News publishers need to exploit ‘unique synergies’ between print and digital as technology changes, an INMA report says.

The US-based organisation’s News Media Outlook 2013: The Print + Digital Dynamic in Exponential Times– penned by executive director Earl Wilkinson – highlights the “unique, emerging print-plus-digital ecology”

“The exponential changes that technology will bring to how information is processed and consumed in the next five years require a relentless drive by news publishers today to diversify revenue streams and take full advantage of the unique synergies of print and digital platforms,” says Wilkinson.

Publishers in Australia and India are among those featured in the report, which identifies revenue opportunities most likely to replace print advertising and provides what the group calls “an honest assessment of where print fits in multimedia plans”.

Other topics are the transformational mobile moment confronting us; the exponential times of abundance we live in; leading the hybrid news industry in a time of extraordinary change; and what happens to journalism and brands in this age of transition.

Encouraging publishers to focus relentlessly on core competencies as drivers of a robust portfolio of profitable products, the report encourages news publishers to “keep innovating with digital, but such innovation doesn't necessarily have to be at the expense of print with its fervent core audience that can't live without its tactile experience.”

Central to the report is the idea that as publishers are in the middle of the transition from print to multi-media, the transition point in 2013 is a unique place that is all about the synergies between print and digital. Writes Wilkinson: “It doesn't have to be 'print vs. digital.' It can be 'print + digital,' a hybrid ecology where honesty about platform values can elevate the standing of your company and brand.”

Media companies covered in the report include A-Media, Aftonbladet, Archant, Birmingham News, Chicago Tribune, Corelio, Dallas Morning News, The Day, Diario Hoy, Digital First Media, The Economist, Encyclopedia Britannica, Fairfax Media, Financial Times, Folha de S. Paulo, Gannett, The Globe and Mail, Göteborgs-Posten, Jagran, The Guardian, Lebedev Holdings, Los Angeles Times, Media General, Metro International, New York Times, Pensacola News Journal, RBS Newspapers, The Record, Ringier, Sanoma, Schibsted, The Star-Ledger, Svenska Dagbladet, Telegraph Media Group, Times of India, Today, Wall Street Journal and the Winnipeg Free Press.

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