A soundbite worth mentioning

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.

The next generation of newspaper readers

Help is on the way! Here is a link to a NY Times article about the next generation of newspaper readers - that would be the Kindle for newspapers. Very interesting!

Newspaper Circulation - a sign of the times

During the past six months, the circulation of newspapers has gone down at a faster pace than ever before. More readers are turning to the web. Why now? Is it the economy? Whatever it is, the trend appears to be very real. The Wall Street Journal appears to be the only exception and shows a slight increase in circulation. Could that be because they are also one of the few that charge for viewing online content?
Where most of these declines were in the 10% range, the New York Post and Atlanta Journal Constitution had the steepest declines of 20%. This is a rough, rough time for newspaper publication. Change is in the winds and many waited to adapt or did not see (or chose not to see) the warning signs. I have seen editorials that predict gloom, doom and despair regarding the end of an important era, and the end of local news as we know it. I am unable to comprehend this. Just because the newspaper fades away, why does it mean that news and news reporting should? Isn't it about a new medium where content still remains king? Whereas the business model is not altogether clear, I feel sure that if there is a demand for local news, then there will be a business model that evolves to support it. Perhaps that also means that online content or rather, high-quality online content won't be free forever. Publishers just need to find that business model that works.