E&P: 'How Did Newspapers Get in This Pickle?'

[Oeditpus Rex]

Then came an era of cheap credit, and chains began to think that if they got big enough the "synergies" would drive down costs and drive up revenue. Chains began to make multiple billion dollar deals. And not just Tribune, which bought Times Mirror, the publisher of the Los Angeles, or Gannett, which was expanding. Even once modest chains began to make blockbuster deals. McClatchy bought all of Knight Ridder getting trophy papers like the Miami Herald. Lee Enterprises, in sleepy Davenport, Iowa, took over Pulitzer, the most famous name in newspapers.

With debt. Lots of debt.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/newspaperbeat_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003952561

[Kat45]

1. Very interesting article.

Thanks for posting it.

[Chemical Bill]

2. To me, it was the lies. n/t

[DCKit]

5. Agreed. I'm ashamed I ever held the NYT or WaPo in high esteem.

The Enquirer has more credibility.

[burythehatchet]

3. Sadly, the Washington Post is stil in business.

[gratuitous]

4. They stopped publishing for their communities

And published solely for the benefit of their big advertisers. There's more to it than that, but that's one of the big reasons.