Business Strategy Report: Chronicle Gazette Challenges and Solutions

This report provides a strategic analysis of the Chronicle Gazette, a major newspaper facing declining circulation and revenue due to the rise of digital media. It begins with an introduction to business policy and its importance, followed by an overview of the current state of the newspaper publishing industry, including data on declining readership and revenue, and the strategies adopted by leading newspapers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The report then delves into the external and internal factors contributing to the Chronicle Gazette's challenges, such as economic, social, technological, and competitive pressures. It examines the newspaper's organizational processes, HR capabilities, and financial performance. The report concludes by recommending short-term and long-term strategies for the Chronicle Gazette to adapt to the changing media landscape and maintain its position in the industry, including online publishing, subscription models, and cost management. The report emphasizes the need for strategic planning and adaptation to survive in a rapidly evolving environment.

Business Policy and Strategy

Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................1
2. State of the newspaper publishing industry today ......................................................................2
2.1 Data on declining circulation and revenue............................................................................2
2.2 Status of newspaper leaders, e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal............................3
3. Why newspapers are facing declining circulations and revenues ...............................................3
3.1 External assessment..............................................................................................................3
4. Internal assessment .....................................................................................................................5
5. How companies in the publishing industry are adjusting their strategies to cope with the
challenges.........................................................................................................................................6
6. Steps The Chronicle Gazette might take in order to deal with the challenges............................7
6.1 Short-term steps....................................................................................................................7
6.2 Long-term steps.....................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

1. INTRODUCTION
Business policy refers to a scope within which the subordinates take the decisions in a
company. The lower level management is permitted by the policy to deal with the challenges and
issues without consulting top level. Also, to make business successful, implementation of sound
strategies are required. This report aims to offer the management of Chronicle Gazette a strategic
vision and proposed strategies the newspaper company can investigate to survive. Chronicle
Gazette is a leading newspaper in a major metropolitan area and Susan is its publisher. It is
facing a problem of steady decline in subscription to the newspaper. Therefore, this report will
cover reason of newspaper decline through external and internal assessment. Also, it will
demonstrate strategies to cope by other companies. Further, it will recommend steps that
Chronicle may take to deal with problems (Wheelen, Hunger and Bamford, 2017).
Susan's Chronicle Gazette newspaper is facing adverse competition because of
emergence of internet and other digital technologies. These technologies are considered as the
hub of information source as they provide news to readers at free of cost. Due to this reason
readership of newspaper industry is declining which is a danger sign of all newspaper publishers.
It has been observed that Chronicle Gazette is facing a large set back as public reading habits
have been shifted to online readership. Before the internet came into existence, newspaper were
the only source of news but with passing time mass communication boosted and media channels
begin to provide news. Because of this major change, newspaper publications have been broken
so badly that so many have closed down their operations, decreased their cost, or limited their
distribution.
This case of Chronicle Gazette newspaper is well-intentioned to demonstrate a deep
insight of how internet and new technologies have actually taken over the traditional source of
news. Susan is in a big problem and distress regarding how to survive & maintain their presence
in a profitable and meaningful manner. It has been determined that the development of
newspapers and publications are considered as a vital news media that are still succeeding
across the world. Therefore, the report aims to propose some strategies to the sited newspaper
that will assist them in maintaining their position in the industry (Bayçu and Kılınç, 2017).
It has been determined that the aim of planning strategically is to be aware of the changes
in the external factors such as economic, social, cultural and political forces. This is because this
can have an adverse impact on the Chronicle Gazette Newspaper. So it is essential to prepare the
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company so that it can deal with these changes. In this world of rapid change Susan needs to
adopt necessary measures and strategic policies which will allow surviving in this changing
environment.
