Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Newspaper Industry Is Officially Dead; Major Convention Canceled

According to the Associated Press, the American Society of Newspaper Editors has canceled their annual convention for the first time since World War II.

Their decision to skip this year's convention coincided with the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News - the largest daily U.S. newspaper to shut down so far during a steep two-year slide in advertising revenue that's draining the life out of the industry.

If it hadn't been canceled, this year's convention — scheduled from April 26-29 in Chicago — probably would have attracted a sparse crowd because so many newspapers are pinching pennies to ease their financial pain.

Newspaper staffs have been gutted, stock dividends have been suspended and, in the most extreme circumstances, bankruptcy petitions have been filed as more readers get their news for free from the Internet and advertisers curtail their spending on the print medium amid the recession.

This is a very clear sign that within the next 3-5 years or less, 90% of all newspapers will be non-existent. I think the only survivors will be major newspapers such as the Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times, etc.

Next year this time, many magazines will likely be going through the same thing.

3 comments:

  1. Majored in journalism but never got into the industry...THANK GOD!

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  2. As the Editor of a Christian monthly and also a former daily newspaper reporter, I am saddened by these trends.

    Recently, my former employer went from more than 300 employees to just about 50 in one fell swoop. I'd already been gone for years, but the news was still painful. We're seeing the negative impact of the economy on our monthly publication, too. Our primary purpose is to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for that reason we do believe that God will support us during these rough economic times. To that end, He has given us ideas for new and innovative programs that would enhance what we can offer to our advertisers, broaden our reach, and build strong partnerships to grow our business and ministry.

    I agree with Ty. Thank God He moved me before this all went down. (Actually, He moved me into communications and PR, and then had me shift gears to the Christian marketplace, working in communications and PR and with this one newspaper.) On the whole, I certainly agree with what you have written, too, Dante. We all really need to continue to pray for God to bring an end to the economic woes we currently face. And He will, in time.

    Your blog is great, Dante! Thanks for all that you do. God bless!

    Genikwa Williams
    www.GenikwaWilliams.com
    www.JordanMediaGroup.org

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  3. Very perceptive and sad to watch the decline of the mainstream media especially in the last 6 months...

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