Four hundred years ago, the Dutch pioneered the newspaper through their advantageous geographical and trading position with The Courante uyt Italien, Duytsland, &c. (meaning "News from Italy, Germany, and Elsewhere"). In the mid-1980s, the US had 1.1 newspapers per household at its peak. However, in 2023, the number of newspapers per household had dropped to 0.18.

While it might seem like the Internet is responsible for the decline of print newspapers, it was actually TV and radio that first undermined them. Previously, when a newspaper broke a story, it would capture all the revenue from that day's print as they were the exclusive source of information. However, with the advent of TV and radio, a print journalist's hard work had only hours before the story was picked up by these mediums. This advantage has essentially disappeared with the rise of the Internet and social media. Nowadays, people are less concerned about the source of their news, which may explain why the US newspaper industry has shrunk from $70 billion to $20 billion annually.

So, what's the forecast for the next 10 years? The general consensus is that the news industry will stabilize into a $15 billion business in the US. While many may see this as a decline, I view it as progress. Unlike industries such as travel agencies and CDs/DVDs, news is adapting to the new world. Moreover, people are growing weary of low-quality news, even if it's free. Almost every newspaper we collaborate with has adopted a paywall model (free articles, followed by a subscription), and local news represents an incredible, yet underutilized opportunity.

However, paywalls can be a source of great frustration for consumers. While this model works for platforms like OnlyFans, I believe we can do better for news. Casual games could be an innovative draw for discerning news readers. Adopting strategies from the mobile game monetization playbook could be beneficial for newspapers. It's also evident that outdated vendor technologies are hindering the growth and circulation teams. Pressuring customers facing economic challenges never yields positive results. Change is inevitable, whether they welcome it or not.

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