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February 20 2009

Print is Dead

It's been happening for a while, but two things today have now convinced me.  First, I read that the New York Times is eliminating its dividend. This on top of having to borrow $250 million from a Mexican billionaire. The Times is about as big and powerful a newspaper as there is, and if it's having those difficulties, something is seriously, seriously wrong with the industry. Then, I saw a fascinating Charlie Rose interview with Marc Andreesen who said (with that Silicon Valley brashness that can at times be annoying) what few dare say -- "kill the print edition." Hearing someone say it was one of those moments when things click. I think Andreesen is right. The print edition of the newspaper is dead, but we just don't know it yet. I'm not sure about the implications (its death will be painful for workers and disruptive for older people), but it's happening before our eyes.