Newspaper group president sees bright future

By Barbara Hoberock, Tulsa World

MIDWEST CITY - Despite challenges, the future of the newspaper industry is bright, the head of a growing newspaper group said Friday.

Terry Kroeger, the president and CEO of BH Media Group, which in March purchased the Tulsa World, spoke Friday to editors, reporters and publishers attending the Oklahoma Press Association's annual convention in Midwest City.

The Omaha, Neb.-based BH Media Group is a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Co. It owns 28 daily newspapers and weekly newspapers in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida.

Kroeger, publisher of the Omaha World-Herald, said community newspapers bury the competition on breaking news, in-depth coverage, fun and entertaining stories, box scores and photographs. The power of the local newspaper was displayed recently in coverage of Oklahoma's deadly tornadoes, Kroeger said.

Newspapers told the story with context, background and details, something competitors couldn't possibly provide, he said.

The national media appeared to do a flyover of damage pictures and "then escaped back to New York," he said.

American newspapers remain very profitable operations, Kroeger said.

Some high-profile newspaper failures were caused by debt, timing and a poor balance sheet, said Kroeger, who graduated from the University of Nebraska with a bachelor's degree in finance and economics.

One reason transaction prices for newspapers are low "is this concept that the printed newspaper is somehow doomed in a few years," Kroeger said. "I don't buy that, particularly in the markets where we do business and you do business."

Consultants, experts and others wrongly assume it is a choice between digital or printed content, he said.

"It is neither," Kroeger said. "The truth is the model that is most likely to work is customer first."

Some customers prefer print, Kroeger said. Others prefer to read content on a personal computer, tablet or smart phone, he said.

"We need to be good at distributing to all those channels so that our customers can consume our products in whatever format they prefer," he said.

Newspapers need to excel in all forms of delivery, he said.

In the past, newspapers have done a lousy job of requiring customers to pay for digital content. The industry needs to do some recovery on that front, he said.

"Content cannot and will not be provided for free," Kroeger said. "We spend millions of dollars gathering, editing and distributing content that can't be found anywhere else."

No one covers the Oklahoma City Thunder like The Oklahoman, he said. No other outlet covers the University of Tulsa like the Tulsa World, he said.

"It is no different than paying for a Bruce Springsteen song in iTunes," Kroeger said. "He deserves to get paid for his intellectual property and so do we."

BH Media Group's philosophy is to let the newspapers it owns operate autonomously and independently, particularly in the areas of coverage, endorsements and dealing with customers, Kroeger said.

Strong income, he said, is necessary for remarkable journalism.

The longstanding debate over earnings and devotion of resources to newsrooms will continue well into the future, Kroeger said.

"You don't get to choose between profits and remarkable journalism," he said. "It is imperative and non-negotiable that we do both."
 

Barbara Hoberock 405-528-2465
barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com