Change is not something new to the media landscape.Whether the introduction of television, and its eventual openness to the private sector, or the introduction of word-processing and page layout software to the print industry - both new platforms, and new technologies – these are not something new to the industry. That being said, change is now coming to the industry at a much faster rate, and media efforts to adapt to these changes are now happening in a much more haphazard, less planned, and more experimental manner than efforts of the industry historically.

Mission statements and branding are giving way to traffic.

Make no mistake, the efforts of adaptation are not so happening at such a rate only because the media are in panic. They are happening so fast also because the Internet is a very cheap platform to develop and experiment on, compared to print or broadcast platforms. But this is beginning to take a toll. The media have spent millions in both finances and hours of planning and strategising to establish and strengthen their brands with specific mission statements.

Let’s take one of the largest information providers in the world – CNN. CNN was once perceived as one of the most serious media in the world, hosting the highest political figures and analysing geopolitical, economic, and business matters. And it is in this context that CNN initially based its Internet effort. Today? The seriousness of the CNN brand is starting to dissolve. Among yesterday’s MAIN headlines on CNN.com? - “Octopus pulls plug, floods aquarium,” and “How to get Michelle Obama’s toned arms.”

Blogs Rule Now

Traffic is now becoming more important than mission statements. This dissolution will in the long run come back and haunt the media who do this. Individuals rattle media corporations – the rise of blogging. But why are the media rushing to experiment and jeopardise their branding in this way? Because individuals have started to breach the once very concentrated media industry. Many people still haven’t fully understood what blogging is; what value to attach to blogs, and how much credibility they come with. Despite all this, I can safely say that on the Internet, the total amount of blog posts read in any given day far surpasses the total amount of news articles in any given day. And if we take into account how many blogs link back to news articles, giving them additional traffic, the situation becomes even more worrying.

The Huffington Post, which is probably the most popular political news blog in the world, reaches as many people as the Financial Times, or the Wall Street Journal websites. To put it into an EU context - another blog – Treehugger, has a greater reach than New Europe, Euronews, the European Voice, EU Observer, Euractiv, and Parliament Magazine combined!

Advertising on the Internet is in fact common between blogs and media. If we set aside the advertising that goes on media websites as a result of political pressures exerted by media owners on big advertisers, the advertising pie is shared on an objective analysis of traffic and audience. Slowly and gradually, as bloggers and blogging platforms begin to realise and seize the available power, the market will be much more evenly spread. And this realisation, along with what is a sharp decrease in traditional media advertising, is what is causing traditional media to experiment at such a quick pace- to find potential solutions.

Everyone wants a brand

Google has been by many hailed as the saviour of newspapers, and in the long run, television and radio too. Google is indeed providing most, usually more than 50-60 percent of all incoming traffic to media websites. But what people need to remember,is that they also provide traffic to blogs, and other websites which are in competition for the same advertising revenues.

What separates blogs from traditional media?

The answer to this is, sadly, the historically-established branding, and I write sadly, because this, as I mentioned above, is dissolving. So eventually it will be nothing but a label. If a blog says – “Internet newspaper,” it will be perceived as such. What it always will come down to is traffic, and with the interaction and social networking element of blogs and other social media available, traditional media face a tough future.

Bailout, No.... Buyout, Yes?

In dire need of a bailout (which in my view no private corporations deserve,) newspapers are closing every day. In fact, newspapers may have to go back to what they once were to stay in business, tools for power; as long as this is an option. To use part of a Financial Times article printed recently, “…Rich mens’ toys.” Newspapers once served as tools of a select few to exercise political power and social influence. With sales of newspapers to individuals seeking this power taking place, I can only hope that the credibility and public perception of the traditional media is not tarnished by this.

Newspapers on the way out?

I was recently reading a blog post giving advice to newspaper CEOs. Most points were about coming to realise that we have entered the online era; the last point, which I remember distinctly, was “consider retirement.” The truth is that certain types of newspapers are indeed on the way to either changing immensely, or shutting down. This type is the daily newspaper.

People are still not happy to let go of the newspaper as a form, but the fact is that by the time your Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, or Herald Tribune are on your doorstep, all the news is old news. Not only that, but if anything major happened after the edition was closed, the story didn’t make it to print. But online was up and ready in real time.

Newspapers used to be close enough to real time. It is no longer the case. What are the only newspapers that can potentially survive the storm in the long term? Highly specialised editions, weeklies with special focus sections and ample analysis and commentary, local newspapers of municipalities, and free newspapers (yet perhaps not in daily form).

What now?

There is nothing left to do but keep experimenting in this haphazard mode. I will not go into the already widespread ideas of engaging with social networks, and activated citizenry. However, I cannot attach enough emphasis to the importance of retaining, and, if possible, strengthening of the very expensively established brands which range from decades to centuries of formation. At the end of the day, this is only thing that new media cannot “buy,” or produce.

Alexandros Koronakis is the Editor of New Europe newspaper. Follow him on Twitter