Researcher's Bio
Philip Meyer
Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina
Philip Meyers retired in 2008 after 15 years as the Knight Chair in Journalism from the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to teaching, Meyer served as a correspondent in Knight Ridder, Inc’s Washington Bureau from 1962 to 1978. He is also past president of both the American Association for Public Opinion Research and the World Association for Public Opinion Research.
Forum Leader
Esther Thorson
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, Missouri School of Journalism
"What Philip Meyer's Influence Model Suggests Newspapers Should Do Right Now"
The higher a newspaper’s credibility and quality, the more influence it carries in its community – and the more influence it carries, the more it will be read and the more advertisers will buy ads, according to Meyer. His research showed that between 1995 and 2000 newspapers studied that were more trusted by their readers were able to charge more for advertising and were better at resisting declines in circulation than less-trusted newspapers.
He said that newspapers need to do what railroads did after their passenger service revenues were decimated by airlines: “Figure out what we can do better than anyone else.” His answers include more public service reporting, local public affairs news, forums for news junkies, and separate publications for sports junkies.
One key task newspapers can do better than anyone is investigative journalism. For example, Meyer said, the Raleigh News and Observer did a series of articles about North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley’s business dealings, sparking an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI. That is influence, Meyer said, and advertisers seek products with influence.
Meyer proposed a “bear model” analogy, suggesting that a master wood carver sees the bear inside a block of wood and carves out everything that is not bear. Similarly, newspapers should focus on serving the needs of “news junkies” and cut away everything else. Meyer said newspapers need to recognize that while distribution of news through digital media is cheap, content is not cheap, and they need to invest in content.
Meyer was critical of the “self-destructive path” of newspapers which have cut news staffs and content. Meyer also said he is not optimistic about the future of printed newspapers. Instead, he said, researchers should get to work testing the influence model on newer forms of journalism to show owners of new and digital news media that being socially conscious and doing public service journalism is not just the right thing to do but is also the best path to profitability.
Contact Professor Phillip Meyer at 919-962-4085 or philip_meyer@unc.edu