You know, I keep thinking that I am going to stop writing about newspapers and their fate...and I can't seem to stop myself. Probably, because so much is happening now. Turmoil. Surprise. Hard Times. Questioning the future.
So, the soundbite was from Senator John Kerry last week who had a senate hearing on the newspaper industry. He said that newspapers were an endangered species. You can read more here.
Just a couple of days earlier, Warren Buffett clearly stated that he saw no future in newspapers and would not invest in them. Here's a great write up on this topic from the blog, Everything Warren Buffett. I also read that he said that in spite of being an investor in the Washington Post Company. The paper is losing money and is making up with its TV/cable outfits.
So, now, there is great hue and cry about whether with newspapers being a dying breed, whether journalism is reaching its end too. These are very serious questions that are being asked, including at the Senate Hearing (are we looking at the preview of another industry's bailout? I hope not!). In my opinion, I don't believe that for an instant! My prediction is that journalism will not die as long as democratic and capitalistic societies continue to exist (and thrive again some day, we hope...).
Yes, the business model will need to change. Free newspapers online may not be as ubiquitious and inevitable in the future as they appear to be now. I trust the entrepreneurial, and even corporate world to come up with a new business model that will work for them and the readership....although it may take a few trial and errors before this happens.
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