From the Association of Free Community Papers (AFCP: 

How Print Helps the Internet

Telegraph.co.uk became the first British newspaper website when it was launched 15 years ago.

When I took over the editorship of the fledgling Telegraph internet site early in 1995, two questions were constantly being posed to me. The first was: how can you make money out of something you give away free? The second was: does this mean the end of newspapers? The first of these questions was always the most tricky, because, in reality, no one had a clue how we were going to make money. The Telegraph's internet operation was essentially a marketing initiative with a brief to explore this new medium and report back. No one said anything about making money, although reader offers were always part of the mix from the start, so there was a token nod in the direction of commerce.

I recall a rather a rather scary meeting with the then proprietor Conrad Black, who asked me the same question. I pointed out to him that he was always complaining that city analysists undervalued the share price of Hollinger (which owned the Telegraph) and that one of the reasons they gave was that the company did not have an internet strategy. By backing an internet newspaper, I reasoned, he would show them that he did have a strategy and his share price would rise accordingly - so at least he would make some money that way. The answer seemed to satisfy him and we were allowed to keep going.

The longer term answer remains elusive. Short of charging for content, no one really is completely sure 15 years later. And although the telegraph's internet operations do attract many millions of advertising revenue now, these revenues are still smaller than the sales and advertising revenue of the print titles.

As to the second question, my answer remains the same as it was then: of course the internet doesn't spell the end of newspapers. No new medium has ever sunk an older one without trace. Contrary to popular musical mythology, video didn't kill the radio star (although DVD and Blu Ray have certainly given video a kicking) and TV didn't kill radio - in fact, radio is going from strength to strength, while a lot of TV is struggling to survive.

And the longer time goes on, the more convinced I am that that the internet needs newspapers. The reason is simple: people like reading, and whilst reading from a screen is bearable for short items, it gets tedious for anything more than a few hundred words. I'm prepared to bet that the majority of people, young and old alike, when they find something online they want to give detailed study to - whether its an article or the terms and conditions of their holiday booking - the first thing they do is hit the 'print' button so they can sit down with a bit of paper in their hands.

I think there's something deeply ingrained in the DNA of post Gutenberg culture concerning typography and design - and nowhere do you find more exciting an innovative typeography and design than in mass ciculation newspapers and the plethora of magazine and supplements they bring in their wake. And whilst the design of websites has advanced from the rather sparse minimalism that characterised our efforts 15 years ago, they still have a long way to go before they can replicate the best that newspapers have to offer.

But beyond the aesthetic argument, there's a more profound argument about the centrality of newspapers, and this is to do with the business of telling stories, and creating compelling narratives. If you examine the world's great online sources of news and opinion, for example, the vast majority of them have sprung from newspapers or from broadcast organisations with strong roots in newspaper journalism culture.

So, in a curious way, things have come full circle. Fifteen years ago, the Telegraph newspapers needed an internet site to help transform the brand image of the paper, to make it seem more modern and relevant. Now, I think, when our internet presence has made us a global brand, we need the newspaper even more to remind those readers why they value what they are reading.

A study by the Inland Press Association shows what you would expect in the largest papers - the last five years were tough. However, revenue increased in daily newspapers with under 15,000 circulation. 

"A triple whammy of declining circulation, advertising and classified revenue has been eroding the profits at U.S. dailies over the past five years, according to a report by the Inland Press Association. The sole circulation group showing a hopeful sign was the under 15,000-circulation category, which actually showed a 2.5 percent growth in gross revenues during the five-year period ending in 2008."

The study shows that, although the trends are not good, most newspapers are still profitable.

"The Trend Analysis average overall shows newspaper operating profits still ranged from more than 8.5 percent to 13.6 percent of gross revenue in all circulation groups except 25,001-50,000."