Bad News For Print Is Good News For Digital?

from the it's-worse-than-we-thought dept

While the newspaper biz slides deeper into denial about its future, most everyone else realizes that the handwriting is on the wall. The latest report on declining print circulation -- from the industry's own audit bureau, no less -- indicates that the numbers have gone from bad to worse. E-Media Tidbits contributor Steve Outing suggests that these stats not only bode ill for print media, but also could be a boon for online news. The theory goes that once old media types accept the waning fortunes of print, they'll invest more in digital. That would be nice, but we're not as optimistic. It would have to take a huge change of heart and equally huge swallow of pride for most old-schoolers to shift their priorities. By pouring money into online ventures, they would essentially be admitting that they made major strategic mistakes. Sure, they might eventually try to adapt, but we're betting they'll cling to dated business models until much closer to their demise. These are the guys who still don't know or care about Craig's List.
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