Maybe the founder of Netscape had it right....Since we talked at least two more newspapers have called for Chapter 11. What do you see as that future of print journalism?
San Francisco Chronicle joins list of troubled newspapers
The San Francisco Chronicle is one the United States' best known and oldest newspapersThe San Francisco Chronicle joined the lengthening list of imperilled newspapers Tuesday as its owner set out to purge the payroll and slash other expenses in a last-ditch effort to reverse years of heavy losses.
If it can't reduce expenses dramatically within the next few weeks, the Hearst Corp said it will close or sell the Chronicle, northern California's largest newspaper with a paid weekday circulation of 339,430.
Hearst didn't specify a savings target nor a deadline for wringing out the expenses. A Hearst spokesman didn't immediately respond to messages Tuesday.
But management made it clear that the cost-cutting will require a significant number of layoffs.
"Our current situation dictates that we accomplish these cost savings quickly," ChroniclePublisher Frank Vega wrote in a memo to the staff. "Business as usual is no longer an option."
The Chronicle has given Hearst financial headaches since the New York-based company bought the newspaper in a complex deal valued at US$660 million. The late 2000 acquisition proved to be ill-timed. Shortly after Hearst took control, the San Francisco Chronicle was hard hit by a high-tech bust that caused its advertising revenue to shrivel.
Also Tuesday, the chief executive of Philadelphia's largest two daily newspapers pledged Tuesday to roll back a US$232,000 raise while his company tries to reorganise in bankruptcy court.
Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which publishes The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday, two-and-a-half years after a group of local investors bought the company for more than US$500 million.
Chief Executive Brian Tierney and other executives have insisted the company, while strangled by debt payments, remains profitable despite falling circulation and revenues. But some lenders balked at that analysis at Tuesday's initial hearing on the bankruptcy petition and questioned decisions being made by Tierney, a former public relations executive.
Meanwhile in New York, Journal Register, publisher of the New Haven Register and other newspapers, won approval to continue paying basic operating costs, including employee salaries and benefits and newspaper delivery contracts. Lawyers representing lenders made no objections.
The Yardley, Pennsylvania-based company sought bankruptcy protection a day before the Philadelphia newspapers' filing and said then that JP Morgan Chase & Co and 26 of the company's 37 lenders had agreed to a reorganisation plan to cancel its stock and become a closely held company controlled by its lenders.
Lawyers for the lenders said they were unaware of any objections from any debt holders to that plan, although they did not say why the remaining lenders had yet to sign on.
Besides Journal Register and the Philadelphia newspapers, Los Angeles Times publisher Tribune Co and owners of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis have made separate Chapter 11 filings for bankruptcy protection amid steep declines in advertising revenue.
I think there will continue to be fewer and fewer printed newspapers as well as fewer reporters in the future. With so many newspapers (online or in print) using the Associated Press or other newspapers for their sources of stories, there will be less of a demand journalists. Also, the Internet is more almost more useful than newspapers in the sense that it lets you get more thorough research (videos, blogs, comments sections) on any topic at any time of day. It’s convenient and, like we discuss in class, we can customize it to cut it down to exactly the information we are interested in. With the younger generations getting used to being able to own their information, they will gravitate less towards the less efficient printed newspaper and choose the Internet as their main news source. When the current newspaper readers (Baby Boomers, mainly?) stops seeking out news in print form (that’s supposed to be a diplomatic way of saying, “dies”…), the demand for print editions will most likely pass along with them, making way for a predominately Internet focused society that doesn't demand to get their news in print each day.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is devastating to know that buisnesses and our economy are at such a low that a newspaper company is going bankrupt. I never realized how much money and time goes into a newspaper.It is a shame that people will lose their jobs, I don't think that online newspapers are a good idea, I will give it that it is more convineint but what about the good old days. Somethings are better left alone, I really hope the newspaper company can figure out a solution .
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