Papers Can't Ask for Bailout, Seek Rule Change Instead

Customers line up to nab front pages covering historic day

(NEWSER) - The newspaper industry might be in its death throes, but it briefly jolted to life this morning as long lines of people waited at newsstands for souvenir copies of front pages that hailed the inauguration of America’s first black president, the AP reports. In Washington, some editions of the Post and Times, ideological rivals, ran identical headlines: “Obama Takes Charge.” More»

Move will avoid layoffs in newsrooms: company

(NEWSER) - America's largest newspaper publisher will require most of its 31,000 employees to take an unpaid week off this quarter, the New York Times reports. Gannett owns 85 newspapers in the US—including USA Today—that, like much of the industry, are under serious financial duress. The company says the move could prevent future layoffs. Union workers can't legally be made to take off, but they are being asked to comply. More»

Decline one of the biggest ever

(NEWSER) - Daily newspaper circulation has taken a massive 10.6% drop over the past six months, the Audit Bureau of Circulations said today, while Sunday circulation fell 7.4%. The drop, one of the worst ever, is a potent sign of the industry’s decline, Editor & Publisher reports. Things were especially bad at the USA Today, where circulation is down 17%, knocking the once-top-ranked newspaper down below the Wall Street Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - Who says journalism is dead? Sure, newspapers are slashing newsroom staff and shutting down bureaus, Simon Dumenco writes in Advertising Age, but there’s still one booming sector: hate. “Everything is a hate beat these days, because everybody is consumed with hating on everybody else.” And you can specialize:

• Reality hate: Reality TV stars are hard to tell apart, Dumenco writes. "The only way to do that is to tally and re-tally their most despicable qualities, their vilest actions, so news consumers can properly parse the reality-star spectrum based on varying levels of hateability."

Corporate interests, internet advertising crippling industry

(NEWSER) - The media's troubles mean that "this country is in trouble," writes Dan Rather, and no academic study or think-tank report is going to save the industry. We need no less than a “nonpartisan, blue-ribbon” presidential commission “to address the perilous state of America’s news media,” and make recommendations as to how to fix it, he suggests in a Washington Post op-ed. More»