimble than their online competition. What should be more worrisome to newspaper executives around the world, though, is if a profitable paper like the Times is taking this action, what does it mean for the future of the industry as a whole?
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Don Irvine is the chairman of Accuracy in Media and its sister organization Accuracy in Academia. As the son of Reed Irvine, who launched AIM in 1969, he developed an understanding of media bias at an early age, and has been actively involved with AIM for over 30 years.