Watching the Market Decide my Future
One of the things affecting the newspaper industry right now is the current sale of Knight-Ridder, which owns 32 newspapers including two huge ones in the Bay. The sale will inexorably change the perception of the newspaper business. If K-R commands a good price everyone will say that, despite doomsday predictions, old media is still thriving because compaies have proven willing to throw tons of money at it. If the bids are low, it will prove that newspapers are in a death spiral. It's probably a good sign that at least two of the bids come from newspaper companies. They'll have plenty of motive to pump up the stock price.
A lot has been written about this sale, including this:
I'm glad someone connected with Wall Street has finally said that, although I'm not particularly optimistic that sentiment will catch on. It's intuitive though, that newspapers that produce quality content will grow and be profitable. No one has ever explained to me why that doesn't work. Recovery will be process though. Newspapers need to figure out a way to make delivering the news through the Internet profitable. And if I had an idea how, I certainly wouldn't post it here, but rather work with Jeff'y to invent and patent it. One more thing to remember, the newspaper industry as a whole reported an average profit margin of 19 percent last year. That's huge. Plus we have a pretty attractive readership profile. At least for now.
As for the effect on Northern California. Of the three media companies involved, McClatchy has the best reputation, and therefore the most likely to start hiring. The other two, Media News and Gannett (who submitting a joint proposal) are known for "trimming the fat" and playing hardball with unions. All of them already have a presence in this region, so it's difficult to know if they would shutter papers or just consolidate certain parts of their operations. Last year, KR's two Bay Area papers consolidated their coverage of the area's pro and major college sports teams. My sense is that this won't create writing jobs in the area. But who knows. Everything could change.
A lot has been written about this sale, including this:
But cuts carry risks. Knight Ridder, which owns 32 daily newspapers, has ''cut the quality of the newspapers to help prop up margins, which we think is not a good long-term solution," Lehman Bros. wrote.
I'm glad someone connected with Wall Street has finally said that, although I'm not particularly optimistic that sentiment will catch on. It's intuitive though, that newspapers that produce quality content will grow and be profitable. No one has ever explained to me why that doesn't work. Recovery will be process though. Newspapers need to figure out a way to make delivering the news through the Internet profitable. And if I had an idea how, I certainly wouldn't post it here, but rather work with Jeff'y to invent and patent it. One more thing to remember, the newspaper industry as a whole reported an average profit margin of 19 percent last year. That's huge. Plus we have a pretty attractive readership profile. At least for now.
As for the effect on Northern California. Of the three media companies involved, McClatchy has the best reputation, and therefore the most likely to start hiring. The other two, Media News and Gannett (who submitting a joint proposal) are known for "trimming the fat" and playing hardball with unions. All of them already have a presence in this region, so it's difficult to know if they would shutter papers or just consolidate certain parts of their operations. Last year, KR's two Bay Area papers consolidated their coverage of the area's pro and major college sports teams. My sense is that this won't create writing jobs in the area. But who knows. Everything could change.
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