B. BressersPrint and Online IntegrationPromise and Reality: The Integration of Print andOnline Versions of Major Metropolitan NewspapersBonnie BressersKansas State University, USANewspapers that seek first-mover advantage too often have expended financial capital and personnel re-sources on new media initiatives without fully appreciating the obstacles or the potential outcomes, an ap-proach that may be understandable in an increasingly competitive marketplace fueled by the explosivegrowth of the Internet. Newspaper editors still question whether and how to integrate their Internet edi-tions into existing newsrooms in hopes of leveraging the strengths of each. A survey of 63 major metropoli-tan U.S. newspaper editors showed that these managers have a high level of commitment to integration. Inaddition, a statistically significant relationship was found between multiple procedural or policy factorsand management perception that integration had met management objectives. If integration between thenewspaper and its online service is the desired outcome, the most important factors appear to include hav-ing a partnership with other media, instituting a converged news desk that handles stories regardless ofmedium or distribution method, having management commitment to integration, equalizing perceptionsof status between newspaper workers and online workers, empowering online staff to actively participate inplanning meetings, utilizing the online service for breaking news that occurs off-publication cycle, and en-couraging print-side staff members to generate content for exclusive use online.Newspaper companies throughout the United Statesscrambledonlinein themid-1990s,launchingInternetver-sions of their print publications with little direction andless knowledge about how online newspapers would meeta multiplicity of goals: building new readers and revenues,protecting the advertising base, and reducing the costs ofproduction and distribution. Early experiments wereshaky as online newspapers explored a variety of produc-tion models and staffing approaches as they sought themagic bullet (Peterson, 1996). The question of how to inte-grate the online function with the traditional newspa-per—and the degree to which they should be integrated—stymiedmanynewsorganizations,withsomeinstitutinga “we must merge” stance and others adopting a philoso-phyofcompleteseparation(Paul,1998). Now,adecadelateralong the evolutionary time line, many newspaper compa-nies still struggle with the basic question of how closely—ifat all—they should integrate their online enterprise intothe traditional newspaper organizational structure.At one end of the continuum are integrated operations,in which online staffmembers work within the traditionalnewsroom and utilize the existing newsgathering infra-structure to produce content designed for the Web. At theother end of the continuum, online staff members func-tion completely independently from their traditionalcounterparts in an effort to create content unhindered bythe traditional newspaper model and mindset.Moses quotes Criner as saying that the question ofwhich model to adopt should be a top priority, because in-stitutionalizing the wrong model “can create an organiza-tional gap that can undercut credibility with advertisersand ultimately cause them to spend their money else-where” (Moses, 1999, p. 28).Zellman (quoted by Criner & Wilson, 1997) saw theneed for “connective tissue” (p. 6–7) between print and on-line operations, whereas Northrup (2002) insisted thatthe goal should be the journalistic and financial integra-tion of print and digital media as a means of leveragingthe strengths of the core product with the potential of theInternet.This article presents a descriptive study of the degree towhich the major U.S. metropolitan newspapers have inte-grated their print and online functions. A telephone sur-The International Journal on Media Management, 8(3), 134–145134Address correspondence to Bonnie Bressers, A.Q. Miller School ofJournalism and Mass Communications, Kansas State University, 105Kedzie Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506. E-mail: [email protected] of news executives at major metropolitan newspapersuncovered operational and production practices that ap-peared to be associated with levels of integration and theextent of news executives’ satisfaction that integrationhas met management goals. With this understanding,newspapers that have integration as a desired outcomewill be better able to institute operational and productionpractices that meet their goals, while avoiding oftencostly and resource-consuming missteps.Literature ReviewIntegration Versus Independent OperationsFrom the once-hailed, then-failed videotex of the 1980s tothe World Wide Web of the present, management re-search shows that newspaper managers are compelled tomake decisions about their adoption of emerging technol-ogies before the effects of those technologies are known, aparticularly daunting challenge in an industry that hasexperienced only relatively incremental ink-on-papertechnological innovations since Gutenberg (Schoemaker& Mavaddat, 2000, pp. 207–208).In the 10 years that newspaper companies have beenstriving to develop profitable Web sites, some organiza-tions diversified their operations by creating separatenew media subsidiaries or investing in new media ven-tures that have functions similar to the newspaper com-pany. Other organizations opted for integrating their newmedia venture into the core business, with integration be-ing defined as establishing some type of a jointnewsgathering and reporting operation between a tradi-tional print newspaper and its Internet-based counter-part. Many traditional newspapers wrestled with the fun-damental question of how to fit their new media venturesinto their existing organizational structures, spending of-ten substantive financial and human capital on institut-ing one model for a period of time, only to eventually con-vert to an entirely different model (Moses, 1999, p. 28–29).Zollman (2000) found that when online operationswere large, which he defined as more than 20 people, inde-pendence might be the best approach. In smaller opera-tions, integration, along with some measure of independ-ence, may be preferable. Irrespective of size, all operationsshould share at least some level of integration to leveragethe many synergies in content development, advertisingsales, and marketing opportunities.Singer (1997)