[CT]

Pity, isn't it?

[mdittmar]

Yet again, major metro papers are bearing the brunt of the responsibility for the declines.

Ha!

[FormerACLUmember]

I am saving a bottle of Dom Perignon for the day the NY Times closes down.

[NativeNewYorker]

The decline of a sunset industry.

[cowtowney]

The Pro-Abortion Dallas Morning News down 5%. Pity.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-abortion_24edi.ART.State.Edition1.4286e68.html

[stockpirate]

I would think enviro-wacko’s would want the printed media to stop making newspapers in order to save trees.

[Brad from Tennessee]

[Furthermore, the Newspapers Association of America released record-breaking online newspaper readership figures on Monday. During Q1, newspaper Web site traffic rose 5.3%, hitting an all-time high.]

This does not count for much now because newspaper websites don’t earn the advertising revenues that print does and won’t support the huge news staffs big city papers have always employed. The industry is scrambling to find a formula whereby they can generate the same money on-line as they did in print. This is going to usher in more, not less, newspapers on-line. I think what will happen is papers like the New York Times will shrink in size and power to the point where many entrepreneurs who could never afford to build a newspaper plant will be able to compete on-line. They will have to create a news and advertising staff but they won’t have to buy a printing press and other costly production equipment or fleets of trucks for circulation.

I believe the internet is the greatest event in mass communication since the invention of movable type.

[ken21]

you keep calling them the “dino” media,

but they’re still alive, too alive imo,

they helped elect a democrap u.s. congress in 2006

and, they’ll help elect a democrap president in 2008.

[sarasmom]

The pity is the print media devolved to the point of tendering juvenile “creative writing” opinion pieces, instead of true and factual reports.
They ruined their own industry.
People didn’t buy newspapers for the primary purpose of reading the terrific new advertising campaign of another industry.
People bought newspapers as a trusted source, to keep current with factual reporting of local and national news and interesting international news and current events.... The owners of print media killed themselves long ago when they all lost their minds, and convinced themselves that their information seeking customers really wanted to buy advertisements and coupons, not simple "boring facts" researched and written by an impartial reporter. Only their laid off advertising departments will mourn their passing. The actual reporters left long ago.

[advertising guy]

they would all die tomorrow if every new car dealer did not buy ad space.

[Albion Wilde]

The Philadelphia Inquirer has said it is up 0.6% to about 352,600 in daily circulation.

Recently hired a conservative editor.

[Copernicus]

What is unclear to me, if all these papers underperform so badly where is the hostile takeover crowd?

It seems people like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter et.al. could form a consortium and turn the circulation numbers around immediately just by remixing the staff with fresh blood.

I'd buy shares in that venture.

Best regards,

[randog]

Newspapers are like nightly news—their customers are the elderly, those that grew up getting news from print and broadcast TV. That group isn’t going to get any larger. Newspapers can measure their loss in circulation by reading their own obituaries.

[4Liberty]

Thanks to public schools today nobody can read.

[william clark]

Last night during bible study, the host received a phone call solicting the LA Times. He just said “not interested” and hung up. The leader of the study mentioned that he’d gotten a similar call recently and responded, “No, thanks. I don’t have a bird.”

I can’t truthfully use the same line, but I thought it was great.