2. State of the newspaper publishing industry today
2.1 Data on declining circulation and revenue.
A leading newspaper of San Francisco, namely The Chronicle Gazette is a major
newspaper with a paid circulation of 225,000 customers. It is considered as the first rate among
other newspapers over years even its writers have won awards for their performances. The
publisher of this newspaper is Susan Feiman. Moreover, the newspaper is considered as the most
prominent one that has gained huge popularity among the public & is being circulated at high
level (Beckers, Masini and Walgrave, 2017). Further, it has been discovered that the newspaper
is identified as a top class and its writer's work has been greatly appreciated. However, in recent
years there has been a huge decline in its circulation and subscription and it has been observed
that in past eight years its subscription has reduced by a total of 35% and due to this the revenue
of advertising has also declined. It has been observed that the rate of decline in the circulation of
newspaper in US was 2% in the year 2003 which further raised to 8% and additionally the
condition became worst in 2009. Many newspaper publishers have adopted steps to get over this
decline which occurred due to the major decrease in the circulation of newspapers. Also, they
have modified their policies to align with the latest trends in the market. They also begin
publishing news online which took them towards expansion.
The newspaper industry is considered to be declining faster than any other industry and
this is because of emergence of internet & the advancement in new technologies. This beginning
of internet has diverted public focus from the newspaper to the online sites that demonstrate the
latest information & news. Therefore, the main cause of this problem that is faced by Susan, is
that the industry due to the major decrease of the nation's economy facing a big challenge that
has increasingly influenced distribution & circulation of it (Belton, 2017). From last few years it
has been revealed that the readers has shifted their interest from newspaper and are now more
attracted to the online websites as using internet is considered as free of cost to get access to
information. Additionally, most of the newspaper's publishers are facing problem of this major
decline in the distribution and subscription of their newspapers. Also, the fast rise in the usage of
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internet has diversely influenced the circulation of it. Through technology people can reach
anywhere anytime and look for news without being paid, as a result this has made rise in demand
for internet. Therefore, these websites have acquired a lot of viewers as almost all the content of
newspaper is available there and customers give more importance to the free online newspaper
sites where everything is accessible easily.
2.2 Status of newspaper leaders, e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are also considered as the leading
newspaper among other famous newspapers. Also, they are among the highly distributed
newspapers. The Wall Street Journal has modified its strategies according to the increasing
popularity of the internet. Apart from this, in United States there is also New York Times which
is also considered as very vital newspapers and it was published and operated by the New York
Times Company. It has been observed that it also has a broad circulation on day to day basis, but
its distribution has also decreased to a great extent due to evolvement of internet technology
which has places the newspapers into an inferior position (Cestino and Berndt, 2017).
It has been discovered that, company when suffered with long term challenges &
competition to meet the company's objective, usually adapt the strategies. These similar tactics
will be adopted by Susan in order to ensure the position of the newspaper for longer time. At it
can be seen through the case that they have faced a huge loss in their revenues i.e. by 28% and
also their subscription also had a decline by 35%. Therefore, these statics are stating the
company's eight years of losses and for this reason only Susan is considering strategies to acquire
growth.
3. Why newspapers are facing declining circulations and revenues
The increasing interest of readers in obtaining all the fresh news & information is through
the internet, which is considered as the main reason of this decline of newspaper industry. This
shift in the newspaper has made publisher Susan in a big problem which has harmed the whole
publication of the newspaper (Cho, Smith and Zentner, 2016).
3.1 External assessment
 Economic factors :- it has been discovered that, various newspaper publications are
giving value to online advertising instead of printing, this is because of accessibility and
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lost price of internet websites. Apart from this, other big cause for this decline & loss of
newspaper subscription & distribution is the publishers have raised the newspaper's cost
they sell (Tiffen, 2015). Also, the policy has been adopted by some publishers in order
to supply their newspaper only to those areas which are more profitable to them & from
where they can acquire major benefits. Also, it has been noticed that they have limited
their distribution to many far places because of heavy delivery charges. Moreover, there
has been a great contribution by advertisers to the decline of the newspaper industry by
behaving leniently towards managing the cost that is paid on the printing. Therefore, this
influences the economic condition of the organisation to a great extent. Also, a small
newspaper suffer to a greater extent which in turn forces them to close the newspaper.
 Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental forces :- due to the promotion of
readership online by social, cultural and demographic forces, has affected most of the
newspaper publishing adversely. Moreover, there has been a big cultural shift that is
encouraging use of internet technologies, social activities of readers have been limited to
the attractive websites such as; Myspace, Facebook, etc. Further, on the demographic
basis persons of age group 55 and over who are less flexible to internet have subscription,
whereas the latest generation is more into internet serving (Chyi and Tenenboim, 2017).
 Political factors :- it has been determined that the ownership and regulation of the
newspaper in the US is managed by the other big cities. Also, it has been noticed that the
government also not performing fairly with these newspaper industries as all the legal
parties are giving importance to internet websites for their campaigning process.
Therefore, it seems that they not show enough concern towards them.
 Technological factors :- it has been determined that the technological forces are also
unusually pushing the leading newspapers down. This is because of the existence of
internet which is considered as the cost effective mode of providing news.
 Competitive factors :- The Chronicle Gazette is also affected by various competitors who
have similar policy of publishing newspaper. They offer same services as of Chronicle
one but at lower price. Therefore, as a result this can affect contribution of Chronicle
Gazette newspapers. Apart from this, another threat to them are new entrances of other
publications that can also influence their working as a leading newspaper (Wang and
Sparks, 2018).
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 External factors Evaluation :- the Chronicle Gazette is a leading newspaper in San
Francisco but from last few years is facing a huge decline due to various threats available
to it such as new entrance in the industry, companies offering similar services
4. Internal assessment
Along with the external factors, there are some internal key capabilities of the
organisation that affects the newspaper and give shape towards new directions. Below are the
internal factors and how they have affected contribution and revenue of Chronicle Gazette
newspaper (Cotter and Fritzsche, 2014).
 Organizational processes and structure :- it has been observed that, process of
organisation of this company is simple. It also includes reporters that run and search for
great and attractive news & writing articles that show quality of information. Also, the
content covered by them is well defined and they have been awarded for their
performance many times. On the other hand, it has been noticed that they have a team of
experienced publishers, reporters and professionals who are capable enough to sell
advertisements and they are considered as the key people. This because they have
capability of finding big business and increasing revenue for their paper.
 HR capabilities :- in this world of competition, the Chronicle Gazette must be specific
about their workforce, as workforce is the only thing that is considered as good and
competitive, also it has not alteration, hence, HR abilities need to match the level of
competition.
 Financial position :- falling in the subscription by 38% in past few years of Chronicle
Gazette newspaper indicates its financial position as its revenue has fallen by 28%. This
is of great concern for the company as its position is decreasing. Therefore, they need to
work on the cost of their newspaper.
 Marketing/sales capabilities:- with the figures given in financial position point, it can be
stated that the company's revenue as well as subscription is declining (Goyanes and
Dürrenberg, 2014). This proves that their sales and marketing strategies are not well
defined and the team handling marketing operations should raise up with new tactics in
order to maintain the level of subscription
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 Operational capabilities :- it states that workers must enhance their capabilities that allow
them to align resources, processes and technologies according to the Chronicle Gazette's
vision in order to deliver the best services effectively.
 Strengths and Weaknesses as a publisher :- publisher of Chronicle Gazette newspaper i.e.
Susan is in the business of selling news and information. Also, she has a team of effective
and efficient writers and reporters who properly understand the needs of customers.
Further, writers have the flow of placing creative words to create a feeling among readers
which they look forward too (Iggers, 2018). Moreover, they not only publish news rather
they also sell living standards to the customers. All these are its strengths which the
company has gained since years of hard work. On the other hand, it also has some
weaknesses also such as; Susan has kept the fixed cost of her newspaper which is a result
of people shifting to online websites. Apart from this, it also faces competition due to
new entrances that offer similar services but at low price.
