Wall Street to Daily Papers: 'Drop Dead'

The Nation ^ | January 24, 2008 | Eric Alterman

[george76]

Sinking readership and revenue, because of biased and mediocre reporting, is finally taking its toll ....

.

[george76]

Falling ad and circulation revenue plus rising paper prices...

[kcvl]

When they start actually telling the truth they might sell more papers. It’s too easy to find out through GOOGLE what they are too lazy to check.

[Brilliant]

Wall Street is smarter than I thought.

[Blueflag]

WSJ is a notable exception

[george76]

The media Dixie Chicks marketing plan...

[abb]

The answer is obvious. A federal bailout. /sarc

[cyn]

wow, great FReepathon reminder for this topic: the one with the screen capture of Brit Hume, FR, and CBuSted! is it intentional, or random placement?

[VRWC For Truth]

McCain-Feingold.

[fieldmarshaldj]

[cyn]

phooey, random ... and disappearing. well, it was in itself a great commentary on this topic.

[george76]

I am amazed that parents pay tuition for their college kid to major in jounalism.

They might get a job at Starbucks ?

/s

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

WSJ is a notable exception

WSJ is notable for having a conservative (not counting the borders issue) editorial page/web site.

That does not translate into a conservative news division. Because, IMHO, there is no such thing as "conservative news."

The Market for Conservative-Based News

[okie01]

"the biggest challenge" facing the industry: "to overcome this pervasive culture of defeat, the psychology of surrender that accepts decline as inevitable." The dude, alas, is dead-on. Newsmen and -women are supposed to go down fighting. As the great Molly Ivins observed not long before we lost her: budget cuts, buyout plans, it's as if the only agreed-upon solution to fight this deadly disease is "to commit suicide."

Yet, there is no recognition by Alterman or any of his journalistic buddies that, as businesses, dead tree newspapers are doomed. By the P&L, by events, by technology.

He berates the publishers for a lack of imagination. Well, where the hell is his?

Inevitably, the journalist-guild sector of the newspaper industry is going to be calling for public ownership, demanding that taxpayers foot the bill for their liberal indulgences.

May they friggin' starve to death.

[george76]

Well said :

He berates the publishers for a lack of imagination. Well, where the hell is his?

[Jacquerie]

. . . the war on press freedom the Bush Administration and its allies have been waging since they came to power seven years ago.

One's attitude toward life is critical. Blaming one's problems on mythical forces is not healthy. When most of the individuals in a profession (journalism) think it is or should be above the marketplace, it is probably doomed.

[roadcat]

I am amazed that parents pay tuition for their college kid to major in jounalism.
They might get a job at Starbucks ? /s

Funny you say that, because our oldest daughter went that route. She wanted it since middle school, was yearbook editor from sophomore year in high school, and majored in journalism at U.C. Berkeley. (Yeah, we held our nose on that but it's where she wanted to go.)

During college she worked at several Starbucks, became a supervisor. After graduation she became an editor at a local magazine, moving up to a managing editor position. But she did see the light, getting turned off by the politics from her bosses after several years, she quit and is now a technical writer for a bio-tech firm.

Newspapers and magazines are killing themselves, despite bright young journalism kids that try to make a difference.

[george76]

It is nice that she could get a job doing something that she enjoys.

Most general newspapers will be walking dead if they remain so one sided.

Small papers may make enough ad money if they focus on local news.

Good of you to support your child’s dream.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks g76. The place to make the cuts is in reporters and editors who spin every story into an op-ed and get away with it.

[Gondring]

Sinking readership and revenue, because of biased and mediocre reporting, is finally taking its toll ....

Wishful thinking, but even good, well-written, conservative papers are sinking, too. America is no longer a literate nation..it's time to face it.