haha, well, I can relate to the automated answering system when I REALLY want to talk to a live person...
And Craiglist - I'm not in a position to say if it did or didn't take out published newspapers, however, I do remember when rates per word increased for ads, which made a difference. I didn't sell much but placed "Help Wanted" ads... & I remember stories about "be careful when responding to Craiglist ads, take someone w/ you, meet in a safe place, etc, etc. Honestly, I didn't think it was still in operation. I used to be quite active on eBay... but nowadays, I don't buy much of anything. I've downsized so many times, I certainly don't need to replace much.
some positive action for attempts to control the debt for family members of incarcerated people. Taxpayers, tho, shouldn't be held accountable. I'm not implying life in prison should be at all like that in some foreign countries, however, access to tv, etc, should be a bare minimum - people should learn they don't want to go back...
the 2 articles about college - kids in college, parents of college kids - both, imo = off the deep end. QUIT THAT
I used to watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit -
I worked at a newspaper when Knight-Ridder bought it. Interesting that Tony R. said that in 1999, yet the attempts to stave off the digital competitors were tame at best. Such denial that you'd think all newspaper publishers were Egyptian at that time. Ba-dum.
The Kansas City Star, late ‘80s to early aughts, among a couple of other newspapers.
In ‘95 I wasn’t privy to high level, strategic think tanks. Around ‘98 it became apparent that we shouldn’t dismiss digital like it was.
I had a saying when talking to clients leading up to the digital age, they’ve been predicting the demise of newsprint ever since the advent of radio, yet we keep our own. I quickly added how digital though is a different, formidable beast. The biggest misstep was giving away the content for free (and not partnering with aggregators). By the time paywalls came in vogue, it was too late. I’m betting the other media would’ve charged for its content if newspapers led that way initially.
I started at Mumtimedia in the late 70s. Joined USA Today in ‘82 on the initial launch team. Spent 35 years in various roles including GM of two markets.
From my perch in the world newspapers were making 30%+ margins until the housing bubble. That’s about the time enough people had a smart phone to reach a tipping point. Before that it would have been like trying to deliver something with no customers. Strategies were implemented along the way on something that moved incredibly fast when it did move.
Newspapers then looked for cost cuts in print with production and distribution high-priced line items. They also began pushing people away from print when they had not figured out how to monetize content in line. There was still a 15% or better margin even then, just not enough for Wall Street.
Knight-Ridder was one of the first, larger mergers. The beginning of the end and a few years ahead of the hedge funds.
haha, well, I can relate to the automated answering system when I REALLY want to talk to a live person...
And Craiglist - I'm not in a position to say if it did or didn't take out published newspapers, however, I do remember when rates per word increased for ads, which made a difference. I didn't sell much but placed "Help Wanted" ads... & I remember stories about "be careful when responding to Craiglist ads, take someone w/ you, meet in a safe place, etc, etc. Honestly, I didn't think it was still in operation. I used to be quite active on eBay... but nowadays, I don't buy much of anything. I've downsized so many times, I certainly don't need to replace much.
some positive action for attempts to control the debt for family members of incarcerated people. Taxpayers, tho, shouldn't be held accountable. I'm not implying life in prison should be at all like that in some foreign countries, however, access to tv, etc, should be a bare minimum - people should learn they don't want to go back...
the 2 articles about college - kids in college, parents of college kids - both, imo = off the deep end. QUIT THAT
I used to watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit -
saw the info about her about a month ago: https://tribecafilm.com/films/my-mom-jayne-a-film-by-mariska-hargitay-2025
Good stuff for a Friday! Thanks!
Thank you, you make me very happy.😉
All great info for the weekend when the emails slow down enough for catching up on the really good stuff. Thanks Bill.
I worked at a newspaper when Knight-Ridder bought it. Interesting that Tony R. said that in 1999, yet the attempts to stave off the digital competitors were tame at best. Such denial that you'd think all newspaper publishers were Egyptian at that time. Ba-dum.
Which paper? When?
What should newspapers, in your opinion, have done to stave off the digital competition?
The Kansas City Star, late ‘80s to early aughts, among a couple of other newspapers.
In ‘95 I wasn’t privy to high level, strategic think tanks. Around ‘98 it became apparent that we shouldn’t dismiss digital like it was.
I had a saying when talking to clients leading up to the digital age, they’ve been predicting the demise of newsprint ever since the advent of radio, yet we keep our own. I quickly added how digital though is a different, formidable beast. The biggest misstep was giving away the content for free (and not partnering with aggregators). By the time paywalls came in vogue, it was too late. I’m betting the other media would’ve charged for its content if newspapers led that way initially.
I started at Mumtimedia in the late 70s. Joined USA Today in ‘82 on the initial launch team. Spent 35 years in various roles including GM of two markets.
From my perch in the world newspapers were making 30%+ margins until the housing bubble. That’s about the time enough people had a smart phone to reach a tipping point. Before that it would have been like trying to deliver something with no customers. Strategies were implemented along the way on something that moved incredibly fast when it did move.
Newspapers then looked for cost cuts in print with production and distribution high-priced line items. They also began pushing people away from print when they had not figured out how to monetize content in line. There was still a 15% or better margin even then, just not enough for Wall Street.
Knight-Ridder was one of the first, larger mergers. The beginning of the end and a few years ahead of the hedge funds.
That was the big problem when it came to monetizing...the industry was trading dollars for dimes.