Another bankruptcy

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003967275

Oh, shit!

This isn't good at all. It appears circulation is starting to plummet. Double digit declines over a year ago levels are common. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003966601

This is extraordinarily bad news. as the one bright spot for newspapers up to this point was that they were retaining readership reasonably well, although facing a slow, seemingly inexorable decline. The real concerns were with advertisers. The key words in the last too sentences were the words "slow" and "were." Now, suddenly, readers are abandoning print -- and without readers there are no advertisers.

Many newspapers will not survive the summer at this rate.

High stakes game of chicken?

The New York Times insists that it will hold fast to a May 1 deadline to wrest concessions from unions at the Globe or the paper may shut down. A lot is at stake for both sides, but one thing is clear. whatever the outcome the Globe as we knew it is dead. Either the Times will shut it down, or the unions will agree to concessions that will fundamentally alter the kind of paper The Globe is. The $20 million in wage and rule concessions demanded will necessarily affect quality in a direct and noticeable way.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/24/times_intends_to_enforce_deadline/

Does an online paper need a print presence?

Since the Seattle Post-Intelligencer closed Neilson reports traffic to the online-only paper has plummeted. The Seattle P-I folks say it's not true. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/22/AR2009042202654.html

Time will tell, but it does raise the question of whether a online edition needs a physical presence somewhere? Does Time Magazine keep its reputation if there isn't an actual magazine somewhere? How important is that incidental contact that print newspapers and magazine derive from being on the racks, in the honor boxes and lying around in waiting rooms? Can you sustain visibility over the long haul without it?

Last penguin on the ice floe

It may be a competitive race between the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe to be the last man standing in the Boston market.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/16/front_page_blues/?page=2

And good luck with that

Journal Inquirer to charge a fee to see their Web content. Good luck with that.

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-journal-inquirer-charge.artapr15,0,7892343.story

Easy come, easy go

According to this story, among the things being cut at the Globe is 10 extra days off that managers were getting in echange for a 5 percent pay cut. Now they won't get the extar time off,but they will still get the pay cut. Nice deal. That will help morale.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/15/200_globe_managers_wont_get_09_bonuses/

Deal reached with unions at the SF Chronicle

We'll see if this does any more than delay the inevitable: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/san-francisco-chronicle-r_n_173458.html

Small vignette from Kos on why newspapers are dying

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/9/718099/-Yet-another-reason-newspapers-are-dying

Will this be the future?

If newspapers don't adapt quickly enough, will they be replaced by startup online-only news sites?

http://www.abetteroakland.com/

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/

Kindling the newspaper

Well, I'm about two weeks into the Kindle New York Times experience and I really don't see any significant downside to the device as a newspaper consumer.

Navigating the headlines is a little clumsier than it needs to be, but it's still easier than handling a broadsheet newspaper would be. I don't read the paper during a commute, but if I did I would definitely find the Kindle easier to use on a bus or train. Using the Text to Speech function even makes it possible to "read" the newspaper while driving. (The Kindle has the ability to take headphones).

The newspaper is "delivered" every morning to my nightstand and I'm able to start reading in bed as soon as I get up. Better than home delivery. Even if the news carrier gently placed the paper on my doorstep (instead of tossing it at the end of the driveway while driving past) I'd still have to go downstairs and open the door to the elements.

About the only significant capability the Kindle version of the NYT lacks are many photos and charts. I think that the Kindle still falls short of replacing a graphics and photo-heavy publication such as Sports Illustrated or Smithsonian, but it's hard to consider this merely a temporary state of affairs that will probably abate by the time the Kindle 3 or Kindle 4 or whatever it's called rolls out in a few more years.

From the point of view of the NYT, though, the Kindle creates an entirely new dynamic because it's a subscriber-pays model instead of an advertiser-pays model. It's hard to see how any subscriber-based payment model can replace the kind of revenue that advertiser-paid print was bale to generate.

Indeed, I can't see any particular advantage an outfit like the NYT derives from its size in this new environment other than the brand value. This is not insignificant, but it may also be insufficient.

Smile break

Cool video that should bring a smile during these grim times

Boston Globe to close !!!??!

Wow, this is unexpected, even by someone as gloomy as me.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/04/times_co_threatens_to_shut_globe_seeks_20m_in_cuts_from_unions/

Interestingly enough, this story appears on the Globe's Web site and is very direct and candid. Usually corporate media stories that are self-referential are also rather deferential. I would interpret this as meaning the situation is as serious as a heart attack and contains less than the usual amount of posturing.

I've wondered for a while if the Boston Herald's long-term business strategy is to outlast the Globe and end up the surviving paper in Boston by default. I don't believe the Herald is burdened by much debt and indeed, may have much less than the industry average after getting about $225 million a few years ago when it sold its suburban newspaper chain.

It won't be surprising if Boston ends up as a one-newspaper town. Most similar sized cities are. But it would be surprising if that newspaper ends up being the Herald!

There were many reasons to be wary of the Times purchase of the Globe. Boston and New York have been rival cities for centuries. Just as the Red Sox and the Yankees have a long-standing rivalry, the NYT and the Globe were major rivals for years before the NYT brought the competition to an end by buying the Globe. Many wondered if the New York-based newspaper executive suite would really have the interests of the Globe at heart and the way this episode is playing out validates those concerns.

More layoffs

10% at a small 13,000-circulation daily in Michigan.

http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/livingston.htm

Even USA Today is down

And the Publisher jumps from the sinking ship. He denies it, naturally

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123854670808076289.html#mod=rss_media_marketing