Vice President for the Business & Media Institute, Dan Gainor, spoke with Gretchen Carlson, host of "America's News HQ," about the decline of media and particularly newspapers.
"The model for media in general is not working. We had a great model for a long time for networks, great model for print, nobody's been able to come up with a way to deal with the internet and make a ton of cash just yet," Gainor said on the Fox News broadcast Dec. 9.
Gainor noted the advertising troubles of print media in particular -- advertising is down 9 percent.
"So you've got newspapers around the country shedding jobs. They predicted 43,000 newspaper jobs lost in the last couple years. That's devastating an industry," Gainor said.
That's forcing the hand of some media companies. The New York Times Co. recently decided to mortgage its own building, borrowing up to $225 million to ease a cash flow problem in 2009, as reported in the paper Dec. 7.
The Times said its credit rating from Standard & Poor's recently dropped to below investment grade with Moody's Investors Service saying it was considering a similar move.
Tribune Co. has been having even worse financial trouble that the Times. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and cut jobs in many print news bureaus.
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Most newspapers today are
December 10, 2008 - 10:45 ET by doug1950Most newspapers today are mullet wrappers and deserve to go down the hopper. Haven't taken a paper in over 30 years due primarily to the contents and the obvious liberal leanings, even in a conservative area the local paper can't help but be a depository for bird droppings.
I am kind of "old
December 10, 2008 - 11:01 ET by SeashellI am kind of "old fashioned". I like getting up in the morning with coffee and newspaper. Fortunately, our local paper is primarily conservative.
I bet other people feel this way about their morning habits but are just so fed up with the crap they are thrown by their papers, they are giving them up. This seems to be the case, and you would think that the CEO's of the papers would rectify or rather offer balance in their papers to get their audience back. If they don't, everyone will be drinking their morning coffee with their computers.
Sad really.
Share the Wealth
December 10, 2008 - 11:26 ET by allanfJournalists are great Obama supporters. Whey don't they implement across the board pay cuts commensurate with advertising declines to "share the wealth" and avoid layoffs?
Screw the news
December 10, 2008 - 12:29 ET by RackieMy local fishwrappers are also a waste of trees. The other shame is the local TV news. It is so simpleminded and irrelevant that it is down right creepy to see adults doing what they do. They should be ashamed. Twits, everyone of them!
Newspapers
December 10, 2008 - 13:05 ET by WR JonasI want to join the chorus of voices who no longer trust the papers. We just cancelled our subscription since it no longer reflects our community or national interests . I could not overlook the bias and aggendized policy of the editorial staff . We no longer watch the MSM news on television since it has become infected by the same disease which I call liberal advocacy . Every viewpoint is perceived from a liberal perspective first. The MSM is plainly nothing more than a propaganda organ for the Democratic Party. I know that fact has been expressed on this weblog many times but the recent election and the corruption of the press is now so evident and complete it is frankly breathtaking . The recent exposure of Governor Blagojeovich has illustrated the scurrying press trying desperately to erase any linkage between the incoming administration and its corrupt Chicago roots. Somehow I had the old fashioned idea that acting on behalf of a political party is not their job.
I hope they will all soon be looking for honest jobs.
I think the MSM
December 10, 2008 - 13:47 ET by ForeverOnTheRightI think the MSM networks and MSM print are in a decline for two reasons, 1.) They are too biased and people are getting sick of the in your face bias and are wanting news, not "video blogs" from the left. 2.) The internet is a competitor that is succeeding because people can find the news they are looking for. And possibly a third phenomena they are going the way of the typewriter, going out of date and being replaced by new technology . Or it could be all of the above. I hope they don't cry for a bailout!
Great observations
December 10, 2008 - 15:02 ET by doug1950I think the newsprint demise is due in large part due to rampant arrogance and an unwillingness to change or offer the balance we are all talking about. Why pay for a paper with all of the worthless garbage that comes with it and their single-mindedness viewpoint when I can get online, get to thousands of news sources for free to form my own opinion. The entertainment media is just as bad as the MSM. Many prime time shows have included their political slants on things and take every opportunity to inject them into the story line. Law and Order is one such show. I used to watch it but it got so obvious they had an agenda. The actor would mouth a couple of lines that read like something right out of the DNC talking points; gun control, abortion, gay rights, etc. No wonder the reality shows are such hits.
Come on Capt. AmeriKa, save them
December 10, 2008 - 18:42 ET by legacyrepublicanWhere is Ted Turner? Can't he save them from their folly.
C'mon Ted, share your wealth with them. They are suffering from bad reporting and lazy fact finding.
They need their cushy jobs where they write the stories ( really opinions ) in advance because they know all the answers before we do.
Put your money where your mouth is! Spread the wealth!