The apocalypse is upon us. It’s time to run around like headless chickens. And yes, newspapers are dying a faster, albeit painful death. While some people in the industry have been writing eulogies to newspapers, others think physical newspapers aren’t dying off – they’re evolving. Really?
When Michael Crichton, in a 1993 issue of Wired Magazine, said print would become obsolete, journalists sniggered in a corner and said he was on to his sci-fi fiction. Now look who’s sniggering? Advertising revenue in US newspapers in 2007 dropped 9.4 per cent, the sharpest decline since the Newspaper Association of America began measuring ad revenues in 1950. Are we still going to live in denial?
In July, the New York Times reported that its earnings were declining. Then came the news that it was hiking the newsstands price by 25 cents. I’m sorry, I know I sound like one of the fist-shaking and bellicose advocates for the Internet, but it really is time to wake up, smell the roses and go online.
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