The New York Observer Media Mob: Times’ Sulzberger: Newspaper Will Be Around For a Long Time
The item reported in Ha’aretz — the Israeli newspaper — based on an interview with NYT publisher Arthur Sulzberger at Davos, is sparking a clarification.
“So let me clear the air on this issue. It is my heartfelt view that newspapers will be around–in print–for a long time. But I also believe that we must be prepared for that judgment to be wrong. My five-year timeframe is about being ready to support our news, advertising and other critical operations on digital revenue alone …whenever that time comes.”
His comments last week I think were for the benefit of the Times unions…
Also, I suspect that while the Times may be available in print, it may not always be printed by the Times. Outsource…get rid of those pesky “oops, we published your credit card…again” problems, and never have to take a call from the Teamsters union again…let someone else handle the delivery channel.
Communications media technology never really disappears, it just gives up share. Plays are still around even after movies became popular and radio still broadcasts even after TV came on the scene. CD music market share plummets as ipod and music downloads predominate. Newspapers will still be valued, just by fewer people.