Chart of the day.
Why the newspaper industry collapsed.
Classifieds.
Google.
eBay.
Craig’s List.
Free websites are better than paid for newspapers. And on and on. Click here. This is quite telling.
It has always been surprising to me. Newspapers have a collection of really talented and really smart folks who tell everyone how to run their business yet – see chart – why didn’t the collective talents see this coming and strive for reinvention and a rebuild of their own? Yikes.
Would you feel a sense of loss if your local newspaper shut down?
Do you think your local paper is a public trust and should there be a bailout to help local media concerns by the Federal government?
Why aren’t local newspapers loved by their community? Continue reading
Remember when I suggested government bailouts for newspaper and media companies and people laughed?
Well, here is the first shoe to drop. Check it out.
As someone who was there trying to do deals and create partnerships with newspaper concerns in the early and mid 90′s, I can state that this article misses the mark by a long mile.
The Internet was looked at as a distraction by most senior management at these concerns. Consumer interactivity was looked at as a curiosity - the steering wheel – it was assumed and would always be in an editors’ hand and not in the hands of the consumer. Advertisers would always stick with eyeballs in an unaccountable manner in newspapers because ”they had always done that.” The digital operations in the companies were always aside the newspaper instead of being a platform that enabled products and a newspaper being seen as one of the products off of the platform.
Newspaper companies loved the print version of their product. I never understood that. They were in the news business; the content business; the local community business; and the local ad and commerce business NOT the paper business. I would encourage them to use their massive cash flows to invest or acquire MAJOR players in the space or create a national consortium in the key vertical areas and classified areas. Newspaper concerns should have invested in or owned and operated Yahoo; eBay; MapQuest; Moviefone; craigslist; NexTag; Advertising.com; Amazon.com; and even Google. In its day, AOL would have created the infrastructure and platform to launch some verticals at massive scale and at low cost for these partners.
And they could have owned and operated next generation networks in classifieds, in travel, in auto and in local and hyper local targeting. They could have created local third party networks. They could have created syndication services and ultimately they could have led in social networking. They could have and should have bought YouTube, Digg, Mevio or Clearspring to get scale; rich media content; distribution; and an infusion of real next generation management.
Instead, they didn’t do much but write about the subject and contract. The folks in senior management at these companies were focused on being right NOT on winning.
Now they have a perfect storm to deal with, a bad economy that is crushing advertisers. Local advertising and classifieds have found better media choices on the Internet, think Advertising.com and Google. Consumers are getting better media and news for free on the Internet and banks are NOT lending to media companies that are overleveraged with the stock market crushing the market caps as well.
Gulp.
It is nice to read revisionist history but I was there and I don’t remember events and developments unfolding in this manner.
This isn’t good, this is sad. I have worked with the folks at Tribune for a long time. This is a great institution which is now saddled with debt from a buyout and it may file for bankruptcy.
I would expect more shoes to drop in the newspaper field. There is too much debt; too many expenses; plummeting sales; and old school management.
It always amazes me when an executive from another field - in this case real estate - can borrow money to “fix” another business in an unrelated industry. Why did these folks think they had a magic wand and could fix a newspaper and broadcast company?
This is such sad news if true.
Kudos to Silicon Alley Insider for this reporting and analysis. I only wish the New York Times did this level of reporting on its own developing internal story. It owes that to its readers and investors, don’t you think? Where is the series of big investigative reports on this looming cash crisis at the New York Times by the New York Times?
Glum. Sad. No hope. Just a few of the words I would use to describe what is happening in the print industry right now. The Washington Post is best in class and even they are struggling right now. Check out this article. Bad news indeed.
That is all I can say, ”Yikes!” Hard to believe. Check out this article.
Here is a new word I officially made up. 
”Printanthropy” - in the same vein of Filmanthropy - is using print media and newspapers to right a wrong; activate consumer interest and discussion; generate charitable giving; educate an audience; and manage the media outlet as a non-profit civic trust.
That is the future of newspapers. They are in the Printanthropy business and newspapers moguls are now Printanthropists!
Aren’t you glad we have built up a big direct communications platform for our franchise?
Aren’t you glad we activated a blogosphere for our team?
Aren’t you glad we know how to use the web and social networks to get the word out?
Yikes. This is truly scary news for us all. Pray for an economic recovery to help newspapers all across North America.