News and Politics, US Newspapers Seek Ways to Rewrite the Sad Story of Their Business

US Newspapers Seek Ways to Rewrite the Sad Story of Their Business

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has become America's first major daily newspaper to publish online-only. Hearst, the company that owns it, printed the final newspaper on Tuesday. The Seattle P-I was one hundred forty-six years old - the oldest daily newspaper in Washington state.

One hundred seventy people worked in the newsroom. Now just twenty journalists will work for seattlepi.com. The city is left with one major local daily, the Seattle Times. Some people think it could also go online-only.

Denver, Colorado, became a one-newspaper city a few weeks ago: the Rocky Mountain News closed. Other cities could soon follow.

Mike Simonton is a media analyst at Fitch Ratings. He believes many two-newspaper markets will not survive through the end of next year. By that time, he says, there could even be some markets with no printed local paper each day.

Newspaper companies like Hearst, he says, are experimenting with new business models to see what works. But he says any new product will have to be different enough that people will not be able to find it anywhere else.

Some newspaper companies have recently sought bankruptcy protection. These include the Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, among others.

Newspapers earn most of their money from sales of advertising. But a lot of that market has moved to free or low-cost advertising on the Internet, including sites like Craigslist. Losses have only been intensified by the recession.

Ad sales have always gone up and down with the economy. But one difference this time is that many newspaper companies are heavily in debt from buying other newspapers.

Papers are cutting costs. Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper publisher, has cut more than one-fifth of its jobs in the past two years. More than eight thousand jobs have been lost.

In Detroit, Michigan, the two big dailies are reducing home delivery to three days a week. In Ohio, the state's largest papers still compete but now share stories. Newspapers have lost millions of readers as a new generation has grown up. Yet much of the news that people get online still comes from newspapers. Most papers give it away free on their own sites. The Wall Street Journal is one of the few that charge for its online version.

Last month bloggers celebrated what they called a historic moment. President Obama, at his first major press conference, called on a reporter for a Web-only operation, the Huffington Post.

The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the press. But as budgets shrink, newspapers are printing fewer pages, less news. They have fewer reporters not just in foreign capitals, but even in Washington.

Industry observers say quality reporting is being lost. The question now is to what extent it will find a new home on the Internet.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember. Transcript of radio broadcast: 20 March 2009

US Newspapers Seek Ways to Rewrite the Sad Story of Their Business |||||改写|||||| US-Zeitungen suchen nach Wegen, die traurige Geschichte ihres Geschäfts neu zu schreiben US Newspapers Seek Ways to Rewrite the Sad Story of Their Business Los periódicos estadounidenses buscan formas de reescribir la triste historia de su negocio روزنامه های ایالات متحده به دنبال راه هایی برای بازنویسی داستان غم انگیز تجارت خود هستند Les journaux américains cherchent des moyens de réécrire la triste histoire de leur activité I giornali statunitensi cercano un modo per riscrivere la triste storia del loro business 米新聞社、悲報を書き換える方法を模索中 미국 신문사, 비즈니스의 슬픈 역사를 다시 쓸 방법을 모색하다 Amerykańskie gazety szukają sposobów na napisanie na nowo smutnej historii swojej działalności Jornais americanos procuram formas de reescrever a triste história da sua atividade Американские газеты ищут способы переписать печальную историю своего бизнеса ABD Gazeteleri İşlerinin Hüzünlü Hikayesini Yeniden Yazmanın Yollarını Arıyor Американські газети шукають способи переписати сумну історію свого бізнесу 美国报纸寻求重写悲情故事的方法美国报纸寻求重写悲情故事的方法

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. ||||||VOA|| 这是美国之音特别英语的头条新闻。

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has become America's first major daily newspaper to publish online-only. |西雅图||情报员||||||||||| 西雅图邮报已经成为美国第一家仅在线发布的主要日报。 Hearst, the company that owns it, printed the final newspaper on Tuesday. 赫斯特||||||||||| Hearst||||||||||| Hearst, la société propriétaire, a imprimé le dernier journal mardi. 拥有它的赫斯特公司在星期二印刷了最后一期报纸。 The Seattle P-I was one hundred forty-six years old - the oldest daily newspaper in Washington state. 西雅图邮报已经一百四十六岁 - 是华盛顿州最古老的日报。

One hundred seventy people worked in the newsroom. |||||||新闻编辑室一百七十人曾在新闻编辑部工作。 Now just twenty journalists will work for seattlepi.com. 现在仅有二十名记者将为seattlepi.com工作。 The city is left with one major local daily, the Seattle Times. La ville ne compte plus qu'un seul grand quotidien local, le Seattle Times. 该城市只剩下一家主要的地方日报，《西雅图时报》. Some people think it could also go online-only. |||||||在线|

Denver, Colorado, became a one-newspaper city a few weeks ago: the Rocky Mountain News closed. 丹佛|科罗拉多|||||||||||洛基||| 丹佛，科罗拉多州几周前成为了一座只有一份报纸的城市：落基山新闻停刊了。 Other cities could soon follow. |||很快| 其他城市可能很快会跟随。

