CJR: The Grave Dancer
Posted on April 4, 2008
"Zell is known as the Grave Dancer, for buying distressed real estate on the cheap. Succeeding with Tribune depends on arresting the alarming pace of deterioration at its newspapers—thus the fresh tensions at the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. If the company’s revenues continue to plunge, no amount of financial engineering will save it, and Zell may instead be called the Grave Digger.”
Tribune Co faces default threat in ‘09
Posted on April 4, 2008
Tribune Co faces default threat in ‘09 | Reuters
"Tribune is a big microcosm of issues across the industry, and Sam Zell made an unfortunate bet, if you will, jumping into a business he knew nothing about," said veteran newspaper analyst Miles Groves."
Deep cuts at CBS-owned stations
Posted on April 1, 2008
Deep cuts at CBS-owned stations
"While local TV is a very profitable business and certainly not threatened like the newspaper industry, declining audiences and a softening economy will bring tough times in the months and years ahead."
Bad to worse for newspapers
Posted on March 31, 2008
"Ken Doctor, a newspaper analyst with Outsell, Inc., summarized the situation. “Given the high rates they charged in print, and that over 90% of their revenue is still in print, even if they could get the growth rate back up to 25% or 30%, they still won’t be able to make up for these losses,” he said–thus, the outlook is grim. “These companies are going to get much smaller, with fewer employees, producing less content, both online and in print. The real question is: can they even stabilize at any point in the near future?”
To stem the tide of losses, Doctor said newspapers need to invest heavily in boosting the kinds of news content that are proving most popular on the Web, including business, health, and travel–especially with online video if possible. “That’s where you’ll get the most bang for your buck,” according to Doctor, who said CPMs for online video business news are now around $50 dollars.”
More than 100 staffers take Newsweek buyout
Posted on March 31, 2008
More than 100 staffers take Newsweek buyout
"The departure of so many senior staffers at once—all of them are expected to be gone by the end of this year—will mean the loss of much of the magazine’s institutional memory, as well as many of its most talented writers and editors. All of the chief researchers are also leaving, including Nancy Stadtman, Ray Sawhill and Ray Anello, and their positions may be eliminated.”
Analysis: State of the News Media 2008
Posted on March 17, 2008
Analysis: State of the Media 2008
Says Rick Edmonds: "The heart of the problem, especially for newspapers, is not loss of audience but “a broken economic model — the decoupling of advertising and news,” the report finds. “Advertisers are not migrating to news Web sites with audiences, and online, news sites are already falling financially behind other kinds of Web destinations.” “
If all else fails, try brainwashing ink
Posted on February 9, 2008
I stumbled upon a cartoon, “Jacob Two Two,” this morning while I was flipping channels on TV. The animation caught my eye, and then the content of the show drew me in.
I was watching episode #5 “Jacob Two Two and the Daily Crown,” (which originally aired in 2001, I think) about Jacob, a 10-year-old boy who lives in Montreal, and his friend Buford who think their city’s newspaper is dull, dull, dull. Bad grammar and comics that aren’t funny top their list of complaints. Who would read the newspaper? they ask as they throw it in the trash.
Hmm.
But wait, all is not lost … soon, they find all the adults in Montreal mesmerized by the paper. Everyone’s reading it. Subscriptions and advertising is at an all-time high.
How could this be? Is there actually some news in it worth reading that the kids are missing or don’t understand? Is the newspaper catering too much to older readers? In the end, do Jacob and Buford learn about journalism and the importance of the press?
Nah.
Turns out it’s part of an evil plot by con man Carl Fester King, the new owner of the paper and printing press who declares himself “King of the World.” He put a brainwashing chemical in the ink to get readers to, well, read.
That’s a great lesson for the kids: The only way circulation could rise for print papers is if we brainwash the readers.
Another interesting tidbit: Jacob refused to do research on the newspaper’s Web site, too, saying “no not that one … I want to get the dirt.”
Part I
Part II
Part III
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