Each year there are countless articles written about the demise of print media, but the Washington Post had an article today about Carlo Slim's rescue of Times Co. with a $250 million dollar loan. The company's balance sheet is carrying $1.1 billion dollars in debt and only $46 million in cash. Over 90% of the company's revenue comes from it's new media division, however, that is not a good sign because profits are usually driven by ad campaigns and ad revenues have decreased 14% over the last year. With somber news like this, it really looks like the death of the newspaper industry is imminent.
But according to a New Yorker article, history is repeatng itself because there have always been declines and revivals of the newspaper industry. In the past, when newspapers were dead, there were outcries that the death of the newspaper also meant the death of communication, freedom and liberty. Today, communication takes place on the net, where people are freely expressing their opinions on anything they want. Print media stymies the freedom of expression to a select few, with the internet, anyone can participate. This time around, the death of the newspaper era will less likely incite revolts or outcries.
But according to a New Yorker article, history is repeatng itself because there have always been declines and revivals of the newspaper industry. In the past, when newspapers were dead, there were outcries that the death of the newspaper also meant the death of communication, freedom and liberty. Today, communication takes place on the net, where people are freely expressing their opinions on anything they want. Print media stymies the freedom of expression to a select few, with the internet, anyone can participate. This time around, the death of the newspaper era will less likely incite revolts or outcries.
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