In the last week The New York Times has opted to end its foray into New Jersey hyperlocal news and shifted the business to Baristanet to take from here. Earlier in the week the promising Newslabs exercise of marketed blogs folded after four months.
There are other significant failures littering the digital landscape, but they're eclipsed by the legacy media failures in newspapering at The Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, among a handful of others.
Neither offers much of an object lesson on the direction of their businesses. Their meaning can't be decoded.
The newspaper business endured its worst-ever advertising slump to return to general profitability, even if challenges remain on cost structure and the diffusion of revenue. Learning took place. Presumably adaptation to a stronger digital presence will occur. Thousands of dailies remain.
The digital failures did not suggest anything more than ventures that weren't fully ready for market. Learning took place (in the case of the Times, to find local partners). Presumably adaptation to a stronger business model will occur. Thousands of digital enterprises remain.
There are other significant failures littering the digital landscape, but they're eclipsed by the legacy media failures in newspapering at The Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, among a handful of others.
Neither offers much of an object lesson on the direction of their businesses. Their meaning can't be decoded.
The newspaper business endured its worst-ever advertising slump to return to general profitability, even if challenges remain on cost structure and the diffusion of revenue. Learning took place. Presumably adaptation to a stronger digital presence will occur. Thousands of dailies remain.
The digital failures did not suggest anything more than ventures that weren't fully ready for market. Learning took place (in the case of the Times, to find local partners). Presumably adaptation to a stronger business model will occur. Thousands of digital enterprises remain.
