When buying ink by the barrel gets too expensive
While some people might consider running a newspaper a rollicking good time -- I do -- it's a hard-nosed, bottom-line business. In the past year, the Greensboro Patriot closed, the High Point Enterprise pulled its boxes out of Greensboro, laid some people off and shut down ESP, and now the Greater Greensboro Observer is facing financial problems. While it's self-serving for me to say much, I wonder why any one would give it a shot. The success and longevity of the Rhino is rare. And the market is rocky these days, what with the rise of the Internet and the free-fall of classified ads.
All that said, good journalists like to hear lots of different voices telling many different stories, and it's always a downer to have one of them quieted.
Comments (5)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
As the markets dry up it makes it real tough on us freelancers too. I hope all of you start doing better really soon.
Posted on November 9, 2004 8:55 PM
Did you mean for the link on the Rhino to go to the Observer story?
Running a paper is never as easy as it looks, but I like the fact that so many people in Greensboro want to give it a try. Beats writing blogs.
Posted on November 10, 2004 8:59 AM
The Rhino's success is largely due to its niche. It is a favorite of a significant number of conservatives in the city and county who otherwise are not served sufficiently by other publications in the area.
The other publications are in many ways knockoffs of the regular daily paper and so their appeal is diluted from the start. The niche they fill is too small to sustain them.
Posted on November 10, 2004 9:13 PM
Beau -- Starting a crappy, doomed local weekly "beats writing blogs" in what way? More efficient vehicle for flushing money? Cuts down more trees? Retro appeal of printing press technology?
Posted on November 10, 2004 9:51 PM
Ed -- Your blog excepted, of course. And Lex's.
Basically, I made the mistake of spending the day after Election Day scanning blogs, including some of the ones that attract a lot of press. I could actually feel my brain rotting.
There's a benefit to blogs, but there's also a benefit to putting things down on paper. For a paper to survive, it has to build or become a part of some sort of community. Bloggers are too often turning their backs on the very notion of community, uniting readers only in shared snarkiness.
Ironically, I wrote about this on my blog -- I'll e-mail it to you if you like.
Posted on November 12, 2004 12:04 PM