The traditional newspaper business is under pressure. With the rise of Internet, an increasing number of TV channels and more communication facilities people has more choice where to get information. The early erosion was in the 2 bread-and-butter revenue streams: advertisements to buy and sell stuff (now taken over by the likes of Ebay and Marktplaats and Craigslist) and advertisements for personell (Monsterboard and other job-boards). The trend hass accelerated now that other advertisement spending is dropping.
Some people are asking for a bail-out, Sarkozy floats plans for mandatory “free” newspapers for youngsters.
In my opinion, all these measures are looking backwards, trying to shore up an old business model against the tide.
Luckily there are others who look forward: the NY Times has released an API to search through their database. Om Malik has an excellent article on the potential of this new approach.
In my opinion the NY Times gets it: connect and share is the name of the game .
