Baden and the Future of Print Journalism

The world of print journalism, in the eyes of younger audiences, has stopped spinning. However, a seasoned veteran of the field ensures that newspapers nationwide are determined to revamp their traditional product to entice young viewers by adding more interactive and accesible content.
Tom Baden, editor of The Connecticut Press, met with Fairfield University students at a mock-press conference last Monday night to discuss newspapers’ use of interactive content and social networking sites to attract high school and college-aged potential readers. This part of the population particularly shies away from using printed news, making it apparent that traditional methods will no longer cut it.
A developing strategy, according to Baden, has been using websites like Twitter and Facebook to link to their paper’s content. Interactive news sites, such as “In Utah This Week” which allow for a user friendly news experience, are part of what he believes to be the solution. Scientific data based on tracking online usage has also proved to be beneficial to honing in on the consumers interests.
At The Post, the move has been to make the papers look and feel different by covering stories that appeal and are useful to younger readers. The online version will be updated to support a new content managing system, and the website as a whole will receive a “face-lift” very soon.
Baden admits that newspapers have been slow to oust their preconceived notions about their target audience’s interests. “I think we’ve all assumed wrongly that younger readers don’t want things more in-depth and in detail,” he stated. He added that they may also have neglected younger readers’ interest in the news in general and about their community.
Once a student at the University of Maryland, it was Baden’s involvement with the school newspaper that sparked his love of journalism. After earning his degree, he worked as a reporter for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, where he was soon promoted to city editor for the paper.
He later worked for the Newhouse News Service in D.C., covering the administration of the first President Bush, and was the editor of several other papers before signing on with The Connecticut Post in July of 2008.
As these non-traditional means of garnering the attention of teenaged readers continue to be implemented and improved upon, we are reminded stay in third person; keep yourself out of it by Baden about another reason for the target group’s lack of participation. “I think we need to do a better job of convincing the public that we’re fair,” he said. “We’re being honest.”