It's Time for Newspapers to 'Grow a Pair'

(NEWSER) - In the avalanche of reporting and commentary on the collapse of the newspaper business, a number of salient, none-too-flattering facts have been overlooked about how newspapers contributed to their own demise, Bill Wyman writes on Splice. First, there's the misunderstanding that readers pay for news. It's advertisers who pay, and in the boom years, rich profits from that advertising were devoted to pleasing Wall Street, not preparing for inevitable threats to the papers' monopoly in delivering those ads. More»

Collusion could avert disaster—but it won't happen

(NEWSER) - The newspaper industry is in dire straits, and to fix it, its bosses must “hold hands and jump off the following cliffs together,” writes David Carr in the New York Times. First, end free web access; it will drive away some readers, but they're not paying for quality reporting anyway. Second, aggregators like Google and Newser shouldn’t get a “free ride”—though that could mean angering the search king. More»

Real estate a major factor in sale of 71 papers last year

(NEWSER) - Despite plunging revenue and circulation figures, plenty of people in America are still buying daily newspapers—lock, stock, and valuable headquarters. Some 71 daily papers were sold last year, and while some investors see buying a paper as a civic duty, others view it as a way to turn a quick profit, especially since newspapers tend to own large buildings in prime downtown locations, the New York Times finds. More»

At $200M, purchase not about investing

(NEWSER) - Warren Buffett makes news for his multi-billion-dollar investments, not a piddly $200 million—but Buffett surprised many people when he announced yesterday he was spending that to buy his hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, reports Bloomberg . The billionaire slammed the newspaper industry two years ago, saying it had the "potential for unending losses," and that he would never buy one "at any price." But now Buffett seems to have changed his tune: “I wouldn't do this if I thought this was doomed to some sort of extinction,” he said, according to the Omaha World-Herald . More»

Most won't have to pay, paper says

(NEWSER) - The New York Times’ long-expected paywall is due next month, and details are starting to leak out about the plan. Everyone will have limited free access to the site, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , but once users reach that limit, they'll have to pony up. Users can buy either a subscription to just the site, or a digital bundle that also includes the Times’ iPad app. Subscribers to the physical paper will have full access to the website. More»