ABSTRACT
An analysis of traditional and new news industries (i.e. newspapers, television, and online media) with Porter’s Five Forces as a framework, explain why business models for journalism in new media are not likely to become sustainable. While the competitive force of substitutes challenges the funding of journalism in newspapers, the main concern in the television industry is lower barriers of entry due to digital distribution. In new media all five competitive forces in the model work against profit in the news industry. As users and advertisers migrate online in the age of digitisation, convergence and participation, news media are adapting and expanding their distribution strategies. This article argues that while new digital media products will increase their strategic value in order to defend and expand the reach of traditional media players, it is likely that the funding of journalism in the future will be dependent on the revenues from strong traditional media products in the portfolio. The findings from this analysis of Norwegian news industries will be generalisable to most sophisticated media markets.
