I am a nobleman in England

The sunlight shines into the study through the arched windows, making the books on the shelves look dazzling.Arthur, who was leaning on the sofa, frowned as he listened to the reports from the two principals of Bolin Publishing and the Southern Daily Echo.

The current overall situation of the two companies is not very different from what Arthur has grasped. However, the current situation of Bolin Publishing House is not as optimistic as expected. Although it is in a profitable state, it is affected by the economic crisis. , There has also been a decline in profits.

With the impact of new media, the traditional newspaper industry generally faces challenges such as loss of readers, decline in advertising, lower profits, and decline in channels.Cases of the demise of the paper media are being staged all over the UK and even around the world, not to mention the Southern Daily Echo, a Hampshire news tabloid.

"Southern Daily Echo" was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Southampton. Its stance is neutral. Its circulation has just fallen below 90,000 copies. This is definitely one of Hampshire with a population of just over 900,000. An important regional xing newspaper, and an extra copy of "Pink Sports" will be issued every Saturday, which mainly tells the story of local football sports. This "Pink Sports" is also one of the only two local xing football newspapers left in England.

"Lord, readers' reliance on local newspapers is weakening, and the local newspaper market declines rapidly. Especially in large cities with free newspapers and many other types of newspapers, readers' demand for community news is even lower..."

Listening to the newspaper head Jerry Fuller with a helpless look on his face, Arthur could understand the current situation of the paper media, let alone other people, he didn’t know how many years he hadn’t read the paper before crossing. The quality of the newspaper, the newspaper has long disappeared from his life, this is the general trend, with a mobile phone, who would read that newspaper?

"Hey..." Arthur couldn't help but sighed. To tell the truth, after knowing that he still inherited a newspaper and a publishing house, he began to rack his brains to figure out a way out, but there was really no other way than to engage in the Internet. It can go.

"We have heard this "prophecy" more than ten years ago when the Internet has just begun to spread: people will no longer read newspapers and buy magazines, publishing houses will face bankruptcy, and bookstores will be unattended...Paper media will gradually It has become the epitaph of culture in the long history."

The head of the publishing house, Tom White, looked solemn and said with emotion: "And this is indeed happening now. Newsstands have gradually become small grocery stores selling water and groceries, bookstores have been transformed into cafes, and some old brands It is also difficult for the paper media to hold onto its century-old signboard and is on the verge of bankruptcy..."

"Have the newspaper thought about any measures to change the situation and continue to deteriorate?" After all, Arthur is very unfamiliar with the affairs of the news media industry. He knows his own affairs. If you don't understand, don't direct it, but listen to the opinions of professionals , Make his own judgment and decision, but he has already decided on the idea of ​​transforming the newspaper office. If he doesn't build a website, he will definitely die!

"Yes, we did think of some plans." Jerry Fuller said, looking at Arthur with a serious expression. "According to surveys, in large cities with free newspapers and many other types of newspapers, readers have more demand for community news. Low. Take London, where the free "Metro newspaper" has the largest circulation, as an example, the reader market here has been unable to support another daily newspaper with a fee.

But for small and medium-sized cities, local newspapers may still have a silver lining.First of all, we can change the publication time from night to morning. In this way, the circulation may increase against the trend, and changing the publication time will also become one of the transformation trends of local newspapers in the future.

Furthermore, transforming into a weekly report is also an option.To be honest, in the Internet age, people no longer need to learn about local news through newspapers every day, and the in-depth interpretation of weekly newspapers is more suitable for local newspapers and more attractive to advertisers.

In addition, in order to make up for the loss of the printing plate, turning to the Internet is the only way to survive in the future."

Hearing these suggestions, Arthur nodded, then frowned slightly and started thinking. He first ruled out the option of transforming the weekly newspaper. As the most influential daily newspaper in Hampshire, he could not give up this influence. A celestial soul is not clear about other things, but he holds the right to speak, he values ​​it most.

"It's a good idea to change the report time to morning. As for changing the weekly report, I won't consider it for the time being. Regarding the newspaper website... Jerry, how is the newspaper website currently operating?"

Jerry smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Sorry, Lord, our newspaper website is just an electronic version of the newspaper, and this electronic version is just a "more convenient scan", and it's all old electronic versions with poor timeliness."

Upon hearing this, Arthur knew that he couldn’t report any hope to the newspaper’s website. He frowned slightly, looked at Jerry and said, “Establish a network department to run the newspaper’s website. In fact, the paper media has been transformed into an online Internet media. , Has its natural advantages: a large and stable loyal reader base, and a team of professional authors and editors who provide high-quality content. We are not just a medium, but a brand!"

"However, this requires a lot of manpower and financial resources..."

When it comes to money, Arthur is also quite speechless and helpless in his heart. However, he will not tell the two subordinates in front of him that his account is only 50,000 pounds. Instead, he waved his hand and said: "First The reporting time has been changed. Also, Jerry, in the face of the global economic crisis, in order to get rid of difficulties and losses as quickly as possible, the newspaper also needs to make some internal reforms to save expenses!"

Following Arthur’s words, both Jerry Fuller and Tom White’s complexions changed slightly. They looked at each other and saw helplessness and sighs in each other’s eyes. In the end, they had to raise the layoffs. "Axe".

As far as "saving money" is concerned, layoffs are undoubtedly one of the most direct, easiest and most commonly used methods.Of course, there are ways to save money and make a fuss on wages, such as pay cuts, no pay, unpaid leave, etc.

"I know that this decision will make you feel sad and is too cruel to some people, but no way. The newspaper has been losing money for two consecutive years. If we don't want to see it go bankrupt, we can only save ourselves.

Except for editors and frontline reporters, a quarter of it was abolished!"

After Arthur finished speaking, his heart was throbbing with emotion. He didn't expect that one day, he could also understate the career fate of many people, leaving dozens of people unemployed in one sentence.

Although the financial crisis will eventually pass, media changes are inevitable.With the rapid development of new technologies, the real impact of the financial crisis is actually to accelerate and shorten the process of media transformation.

Streamlining the structure, increasing revenue and reducing expenditures are the only way Arthur can think of in the face of the difficulties of the newspaper these days, and it is also the method that the world is implementing.