5. How companies in the publishing industry are adjusting their strategies to
cope with the challenges.
Many Companies in the publishing industry have responded to the continuous
competition given by internet websites and so they have changes their strategies to cope with the
problems. Different organisations have reacted differently under various conditions. For
example;
 It has been observed that two major newspapers in US i.e. Detroit News and Detroit Free
Press united the operations. Due to the fewer advertisements their price became very high
and to align with it they decreased their subscription to 3 days a week. This means that
they sell their news only three time in a week.
 Another examples are of Pro Publica, Kaiser Health News and Voice of San Diego who
took an opportunity of alternative sources of news and information possibly available on
various wireless devices (Mierzejewska, Yim and Al-Hasan, 2017).
 It has been observed that some newspapers in the US provide readers both print and
online readership. Politico which is one of the political newspapers increased its 50% of
the revenue through advertisements in its free print newspapers and also 3 million online
readers are maintained by it.
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 USA Today, is presently on the top of the list among the numerous newspapers which
circulates about 2,282,832 newspapers. The publishers focus on easy to read content and
visually and layout that contributes to its high readership numbers.
6. Steps The Chronicle Gazette might take in order to deal with the challenges
Below are some strategies that should be applied by The Chronicle Gazette Newspaper
after knowing reader's need in order to create maximum number of clicks.
6.1 Short-term steps
Strategy :- the newspaper can also build partnership with clubs, restaurants, and apparel
shops so that the organisation can offer free coupons as a complimentary gift along with
subscription. This strategy is referred as the short term implication that may work for Chronicle
Gazette. Further, it will provide the company some time to think in deep and take steps for long
term growth, & to increase revenue. Once, they start offering discount coupons, people will start
subscription of their newspaper and the company would also purchase advertising space which
will further receive guarantee sales (Pattabhiramaiah, Sriram and Sridhar, 2017).
6.2 Long-term steps
Strategy :- it is recommended to Chronicle Gazette to response proactively to the
changing needs and begin an online website. It has been suggested that company to survive this
website, has to do what others are doing using technologies. The company is considered to
having an edge in delivering the newspapers to customers. Further, they should take their
services to the next level and offer exciting news. Also, they can publish articles that readers
want to read & should show the range of clicks to the advertisers that can sell the ads space at
their owned website. Moreover, the news they provide through internet must be similar to what
they are offering in their newspapers.
Strategy :- the company must publish unique content or information on their websites. It
is particularly recommended that after Chronicle create their own website they should not treat it
as a dumping ground for print information rather they should select those stories which better
suit for each media (Schlesinger and Doyle, 2015).
Strategy :- the Chronicle Gazette newspaper can also work with Facebook, Google and
Amazon as they are seemed to be rivals of newspaper publishers. The company can take it as an
opportunity to work with them and apply new technologies as the part of their digital strategy.
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Strategy :- the newspaper company i.e. Chronicle Gazette must shift their mentality from
advertiser first to a user first strategy. This is because a superior user experience develops an
environment that gives broader value to advertisers with more effective ad units (Stroh, 2017).
CONCLUSION
From this report on business policy and strategy and according to a case which was based
on Susan's problem, it has been concluded that the major cause of The Chronicle Gazette's issues
is the increase of internet. It has been observed that with the access to internet people have
endless information and news sources available for free. Further, a regular feature of sites like
Hotmail, CNN news, Yahoo and MSNBC are considered as the up to date news websites. These
internet sites show major news using videos and show news such as London terrorist bombings
or Sichuan earthquake, etc. all begin appearing on Wikipedia. These all are considered to be
major competitors of The Chronicle Gazette newspaper. Apart from this, it also stated reason for
decreasing circulation and revenue of newspaper using various external and internal factors.
Further, it covered adjustments made by different companies in their strategies to cope with the
challenges. At last it demonstrated various short term and long term strategies that needs to be
adopted by Susan in order to deal with the challenges and survive its newspaper.
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