It's been a while since I actually looked at the print edition of the New York Times (I read it online), so I don't know how long this has been going on, but today's print edition contains a huge, banner ad right across the bottom of the front page. My, how the mighty are brought low. It's been a couple of years since the Times got physically smaller, and now they're taking up some of the reduced space on the front page with a big ad.
I can't say that I really blame them. They have to survive, and they've been hit with the double whammy of the economic crisis coming on top of the crash in newspaper revenues. But what can anyone do? The fundamental problem is that people won't pay for what they can get free online. Even I, who love newspapers generally and the NY Times particularly, don't subscribe to the print edition.
Maybe it's time for them to reorganize as a nonprofit and ask for donations. I wouldn't pay to subscribe to the Times, but if the paper made a public radio-like appeal and said, "Send us $100 donation or we'll go under!" I might respond to that.
1 comment:
The Washington Post has been shrinking dramatically lately. It's depressing.
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