Another paper bites the dust.

jstuedle · Jul 17, 2007

I just read an announcement that the minor paper in the neighboring city is closing up shop the end of this year. I live about 50 miles outside of Cincinnati and the Cincy Post and Kentucky Post are closing up shop Dec 31. These papers were the afternoon edition and not as popular as the morning paper, the Cincinnati Enquirer. Anyway, not that many of you will be interested, but it's one less outlet for regional freelancers to take there work. Not to mention 52 newsroom employees that are out of a job. The Enquirers base is also slipping as are most papers in medium to larger markets. If this keeps up, I'll have to find an alternative way of lining my birds cages.

craig · Jul 18, 2007

I think they saw it coming, but I am not sure. None the less Dec 31 will be a sad day. Especially because (at least) the Cincinatti Post has been publishing since 1881. I am a newspaper man so it pains me when another publication goes down. These days more then ever it is sink or swim. Photography and the media in general is in a very uncomfortable period right now.

Love & Bass

Steve Wynn · Jul 19, 2007

You can see it coming a lot of places. I want to see down the middle reporting and not leaning left or right. Let me make up my mind about things. When you pay for info from the paper, you can't turn it off like the radio or TV. But you can cancel it.

Steve

Chronicle · Jul 19, 2007

The i-phone has a pdf reader. Newspapers are already out of business, they just don't know it yet. I think most medium sized papers will go under. Small papers may find a niche in catering to specific communities. Papers like the New York Times can parlay their brand into the digital space and remain frontrunners. The interesting thing will be seeing how the second tier of papers makes the transition. Papers like the Denver Post will need to be very careful how they format their offerings. The New York Times sends its paper out as pdf files to the printers, it would save them a ton of money to stop printing on paper and just sell their subscribers that same pdf.

smyth · Jul 19, 2007

Chronicle said:
The New York Times sends its paper out as pdf files to the printersquote]

There are a lot of papers that do the same... from my knowledge, a lot of papers use indesign, and send it to print via PDF.

craig · Jul 19, 2007

Papers will always be around. It is their position in media that is changing. People no longer look at the front page of the Times to read about the war in Iraq. They go online. Rags will have to realize local and national news. They will have to provide content that is not yet on the web.

Also note that people (wether they know it or not) are in love with good page design. Generally speaking the web does not provide that. Furthermore I think that the average joe will always need a paper at some point during the day. I mean who wants to look at a computer during their morning coffee. Maybe I am just getting old.

Papers and print are only faltering because the media is being controlled by fewer and fewer companies. These companies feel the need to trim the fat so to speak.

Love & Bass

smyth · Jul 20, 2007

craig said:
Also note that people (wether they know it or not) are in love with good page design. Generally speaking the web does not provide that. Furthermore I think that the average joe will always need a paper at some point during the day. I mean who wants to look at a computer during their morning coffee. Maybe I am just getting old.

the media is being controlled by fewer and fewer companies.

Agreed. I don't want to eat breakfast with my laptop in front of me. Not to mention it's a lot faster to skim through the paper than to skim through the web site.

As far as the media being owned by fewer companies... I agree... all the newpapers in the province I live in are owned by one company, the Irvings.