The LA Times Online will roll out two new, ecommerce-oriented verticals in the midst of a ripping internal report that says the paper’s online strategy is nowhere near where it needs to be for the paper to have a future, according to an article by James Rainey in today’s paper. The verticals are a new SoCal-focused travel website and a revised entertainment guide, apparently with booking capabilities.
But the new products come amidst the realization that the gravy that online represents isn’t enough to make up for the paper’s overall revenue decline. Print auto advertising, for instance, “will be about $47 million less this year than it was in 2004.” The article goes on to note that “only about half that loss will be recovered with new online ads.” Overall, the newspaper’s Web ops bring in about $60 million of The Times’ $1.1 billion annual revenue.
The article also cites a new internal report finding that the online division only has 18 employees, compared to 200 employees at WashingtonPost.com and 50 at nytimes.com. The understaffing has lead to a poor quality website that, in part, accounts for users only staying 11.9 minutes on the site, compared to twice that long on nytimes.com.
The internal report goes on to cite a debilitating philosophical clash between GM Rob Barrett and Joel Sappell, and online executive editor Joel Sappell. Barrett wanted the site to focus on hyper-local” reports to deliver SoCal readers information about their communities. Sappell argued for building “communities of affinity” rather than geography.
It’s silly to think that web dollars will shore up print dollars and I wish that our trade media would stop even writing about the print / online paradox in those terms. Similarly the Barrett / Sappell debate should not be “debilitating” both strategies are valid on the web and both can and should be implemented with a few dedicated resources. My guess is the the real problem is The Times inability or unwillingness to go forward with either strategy if it doesn’t provide an immediate payback in the current budget cycle. Both the Washington Post and NYT are under similar cost pressures but are more willing to try unproven models in order to sustain a leadership position on the web.