Keeping comics in newspapers

By John Freeman on November 20, 2006

Interesting piece in The Baltimore Sun over the weekend on the future of newspapers — well, US newspapers, although the issues they’re facing as new media gains in popularity across all age bands is affecting all print media.

Howard Weaver, the head of news for the McClatchy chain — which bought the Knight Ridder chain of US newspapers and then sold off about half of them — argues “There will be lots of audio and video” on future newspaper sites. “It should not be the mirror image of the newspaper. Newspaper content is a tremendous starting place, but it is only a starting place.”

There’s a clear recognition of the way the Internet is developing ‘niche’ audiences in the article, and recognizing that the newspaper audience of the future will be a specialized one means giving up the department-store, something-for-everyone approach. I think that’s possibly true, and as an editor of various ‘niche’ magazines down the years, if you can get the economics right, then you’re on a winner.

As part of that ‘niche’ marketing Peter M. Zollman, a former journalist, now a newspaper industry consultant, says he would keep the comics — “You can’t blow up your entire core audience” — but, for instance, jettison stock tables as up-to-the-minute prices are available on the Web.

This is one of those rare occasions where comics have been recognised as a piece of ‘unique content’ that helps retain readers that I’ve read in a while, and it’s a welcome argument on these pages…

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.