How can newspapers be saved?

[creekster]

You guys realize, hope, that I was just trying to get in an article about one-nut Hitler? This may be the most ironic hi-jack ever.

[TripletDaddy]

You guys realize, hope, that I was just trying to get in an article about one-nut Hitler? This may be the most ironic hi-jack ever.

I knew it all along. I pictured you sitting back, laughing at all of this, having a ball....

[RobinFinderson]

You guys realize, hope, that I was just trying to get in an article about one-nut Hitler? This may be the most ironic hi-jack ever.

I confess. I hadn't clicked the link.

[UteStar]

I love a newspaper. Whatever city that I have lived in, I order the local newspaper. There is just something about sitting at the kitchen table and opening up a paper and reading it.

I think most of us are surprised that Hitler ever even had balls, let alone one of 'em.

[Uncle Ted]

So the Boston Globe went from being worth $1.1 billion to $70 million...

New York Times Co., which put its Boston Globe newspaper up for sale this year, agreed to sell the publication to John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, for $70 million in cash.

[...]

Times Co. put the Globe up for sale in February and hired Evercore Partners Inc. (EVR) to manage the process, part of an effort to focus on its flagship New York Times media brand. New York Times, which bought the Globe for $1.1 billion 20 years ago, mostly in stock, is coping with an industrywide decline in advertising that has caused a drop in sales and stock prices. Bids for the Globe were expected to be in the range of $100 million, people familiar with the matter said this year.
[...]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...y-for-70m.html

That's over a 90% loss in value. Ouch!

[Northwestcoug]

And it sounds like NYT is still on the hook for employee pensions.
70 mil is a steal to get good advertising for the Red Sox...

[VirginiaCougar]

I hope they find their place. While technology has expanded the quantity of information, it has fundamentally undermined the quality of information. Particularly in the realm of politics and government. Just as pornography offers a false and harmful substitute to the real thing, the rise of ideological media (political pornography) is destroying real American politics and constitutional governance.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[Omaha 680]

I hope they find their place. While technology has expanded the quantity of information, it has fundamentally undermined the quality of information. Particularly in the realm of politics and government. Just as pornography offers a false and harmful substitute to the real thing, the rise of ideological media (political pornography) is destroying real American politics and constitutional governance.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

Wasn't all media ideological when our country was born? I think you are idealizing the distant past and giving 20th century media too much credit for being non-ideological.

I do think the "political porn" comparison is your greatest yet. I guess I consume political porn (drudge) every day.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I hope they find their place. While technology has expanded the quantity of information, it has fundamentally undermined the quality of information. Particularly in the realm of politics and government. Just as pornography offers a false and harmful substitute to the real thing, the rise of ideological media (political pornography) is destroying real American politics and constitutional governance.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

More rubbish.

Go back to circa 2006-2007 and look at the newspaper articles on real estate. All you had in these articles was the regurgitation of quotes the journalist received from lobbying groups (like the N.A.R.). Meanwhile there were countless blogs (with people working for free) telling everyone that the insanity was about to end. The blogs kicked the newspapers' asses on that one, and the inevitable decline of the real estate market and what happened to Wall Street and the American economy in its aftermath was the biggest story of the past 6-7 years.

For reasons that I still can't figure out, I did a Communications minor at BYU and the two things I learned from the classes were : a) I could get better grades in them then almost all of the rest of the students who were actually majoring in Journalism, Advertising, PR, etc.; and b) All they learned about was media itself in its different forms, and I had no clue how these people would ever be qualified to report on economic, scientific, legal, political or foreign affairs. Not surprisingly, their vacuum of knowledge on the topics they're reporting on is filled in by their personal biases and interested parties trying to influence the reporting.

There are, of course, some excellent journalists out there who either have professional experience in the field they're reporting on (e.g. Gretchen Morgenson at the NY Times) or they're just fair journalists that root out stories (e.g. Bob Woodward and Jake Tapper). These types will always have great careers regardless of what happens to newspapers. The people that just unquestionably reprint what lobbyist/political operatives want them to print are the ones that will lose their careers in the upheaval.

[splitbamboo]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...f4d_story.html

Amazon to save newspapers??

[YOhio]

The purchase prices on the Boston Globe and Washington Post have surprised me. Not that the respective prices of $70M and $250M are small sums, but they seem absurdly low for what I've always thought of as American institutions. Funny to think that the Sacramento Kings, one of the least storied and notable franchises in the NBA, are worth twice as much as the Washington Post.

[Uncle Ted]

The purchase prices on the Boston Globe and Washington Post have surprised me. Not that the respective prices of $70M and $250M are small sums, but they seem absurdly low for what I've always thought of as American institutions. Funny to think that the Sacramento Kings, one of the least storied and notable franchises in the NBA, are worth twice as much as the Washington Post.

I am not surprised. I use to subscribe to newspapers but these days I get all my "fair and balanced" news from the quality articles that people post on CS. And of course Jimmer's team is worth more than the Post.

[SeattleUte]

The purchase prices on the Boston Globe and Washington Post have surprised me. Not that the respective prices of $70M and $250M are small sums, but they seem absurdly low for what I've always thought of as American institutions. Funny to think that the Sacramento Kings, one of the least storied and notable franchises in the NBA, are worth twice as much as the Washington Post.

Everything is fluid.

[il Padrino Ute]

The purchase prices on the Boston Globe and Washington Post have surprised me. Not that the respective prices of $70M and $250M are small sums, but they seem absurdly low for what I've always thought of as American institutions. Funny to think that the Sacramento Kings, one of the least storied and notable franchises in the NBA, are worth twice as much as the Washington Post.

It doesn't surprise me. It's been 40+ years since Watergate and the Washington Post has done nothing since then but become a echo chamber for liberal talking points.

[YOhio]

It doesn't surprise me. It's been 40+ years since Watergate and the Washington Post has done nothing since then but become a echo chamber for liberal talking points.

In 2008 the Washington Post won a Pulitzer for exposing mistreatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed hospital which resulted in much-needed reforms. Sad that you don't think that's a valuable contribution.