And Now Let Us Gasp In Astonishment At What Just Happened To The Newspaper Business

Business Insider ^ | 9/15/12 | Henry Blodget

[DManA]

Below, via Mark J. Perry and Bill Gross, is a chart we've run before. It shows inflation-adjusted newspaper advertising revenue over the past 60 years.

Thanks to the precipitous decline in the last ~7 years, the industry is now back to where we it was in 1950. And it's only slightly better off when you factor in online revenue.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/newspaper-advertising-collapse-2012-9#ixzz26jSCZVzI

[DManA]

I wonder of Barry has promised a big subsidy to "save" the newspaper industry. It would explain their 24/7 campaign to reelect the President.

[BilLies]

I believe the subsidy will come in a form of a tax on the INTERNET, a tax that will be subject to state and local sales taxes so that all levels of government can put their hands in your money pocket.

[freedumb2003]

Too beautiful not to share:

[MrEdd]

ping.

[MrEdd]

This is like gasping in astonishment at the moon rising, or at rain falling.
Their product is irretrievably obsolete.

[Larry Lucido]

Seems like the bi-blog does a lot of “gasping.”. Working there must be a trip.

[null and void]

Is it just me, or does the cliff coincide with Obama’s election?

[virgil]

Liberals can’t resist a tax and then add more tax on the tax. I predict the newspapers will be back.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I don’t think it is.
The print edition is dead.

If the newspaper owners could figure out how to market their product electronically, they would be fine.

[LoveUSA]

Our Harrisburg paper just announced that it will reduce its distribution from 7 days a week to 3 days a week starting January 2013.

The question is, will scarcity increase demand or will less people read it because they'll become accustomed to going online for obituaries and police reports.

Of course, grocery store coupons will keep the Sunday paper in play.

[The Sons of Liberty]

Funny. The day that the Atlanta Journal Constitution endorsed "Barry" and decided he was the answer (must've been a REALLY stupid question!) back in '08 was the day I decided that I had had more than enough and canceled my subscription.

[jimfree]

The cliff actually coincides with W’s two elections. Is there a pubbie conspiracy here?

[Smokin' Joe]

wat U Xpect whn U spend $$$ N yrs 2 mAk pEpl literate N get txtglish?

[Dead Corpse]

Between the Internet and the Leftward political agitprop being spewed by most "major" papers?

This surprises me not at all...

[Navy Patriot]

Well, this made my day.

[rstrahan]

Nope. Just the advent of the growth of alternative news sources (Internet, etc) and a realization that the newspapers just mimic each other.

[cranked]

I could have wrote and summed this all up into a few words: Survival of the fittest. =.=

[OldPossum]

Just curious. Did you not know the paper’s political orientation before the editors endorsed Barack?

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

—— Too beautiful not to share: ——

Lovely. Thank you.

Now to finish the job...

[CMAC51]

Is it just me, or does the cliff coincide with Obama’s election?

The campaign of 2008 accelerated an inevitable decline. When the print media failed to examine any details on Obama, it drove the inquiring mind to alternative sources to answer even basic questions. This empowered alternative news sources, most of which were online.

The transition would have occurred anyway, but because of their own behaviour, the print media created a cliff where a slope would have been.