Strategic Planning at the Chronicle Gazette
Strategic Planning at The Chronicle Gazette
1. Introduction
The Chronicle Gazette, a leading newspaper in San Francisco with paid circulation of 225,000 customers. It is a first-rate newspaper and over the years, its writers have won awards for their work.
Despite of the well-established image and reputation, The Chronicle Gazette is facing a severe situation that there has been a steady decline in subscriptions. In the past eight years, subscriptions have fallen by a total of 35% and advertising revenue has also dropped by 28%.
Susan Feinman, the publisher of The Chronicle Gazette, noted the criticalness of the problem and worried this will become the 21st century equivalent of buggy whip manufacturers. The company is not looking for band-aid solutions but an insight of all the challenges and to work out an effective business strategy.
This report is to provide a macro and micro review of the newspaper industry and the company; analysis threats and opportunities that The Chronicle Gazette is facing; provide long term and short term strategies to let the company continuing her leading position in both readership and profitability.
2. State of the newspaper publishing industry today
The U.S. newspaper industry is in the midst of a historic restructuring, buffeted by a deep recession that is battering crucial advertising revenues, long-term structural challenges as readership to free news and entertainment on the Internet, and heavy debt burdens weighing down some major media companies. As the distress mounts – seven U.S. newspaper companies have filed for bankruptcy in the past years – lawmakers are debating possible legislation to assist the industry. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold a series of workshops in 2009 to look at challenges facing newspapers, television, and radio in the Internet age.
There are now about 1,400 daily newspapers in the United States and thousands of community papers, which generally
1. Introduction
The Chronicle Gazette, a leading newspaper in San Francisco with paid circulation of 225,000 customers. It is a first-rate newspaper and over the years, its writers have won awards for their work.
Despite of the well-established image and reputation, The Chronicle Gazette is facing a severe situation that there has been a steady decline in subscriptions. In the past eight years, subscriptions have fallen by a total of 35% and advertising revenue has also dropped by 28%.
Susan Feinman, the publisher of The Chronicle Gazette, noted the criticalness of the problem and worried this will become the 21st century equivalent of buggy whip manufacturers. The company is not looking for band-aid solutions but an insight of all the challenges and to work out an effective business strategy.
This report is to provide a macro and micro review of the newspaper industry and the company; analysis threats and opportunities that The Chronicle Gazette is facing; provide long term and short term strategies to let the company continuing her leading position in both readership and profitability.
2. State of the newspaper publishing industry today
The U.S. newspaper industry is in the midst of a historic restructuring, buffeted by a deep recession that is battering crucial advertising revenues, long-term structural challenges as readership to free news and entertainment on the Internet, and heavy debt burdens weighing down some major media companies. As the distress mounts – seven U.S. newspaper companies have filed for bankruptcy in the past years – lawmakers are debating possible legislation to assist the industry. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold a series of workshops in 2009 to look at challenges facing newspapers, television, and radio in the Internet age.
There are now about 1,400 daily newspapers in the United States and thousands of community papers, which generally