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Two newspapers are just given away at bus shelters. "Metro" and "24 Hours" These are international news chains and they combine local news with wire stuff and lots of entertainment reporting. They compete with the local Sun Media for a lot of content, and even share photos of local stories with them. I make it a point not to read newspapers. I'm even off "The Economist", (which is a newspaper, not a magazine), becuse its editorial position on Western foreign policy became unbelievably inept. When I can call stuff better than the editors of a venerable newspaper, it's time to give them up. The offer me nothing but ads. But I'm not buying.

Last edited by Ribtorus (2009-03-21 7:00 am)

Ad revenue (a happy accidental mariage of history) is decoupling from print. Ask the search G-men.

Aside from the fact that a large press (and labor), buying newsprint (killing trees; non-green) and distribution are now highly cost-ineffiecient today.

We are entering an interregnum where the old way is failing fast, and a full replacement has yet to be invented.

Ribtorus wrote:

"Metro" claims to be the largest international newspaper, citing the Guinness Book of Records. I believe it's Sweden based and is probably losing money.

http://www.metro.lu/

"24 Hours" is indeed Sun Media.

Their business model must involve partnerships with local newspapers, because I know I've seen Toronto Star material in there.

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Ribtorus wrote:

"Metro" claims to be the largest international newspaper, citing the Guinness Book of Records. I believe it's Sweden based and is probably losing money.

http://www.metro.lu/

"24 Hours" is indeed Sun Media.

Their business model must involve partnerships with local newspapers, because I know I've seen Toronto Star material in there.

It does.  We have in Philadelphia as well with local news.

The NYTeast:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massac … om_unions/

I've been waiting for this kind of thing.

Here, in one package is:

The media 'conglomorate' model blown up.
The demise of news-papers.
The economy's downslide and ad revenue.
Attack on unionized labor.

Plus, iirc, the Globe owns about 20% of the Red Sox. So, there may be ramifications in sports/entertainment.

The NYTsouth here had this about a month ago:

Star-News to outsource printing, lay off staff

By Chris Mazzolini
Staff Writer

Published: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 7:17 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 5:43 p.m.
The Star-News will stop printing its own newspaper early this summer, the publisher announced Thursday.

Outsourcing printing (and the assumed union labor).

The model is untenable anymore.

Last edited by daemon (2009-04-04 6:16 am)

Captains of the industry flailing for answers and a solution.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/ … -hissy-fit

As for digital aggregator(s):
http://daggle.com/090406-225638.html
h/t daring fireball

Like the saying goes, "Information wants to be free." (in the sense of digital movement, not monetary cost.)

Last edited by daemon (2009-04-09 5:28 pm)

CBC, BBC, Izvestia or Pravda?

edit

I think in 5-10 years, there'll be USA Today and ? left.

Last edited by daemon (2009-04-09 4:23 pm)

What about funding conservative media? Will that be a hard sell as well?

The latest meme floating around is that free online content is what killed newspapers.

Even though every attempt at making people pay for content has been a disaster.

Ribtorus wrote:

Two newspapers are just given away at bus shelters. "Metro" and "24 Hours" These are international news chains and they combine local news with wire stuff and lots of entertainment reporting. They compete with the local Sun Media for a lot of content, and even share photos of local stories with them. I make it a point not to read newspapers. I'm even off "The Economist", (which is a newspaper, not a magazine), becuse its editorial position on Western foreign policy became unbelievably inept. When I can call stuff better than the editors of a venerable newspaper, it's time to give them up. The offer me nothing but ads. But I'm not buying.

Regarding the Economist, its not just Western foreign policy, but American politics as well.  Its as if the WSJ OpEd board has taken over.  I find it pretty amusing, as well as their reasoned articles on economic policy that end with "but let the robber barons do what they want" in contradiction of the article's contents. 

Such as http://www.economist.com/opinion/displa … d=13492459  ""Meanwhile, the politicians should stop changing the rules about pay and bonuses."  E.g. ignore then fundamental flaw of misaligned incentives, let the bankers get back to risking the system to make more money.

WEYMOUTH - The Boston Globe's largest union reached a tentative deal with the New York Times Co. shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, agreeing to a substantial pay cut, unpaid furloughs, and modifications to the lifetime job guarantee provisions that protect almost 200 employees in the Boston Newspaper Guild, according to sources familiar with the deal.

With the agreement, the guild, representing more than 600 editorial, advertising, and business office employees, became the last of the newspaper's major unions to agree to concessions with the Times Co. The Globe's parent company now has the $20 million in concessions that it demanded a month ago. And perhaps more importantly, the Times Co. succeeded in changing the job guarantee language, which was widely considered a roadblock to any potential sale of New England's largest newspaper.

Along with two unions ratifying, there's this info which I've been curious about:

The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, is trying to sell its 17.5 percent stake in the Red Sox. According to published reports, the Times Co. believes its stake is worth $200 million, which would value the team at $1.1 billion.

Here's the union story:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles … contracts/

Members of two of The Boston Globe's major unions last night narrowly ratified contracts that will cut their pay and benefits by more than $7 million, bringing the Globe's owner closer to achieving the savings it says it needs to keep operating the paper.

Last edited by daemon (2009-05-27 6:40 am)