“You want to move your business and your model to the place on the media chessboard where the dollars are going to be going” — the TV money that will follow audiences to streaming.
A new round of consolidation could kill off half of what were the major U.S. newspaper chains just a few months ago. But the possibility of platform cash is sparking hope.
By gutting local advertising overnight, COVID-19 has accelerated strategies — like cutting print days, corporate consolidation, or even closing down offices — that publishers had hoped could wait a while longer.
The coronavirus pandemic is proving the value of local news to millions of readers, driving up subscriptions. But the advertising collapse is knee-buckling. “If it’s a couple of months, we’ll make it through. If it’s six months, all bets are off.”
The multi-trillion-dollar CARES Act should extend a lifeline to many small local publishers. But for bigger companies and chains, the help they’ll receive is still up in the air — “It’s very unformed.”
It’s generated controversy over its fundraising, its paywall, and its staffing. But it’s also about as close as a major American city has gotten to a digital news site that can go toe-to-toe with the local daily newspaper.
Will Chatham Asset Management, the hedge fund set to gain control of the company, want to operate it after bankruptcy? Or will it look to cash out via merger as quickly as possible?
Doctor, Ken. "Newsonomics: This is how the 5 biggest newspaper chains could become 2 — and it all comes down to one day, June 30, 2020." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 6 Dec. 2019. Web. 19 Nov. 2024.
APA
Doctor, K. (2019, Dec. 6). Newsonomics: This is how the 5 biggest newspaper chains could become 2 — and it all comes down to one day, June 30, 2020. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/12/newsonomics-this-is-how-the-5-biggest-newspaper-chains-could-become-2-and-it-all-comes-down-to-one-day-june-30-2020/
Chicago
Doctor, Ken. "Newsonomics: This is how the 5 biggest newspaper chains could become 2 — and it all comes down to one day, June 30, 2020." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified December 6, 2019. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/12/newsonomics-this-is-how-the-5-biggest-newspaper-chains-could-become-2-and-it-all-comes-down-to-one-day-june-30-2020/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/12/newsonomics-this-is-how-the-5-biggest-newspaper-chains-could-become-2-and-it-all-comes-down-to-one-day-june-30-2020/
| title = Newsonomics: This is how the 5 biggest newspaper chains could become 2 — and it all comes down to one day, June 30, 2020
| last = Doctor
| first = Ken
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 6 December 2019
| accessdate = 19 November 2024
| ref = {{harvid|Doctor|2019}}
}}
