Seattle P-I Goes “All Digital”

We’re not the first to say it, and we certainly won’t be the last, but today marks a milestone in journalism and publication: the last print edition of the Seattle P-I, only a few weeks from the shuttering of the Rocky Mountain News.  We mourn these broadsheets for sentimental reasons, but what this moment marks is an interesting opportunity to observe a changing landscape.  You see, there are several things that are different about the P-I that we in the communications business should watch closely.

First, and we’re far from the only people to ask this question, what will become of the quality of journalism that the P-I will be able to maintain in an all-digital format.  We certainly don’t think the P-I was the greatest news source out there, but it did offer quality reporting, unique views, and independent journalism.  Going to the all-digital model will be a question of whether those things can be maintained, especially because some of the costlier items such as investigative reporting are a) expensive, and b) serve as source material for much of the other commentary that sustains digital-news/commentary ecosystems.  If the P-I can maintain enough revenue to continue conducting original, investigative reporting, we may see the dawn of a model that does indicate quality news can survive without a printing press.  If the P-I can’t maintain a high-quality, independent newsroom in it’s digital form, well then we’ve just seen one more nail in the coffin of print journalism that has been so often bemoaned of late.

The second, and perhaps more interesting factor at play is that the P-I isn’t the only paper in the Emerald City.  The Seattle Times has long enjoyed bigger circulation, and in fact for a long time had joint marketing and distribution agreement with the P-I (though they maintained independent newsrooms).   This begs several questions, all of which we should watch closely in the coming months and years:

Consumers: Do the former print subscribers of the P-I move their subscriptions to the print version of Times?  Or, do they simply read the content that they are used to online at seattlepi.com?  Do they do both?

Marketers: Again, this is complicated because of the advertising/distribution between the two entities, but the real question here is whether print advertisers will move their marketing dollars online to the seattlepi.com.

Journalists/Columnists: Will the unique voices previously found in the P-I stick be able to find a comparable audience through the digital version.  Will they be snatched up by the Times?

All interesting questions, and all worth watching for signals of what the future may (or may not) hold.  For now we commend the P-I for almost a century and a half of journalism and we look forward to another century’s worth!

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