乐播传媒

Brian McGrory 鈥�84 and The Boston Globe began their love affair more than 40 years ago in Weymouth, Mass.: He as a paperboy, and the Globe as his paper.

鈥淭he only thing I ever wanted to do was write for a newspaper, and the only paper I ever wanted to write for was The Boston Globe,鈥� he told a 乐播传媒 audience last week.

While McGrory鈥檚 passion for the Globe has long since been requited 鈥� he鈥檚 been a Globe reporter, columnist, metro editor, and, since 2012, editor 鈥� the paper鈥檚 relationship with its readers is at an 鈥渋ncredibly awkward鈥� moment, he said.

On the one hand, print subscribers pay a premium to have their newspaper arrive as regularly as the rising sun.

鈥淲e have to nurture what we can get from print,鈥� said McGrory, who was on campus as the College Key Distinguished Alumnus in Residence.

鈥淥ur print readers are paying top dollar. They are our most hardcore readers, our most faithful readers.鈥�

But here comes the other hand: 鈥淲e also have to understand that the future of our industry 鈥� undoubtedly 鈥� is digital.鈥�

“I could come to a place like 乐播传媒 and focus my life toward journalism.鈥�

Early in his remarks in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, McGrory noted how 乐播传媒 helped him along the route from paperboy to editor.

鈥淚 wanted the liberal arts,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 wanted to expand my horizons. I wanted to learn about politics and literature and expression. Journalism is really about life, and I thought I could come to a place like 乐播传媒 and focus my life toward journalism.鈥�

Back in the mid-1990s, about the time McGrory was the Globe鈥檚 roving national reporter, New England had recovered from a recession, and the paper was again feeling good, generating more than $100 million in circulation revenue and $300 million in advertising revenue annually.

Help-wanted ads in the Sunday Globe alone could bring in $180 million each year, McGrory recalled. 鈥淐lassified ads were the dirty secret of American journalism.鈥�

All that revenue once funded an 鈥渆normous staff鈥� of 540 Globe journalists (now 280), a 13-person Washington, D.C., bureau (now half that), and foreign bureaus (now none).

Nationally, U.S. newspaper print advertising revenues from 2005 to 2011 dropped from $50 billion to less than half that, and have been slipping 8 to 10 percent per year since then. Digital advertising is also falling, McGrory said.

All those declines obscure an ironic fact The Boston Globe has 鈥渕ore readers than we鈥檝e ever had in the history of the paper.鈥�

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 compete with free,鈥� McGrory added, mentioning Craigslist and similar free or cheap online sites to where the region鈥檚 Realtors, auto dealerships, and employee-seeking firms have fled.

Circulation declined as newspapers, at the dawn of the Web, 鈥渄ecided to give away the journalism for free,鈥� a decision that McGrory compares to the owner of Macy鈥檚 deciding to open a new store where everything is free, 鈥渁nd then is shocked that people aren鈥檛 going into the old store to pay for stuff.鈥�

The print paper鈥檚 Sunday circulation has shrunk from around 800,000 in the mid 1990s to 250,000 today, and weekday circulation from 500,000 to 150,000.

All those declines obscure an ironic fact. The Boston Globe has 鈥渕ore readers than we鈥檝e ever had in the history of the paper,鈥� McGrory says.

The day before his visit, the Globe had 560,000 unique visitors to BostonGlobe.com and another 580,000 visits to the paper鈥檚 regional site, Boston.com. Digital subscriptions now top 70,000, the best among any regional newspaper.

Problem is, 鈥渨e鈥檙e having a really difficult time making money from them,鈥� he said.

McGrory doesn鈥檛 know how newspapers will move beyond this awkward time. 鈥淚 have no idea, and anybody who says they do, they鈥檙e either lying to themselves or to you or probably both.鈥�

Like any relationship fix, it will take a little of this, a little of that.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 give up on print too quickly and you can鈥檛 embrace digital too quickly. You need to make a nuanced and sophisticated transition.鈥�

He told the Olin audience about two papers that lacked those two qualities.

The Orange County Register thought the answer was to be 鈥渃ommitted to the print product,鈥� McGrory said. 鈥淭he paper tripled its reporting staff, but by 2014 the paper鈥檚 publisher had to slash its staff and change its management team.鈥�

The CEO of Digital First Media, once the country鈥檚 second-largest newspaper chain, 鈥渕ocked print鈥� and put great emphasis on his newspapers鈥� websites, only to find that the revenue 鈥渏ust wasn鈥檛 there.鈥� His papers have 鈥済one to the auction block with very few takers.鈥�

鈥淭he very foundation of a strong democracy depends on this issue getting fixed.鈥�

If McGrory were the head of the Association for the Support of Drive-In Theaters, his lament might bring a shrug and a nod. Times change.

But, says McGrory, more is at stake.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 an overstatement to argue that the very foundation of a strong democracy depends on this issue getting fixed.鈥� He added:

Newspapers in general, and, in my experience, the Globe in particular, form a bond with the community in a way that no other provider can possibly do. We live in a crazy, polarized society where presidential candidates hurl themselves at each other rather than talking about policy proposals. We live in a divided country where cable news analysts are racing to be the most bombastic possible. It鈥檚 noisy. Washington is at a standstill. The tone, not only in Washington but the state capitols, is deteriorating.

We, as the newspaper industry, are in the best position to make sense of all this. We alone can package all this information carefully, can be as fair as humanly possible, and add the context and respect that鈥檚 needed. In a crowded, jam-packed and violent world, we end up being an arbiter of what鈥檚 fair, what鈥檚 true, and what鈥檚 not.

After his prepared remarks, McGrory, a political science major at 乐播传媒 who was a 乐播传媒 Student reporter, news editor, and features editor, sat for a Q&A with his counterpart on the Student, editor Julia Mongeau 鈥�16 of Melrose, Mass.

Asked about the Globe stories he’s most proud of, McGrory talked about the paper鈥檚 Pulitzer-winning coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing:

We made a commitment that night that we were going to be the paper that stuck with the Marathon story and told the victims鈥� story for a long time. We were not the national media who would come and go. We were going to be the arbiters of what was true and what was right and we would not rush to judgment. That has been a very proud moment that really stands out.

Mongeau鈥檚 questions also gave the elder editor a chance to offer bon mots for 乐播传媒. About the current 乐播传媒 campus, McGrory said:

I haven鈥檛 been here in 20 years. I鈥檓 floored by the sheer beauty of the campus, the way the college was able to integrate new buildings with old buildings, and turn old buildings into really useful buildings. [Roger Williams] used to be the dorm you wanted to live in for all the wrong reasons, and I always thought it was one April rain away from collapsing. It is now a stunning building.

About 乐播传媒鈥� reputation in the Boston area:

乐播传媒 is just a hot school right now. Everywhere I go I always hear about 乐播传媒. My friend鈥檚 kid is just desperate to get here. It鈥檚 a really desirable place for kids to get to right now.