Do I smell smoke? Is that a fiddle I hear?
The New York Times Monday media report completely buried the report of the worst newspaper ad revenue decline since 1950, when the NAA started measuring the number (which is to say, the worst decline ever). It’s on page C-7, given a mere four paragraphs. Granted, the news is a bit stale, having come out three days ago. Still, you’d think that the media section would have decided to give this more perspective.
I think the proper perspective is that we are at a full-blown, slippery-slope, accelerating-fall, watch-out-below crisis for the newspaper industry and professional journalism with it. It’s time for drastic thinking.
Tags: newbiznews, newspapers, nytimes
March 31st, 2008 at 11:12 am
It was spotted on this side of the Atlantic too. Also the appalling literal which crept into this report.
It looks like the ‘perfect storm’ is hitting newspaper journalism. Is prayer the only way out?
http://www.montagecomms.com/blogger/kevin_coughlan/blog.html
March 31st, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Of course, the piece also noted that Internet advertising growth for newspapers has slowed also. That would seem worth a mention in your post as well.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I welcome this news. It is strange how they don’t report on their own demise. I loved reading the newspaper as a child, but as I grew older, I began to understand how inaccurate, filtered, and supressed the newspaper was and I began to resent it. Today with blogging… Twittering… Digging… were killing another dinosaur. I can’t wait to see the New York Times stuffed in a glass case next to the DoDo Bird at the Museum of Natural History.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Before we start talking about the demise of newspapers, maybe we should all take a look at this post:
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2008/03/of-fly-eyes-and.html
March 31st, 2008 at 6:20 pm
[...] Jarvis doesn’t think much of newspapers’ chances for survival: I think the proper perspective is that we are at a full-blown, slippery-slope, accelerating-fall, [...]
April 1st, 2008 at 7:31 am
[...] Jarvis, Buzzmachine I think the proper perspective is that we are at a full-blown, slippery-slope, accelerating-fall, [...]
April 1st, 2008 at 9:45 am
The demise of printed news of any kind (newspapers or magazines) is accelerating. Nothing that the industry does will stop this as paper published products simply cannot keep up with real-time news flow and are inconvenient to use compared to the net. Watching the media industry live in denial, yearn for the good old days, and stumble to adapt is quite fascinating considering they are heading over the cliff. In ten to twenty years, future generations will be reading insider stories of how it all came crashing down and how futile the actions were of those in charge to stop it.
April 1st, 2008 at 4:00 pm
The newspapers are definitely on the verge of an obituary. This was beautifully (although depressingly) illustrated on HBO’s show The Wire, as the Baltimore Sun becomes rotten to its core, decaying as the best are laid off while the worst get promoted.
The Internet will be the death of traditional journalism. Blogs like these (http://ladycatherinebedamned.blogspot.com/) will have a permanent place over papers like the NY Times. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but I will surely miss the old days of real journalism. Sigh,
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
The Savage sums it up well. Journalism has long outlived its usefulness and betrayed its promise. Time to go!
April 15th, 2008 at 1:34 am
[...] Do I smell smoke? Is that a fiddle I hear? [...]