“The problem is, newspapers were losing business before the recession. Newspapers have been losing business for decades.”
And she finishes with:
“And I just don’t think that in ten years, the newspaper business model will be able to support very many newsrooms of any size.”
And newer business models are being developed and tested as we speak. I suppose it depends on where you’re sitting, but the technology is currently available to broadcast and discuss ideas on the web at next to no cost (not necessarily free). I’m not convinced that the vital role of newspaper as responsible institution of its own….watching even more responsible institutions for the public good (political watchdog, finder of facts) won’t be filled by someone else. Mickey Kaus has a good list here (scroll down) of some necessities.
I’d also argue (showing my political stripes, and perhaps nothing else) that aside from the business model and ad revenue problem, there is the ideology problem at the NY Times (and many other outlets, not all on the left). They are drawing themselves within an ever narrower set of ideas with which to interpret and report on events. I think there are other, deeper reasons for this.
Yet, the NY Times still offers value, and important ideas, and much of the blogosphere relies on the Times’ shrinking newsroom for their own success at the moment.
Also On This Site: Here in Seattle, Bill Virgin says newspapers built up their value, and slowly let it die: From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer Via Sound Politics: Why Did The PI Die?..Who Reads The Newspapers?…The Newseum Opens On The Mall: More From The Weekly Standard
Two previous two posts which have some links of interest: From The New Yorker: Malcolm Gladwell’s “Priced To Sell”…From The Becker-Posner Blog: The Future Of Newspapers.
