MICHAEL FINLEY

The New York Times

Mktg801
Michael Finley Dr. Alex

A Case Study evaluation of The New York Times

The New York Times: A Case Study Evaluation of Issues The New York Times has long been a journalistic staple of integrity within the media community. The integrity of its stories has been unmatched and the prestige of its content has been solidified by the multiple Pulitzer Prize winning journalists that write their stories. However, as of the writing of this Case Study, 2005, several issues have caused their integrity to be questioned. This, combined with a changing economy and style of doing business within the media world, has forced the New York Times to rethink, its future marketing strategies. It all began with discovery of Jayson Blair fabricating dozens of stories written during his tenure with the New York Times. This was a shock to the historically celebrated journalistic prestige of the paper. The papers proprietor, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, was humiliated and immediately fired him and Executive Editor Howell Raines. This has led to successor CEOs that have assisted with rebuilding the papers luster. However, the media has been moving in many new directions as technology and readership changes. The New York Times has been busy investing heavily in new areas such as purchasing other newspapers, like the International Herald Tribune, and expanding to other forms of media, such as their online new addition, in order to position the company to benefit from a recovery. They have also become a market leader in expansion, for a city newspaper, by increasing circulation throughout the U.S. However, as more media options are present in the market and the expansiveness of online media outlets grow, other concerns have developed. These new phenomenon must be addressed to ensure that the New York Times remains relevant, and they are able to stay in business without takeover by corporate giants, as many of their competitors have. What Are the Main Issues? There are many major issues that have come about due to the changing environment at the New York Times. First, the journalist authority of the New York Times has been tarnished. This has had a large impact on the paper as it has always been known to be an integrity driven media source. Second, although Sulzberger, synergized by the leadership of his CEOs, has been able to help stabilize and recover the tarnished reputation of the paper, the journalistic recovery has not resulted in circulation gains as they had expected. Lastly, the paper has recently been accused of having a leftist liberal stance on political subjects, instead of the ethical goal of the media to be a non-biased source of public information. What Are the Problems and Concerns? Many problems and concerns have presented themselves due to the events occurring with the New York Times. As more media consumers shift to the internet for their news, especially with the under 30 population, competition has increased, especially for free content. Although journalistic recovery has been occurring, increases in circulation have not been following in stride. This has led to

them achieving lower returns than competitors, whom achieve up to 25%. This means that as the journalistic prestige improves that justifies higher investment, the returns have not been occurring with newspaper circulation but, the website, which does not grow revenue with increases of circulation, save for advertising fees, has. This has created concerns about the major investment strategies in internet content potentially crippling the newspaper. Other major concerns have occurred as well such as: accusations of liberal tendencies and increases in advertising prices pushing away many major advertisers. Does the Case Describe Any Opportunities? There are opportunities that have occurred due to the changes within the business and economic environment during this period. First, as the internet media has grown, the New York Times now has the opportunity to monetize its online subscriptions, much like the Wall Street Journal has pioneered. Second, they have not been paying attention to who has been pursuing each medium of news and therefore, have an opportunity to grow their circulation by providing differentiated content to segments of their markets based on which medium they pursue and what they prefer to read about. Third, the new CEO, Janet Robinson, has an opportunity to utilize her expertise in advertising to reign in the advertising dollars they have been losing due to price increases. What is the List of Possible Alternatives That Address the Problems, Concerns, or Opportunities? They can continue to purchase outside newspaper sources to broaden their scope, appeal to other segments of customers, and increase their economy of scope with the printing presses They could begin charging for online access to content, much as the Wall Street Journal has pioneered They could offer discount bundles for the newspaper and online access

What is Your Recommendation? I recommend a multitude of strategies in order to help solidify their recovery. First, they must work to grow and maintain their status as a prestigious, non-biased, news source. This is paramount, as it has been the companys brand power which has allowed them to rise to the status that they have obtained. They must also ensure that there articles remain strictly un-biased in terms of political viewpoints. However, this must be coupled with strategic market segmentation adopted through a Customer Relationship Management avenue. This will become even more important in the future because, technology has been changing their business significantly. As more news moves online, especially for young readers under 30, the paper will lose circulation through printed means. If they are not able to follow what their future readers require, in terms of segmentation, they will lose validity in their future market. This will offer them the opportunity to position themselves based upon the requirements of their readers. In order to implement this strategy, they must first research different segments of their online readership and attempt to discover the type of media they are interested in. One way they could do this is by following Googles model which allows the reader to choose what sections to present first. This

can become even more precise by suggesting stories of interest that the reader has read before upon subsequent visits to the site. Last, the New York Times should begin to charge for their online content. This model would prove to be just as effective as the Wall Street Journal because, just like the Journal is positioned as a prestigious investment and stock market source, the New York Times is positioned as a prestigious journalistic newspaper. This allows them to charge a premium for content. Further, as the segment of paying online content grows, advertisers will be more inclined to pay the higher advertising fees justified by the ability to provide their material to the markets which they choose more effectively. However, they should offer their online services free to paying subscribers of their print newspaper. This will help to increase circulation as more people are inclined to accept the added benefit of both forms of media and will allow for many readers to move to an online only strategy, cutting costs and growing revenue for the company.

Works Cited
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.