[ottbmare]

You know, it’s easy to say that the media have done this to themselves by presenting a universally liberal viewpoint, but the fact is that half the people in this country vote Democrat, and if even a quarter of these liberal voters bought newspapers, the papers would prosper. And they don’t.

Also, the experiment of the Washington Times shows that a conservative viewpoint does not prosper any better than the liberal ones do. This is a sound conservative newspaper full of articles by the best columnists and writers. But it’s not economically viable either: few people buy the physical paper.

I live in a prosperous upscale community full of educated people who like to read, and our town’s Borders is closing.

No, the age of print media is over.

[ClearCase_guy]

I understand that. You raise very valid points. But I have to say that I used to subscribe to 4 newspapers (NYT, Boston Globe, WSJ, and a local) and I dropped them all because of their liberal viewpoint. The WSJ was the last to go -- it was mostly OK until Murdoch bought it and pushed it further to the left. That's when they lost me.

Fair reporting might not be enough to save the industry, but I would say that if there is to be any hope, then fairness will have to be part of the picture.

[reformedliberal]

I am older. I have been reading for pleasure for 60 years. I spend 3 hrs+/day reading online, mostly news, but also a fair amount of DIY/how-to articles and I buy 90% of my reading material from Amazon. I probably spend upwards of $400-$600/year on books, mostly science fiction. My husband spends an equal amount on adventure/sailing/DIY/how to books. We read our local paper online.

My problem with the bookstores is that I cannot always find what I want, so it can be frustrating and a waste of time. If I spend $25+ at a time, I pay no shipping from Amazon, so it isn’t more expensive and it is much more convenient.