Mike Simonton is a media analyst at Fitch Ratings. |||||分析师||惠誉| 麦克·西蒙顿是惠誉评级的媒体分析师。 He believes many two-newspaper markets will not survive through the end of next year. 他相信许多双报市场在明年年底之前不会存活。 By that time, he says, there could even be some markets with no printed local paper each day. D'ici là, dit-il, il pourrait même y avoir des marchés où il n'y a pas de journal local imprimé chaque jour. 到那个时候，他说，甚至可能会有一些市场每天没有印刷的地方报纸。

Newspaper companies like Hearst, he says, are experimenting with new business models to see what works. 他表示，像赫斯特这样的报纸公司正在尝试新的商业模式，以看看什么有效。 But he says any new product will have to be different enough that people will not be able to find it anywhere else. |||||产品||||||||||||能够||||任何地方| Mais il précise que tout nouveau produit devra être suffisamment différent pour que les consommateurs ne puissent le trouver nulle part ailleurs. 但他说任何新产品都必须足够不同，以至于人们无法在其他地方找到它。

Some newspaper companies have recently sought bankruptcy protection. |||已经||寻求|破产| Certaines entreprises de presse se sont récemment placées sous la protection de la loi sur les faillites. 最近一些报纸公司寻求破产保护。 These include the Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, among others. |||论坛||||||论坛||||洛杉矶||| 这些公司包括芝加哥论坛报和洛杉矶时报的所有者 Tribune Company 等。

Newspapers earn most of their money from sales of advertising. 报纸的大部分收入来自广告销售。 But a lot of that market has moved to free or low-cost advertising on the Internet, including sites like Craigslist. |||||市场||||||||||||||像|克雷格列表但很多市场已经转向互联网的免费或低成本广告，包括像Craigslist这样的站点。 Losses have only been intensified by the recession. 损失||||加剧||| 衰退只加剧了损失。

Ad sales have always gone up and down with the economy. 广告销售一直随着经济的起伏而波动。 But one difference this time is that many newspaper companies are heavily in debt from buying other newspapers. 但这次的一个不同之处是，许多报纸公司因收购其他报纸而负债累累。

Papers are cutting costs. 报纸正在削减成本。 Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper publisher, has cut more than one-fifth of its jobs in the past two years. 甘尼特||||||||||五分之一|五分之一||||||过去|| Gannett, le plus grand éditeur de journaux du pays, a supprimé plus d'un cinquième de ses emplois au cours des deux dernières années. 美国最大的报纸出版商甘尼特在过去两年中裁减了超过五分之一的职位。 More than eight thousand jobs have been lost. 超过|||||||失去超过八千个工作岗位已消失。

In Detroit, Michigan, the two big dailies are reducing home delivery to three days a week. |底特律|||||日报|正在|||||||| 在密歇根州的底特律，两大日报将家庭投递减少到每周三天。 In Ohio, the state's largest papers still compete but now share stories. Dans l'Ohio, les plus grands journaux de l'État sont toujours en concurrence, mais ils partagent désormais des informations. 在俄亥俄州，州内最大的报纸仍在竞争，但现在共享故事。 Newspapers have lost millions of readers as a new generation has grown up. 随着新一代的成长，报纸失去了数百万读者。 Yet much of the news that people get online still comes from newspapers. Pourtant, la plupart des informations que les internautes obtiennent en ligne proviennent encore des journaux. 然而，人们在线获取的许多新闻仍来自报纸。 Most papers give it away free on their own sites. ||提供||||||| La plupart des journaux l'offrent gratuitement sur leur propre site. 大多数报纸在自己的网站上免费提供这份内容。 The Wall Street Journal is one of the few that charge for its online version. ||华尔街|||一个||||||||| Le Wall Street Journal est l'un des rares à faire payer sa version en ligne. 《华尔街日报》是为数不多的对其在线版本收费的报纸之一。

Last month bloggers celebrated what they called a historic moment. ||博主们||||||| 上个月，博主们庆祝了他们称之为历史性时刻的事件。 President Obama, at his first major press conference, called on a reporter for a Web-only operation, the Huffington Post. ||||||||||||||网络||运营||赫芬顿| 奥巴马总统在他的第一次重大新闻发布会上，点名了一名来自网络独立媒体《赫芬顿邮报》的记者。

The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the press. |||||自由||||| 美国宪法保证言论自由和新闻自由。 But as budgets shrink, newspapers are printing fewer pages, less news. ||orçamentos|diminuem||||||| 但随着预算缩减，报纸印刷的页数和报道的新闻越来越少。 They have fewer reporters not just in foreign capitals, but even in Washington. 他们在外国首都的记者数量更少，甚至在华盛顿也是如此。

Industry observers say quality reporting is being lost. 行业观察人士表示，优质报道正在减少。 The question now is to what extent it will find a new home on the Internet. La question est maintenant de savoir dans quelle mesure elle trouvera un nouveau foyer sur l'Internet. 问题现在是，它将在多大程度上找到一个新的互联网家园。

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. 这就是在VOA特别英语中的新闻，由 Brianna Blake 撰写。 I'm Steve Ember. ||艾姆伯我是 Steve Ember。 Transcript of radio broadcast: 20 March 2009 Transcription de l'émission de radio : 20 mars 2009