The Boston Globe is planning for a day when revenue from print subscriptions will be $0 and revenue from advertising will be $0. This statement, made by Peter Doucette, Chief Consumer Revenue Officer, was one of many sobering moments at LEAP Media Solutions Roundtable event in Vail, CO last week. 

The Roundtable is one of my favorite events of the year. It’s a casual gathering of about 60 media executives from a wide range of companies. It’s intimate and highly interactive. Think flip flops and shorts and you get the idea. Some of the best discussions happen at this event. Tom Ratkovich, Daniel Williams and the entire LEAP team do a great job. 

The statement from Doucette was shocking to some of us in the room. And he was not alone in making these kinds of predictions. But there was no doom and gloom at The Roundtable. This event was about future business models and it was inspiring. This group, which included executives from Cox Media, Dallas Morning News, Lee Enterprises, McClatchy, GateHouse Media, Schurz Communications, Tronc, Swift Communications, Shaw Media and more, shared their plans to truly transform their media companies. There’s a lot of great work going on!

There was a huge focus on consumer revenue and digital subscriptions. Diversifying revenue beyond digital was also a theme along with leveraging data in bigger ways than ever before.

Bob Brown, President, Swift Communications and Stephanie Slagle, Director of Digital Strategy, WBNS/Columbus, joined me for a presentation about where local media companies are making their bets. We showcased the strategies being employed by eight companies that we visited with this year during three Innovation Missions. Brown and Slagle also shared where they were making their bets.

Suffice to say, the bets are all over the board, proving that there is not a one-size-fits-all strategy to media transformation. And also proof that no one has it completely figured out. 

Here are some memorable quotes from the conference that are sure to evoke strong opinions and provide food for thought:

From Earl Wilkinson, Executive Director & CEO, INMA:

• Comeback strategy for print media – confront our bubble past. Our circulations were exaggerated through promotions, discounts, etc. We never knew who our readers were or how engaged they were. 30% margins are not normal in any industry, worldwide. 

• Don’t get distracted by technology; relentlessly focus on the consumer, who is driving disruption

• Digital subscription models are moving from simple to complex, new tilt toward freemium models

• Metered model requires scale that local brands can’t deliver

• Metered model mostly underperforming for non-global, non-national brands

• Simplify product line, re-focus and deepen efforts: cut money losers, long-time decliners, under-performers

• Media seriously underestimating AI, treating it like the internet 20+ years ago

• Reader relationship has become far less emotional, more click-transactional

• Too many companies failing to on-ramp to data highway

• Print cultures and print workforces are like an anchor to change

• CEOs frozen to make digital switch; money/time vs. short-term financial needs

• We’re creating a Christmas tree without a stand – chasing bright shiny objects without firm foundations

• Gnawing question: if 10% of our content drives 90% of our traffic – shouldn’t we rethink our approach? 

From Jim Moroney, CEO, The Dallas Morning News:

• All revenues tied to the print edition are in an irreversible decline – you need to accept this

• We believe in going after the most profitable parts of the business – the three legs of the stool

• You can’t build your franchise on the back of digital advertising

• Digital advertising is a leg of the stool – but only a half a leg. Don’t put as much time, energy & resources as we have in the past

• Digital subscriptions – this is where you should be putting all your efforts right now. Monthly recurring revenue! Higher margins. Directly tied to your journalism. Loyal customers. 

• When you shift the conversation from CPM to ROI – it isn’t about cost anymore

From Denise Warren, CEO, Netlyst (formerly with the New York Times):

• We are moving from a product-centric business to a consumer-centric business

• We are witnessing a deep shift in culture, talent and thought – moving to a focus on the end user

From Daniel Williams, CEO, LEAP Media Solutions:

• Metering is not a strategy – the strategy is to build customer relationships that can be monetized

• You cannot monetize a customer relationship that does not exist

Digital subscriptions dominated much of the discussion at this event. I agree with Earl Wilkinson, scale is an issue with local media brands. A freemium model is likely a better strategy. The Boston Globe is able to charge $350/year and hold firm on a paywall that allows only two stories over a 45-day period. It works for them, and other large metro dailies such as the Dallas Morning News, but won’t work for many smaller media brands. 

I love the focus shifting from product-centric to consumer-centric. We saw this on the big Innovation Mission this year – putting the end-user first is a major shift in strategy and one that needs to happen. 

Do I believe that print revenue and advertising revenue will go to $0 in the next 5-7 years? NO. I do applaud the Boston Globe for employing “end of world” strategy (a concept we learned about during a visit to Hubspot in June). 

At LMA, we are embarking on a strategic plan. As we look at the future of media ownership, we are modeling a scenario called 5/5/5 – a day when five companies will own all the newspapers; five companies will own all the TV stations and five companies will own all the radio stations. These "end of world" exercises are necessary and useful, as well as terrifying.

I left the LEAP Media Roundtable totally inspired. The media executives that attended this event were not in denial or defensive. They were intensely focused on transforming their companies. They are the bright stars in our industry and I’m placing my bets on them.