Friday, October 20, 2006

The Economy is Booming

The American Economy is booming. Government revenues are up. And yet under such conditions, when newspaper profits normally rise to great heights the New York Times and many other newspapers face severe declines in profits.

The newspaper business is an anachronism. Its days, like the days of moveable type are over. The next recession will probably kill the legacy media.

It has two problems. High fixed costs - presses and paper. That is not an insurmountable problem. The bigger problem is that it is not meeting the needs of its audience for entertainment, information, and especially commentary.

With broadband and Youtube the television folks will be next. The decline will be slower because sports still animates television viewing. How about them Bears?

No comments: