fried_clams t1_iy039yn wrote on November 27, 2022 at 7:05 PM

Reply to comment by bigbrothersrule in Fit to Print (2017) - Documentary that tells the history of how Wall Street greed and lack of foresight lead to the decimation of the newspaper industry and tens of thousands reporters losing their jobs and the eventual erosion of a vital way to hold power accountable. [01:33:47] by thenewsisreal

My newspaperman father used to call all of the mergers and buyouts the "mating sounds of dinosaurs", meaning that they were going extinct. The most important factor in the decline of newspapers was the loss of readers, not subscription and newsstand revenues. They couldn't attract enough advertising revenue after a critical mass number of eyeballs moved to the Web. Newspapers kept enough advertisers, and survived the onset of radio and then TV because they offered more detailed, comprehensive and local news. They kept there circulation and ad dollars.

It is interesting that for all their history, newspapers were joined at the hip with advertising. We all just assumed that they would always stay together.