[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Star Tribune Files Bankruptcy

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Star Tribune Files Bankruptcy
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1232119540.shtml


   Words like "overdue" and "deserved" and "predictable" will no doubt
   appear in various blog accounts. As we all knew, the Minneapolis Star
   Tribune will continue operating after yesterday's bankruptcy filing.
   There will be some pain for its employees in the form of layoffs, wage
   freezes, benefits cuts, and so on. Supplies will be cash in advance
   for a while.
   Is the newspaper business going the way of passenger rail service? Is
   the medium truly the message? In a word, yes. There will be printed
   tabloids, like the local Sun weeklies and the City Pages, though even
   their business models are far from lucrative. But the days, even the
   idea of a major metropolitan daily are fading. The alternatives
   (competition) is gaining ground (market share) every year. For
   classified advertising, the cash cow, the war is all but over.
   Could a newspaper like the Star Tribune recover? I don't think so.
   Yes, there and quality problems to address, the overt bias to be sure,
   but also the poor writing. Today's Associated Press account of the US
   Air jet ditched in the Hudson River is a case in point. No editor
   should let this novella reach his front page intact.
   But even if the quality improves, too many have simply lost the
   newspaper habit, for whatever the reason. The newspaper of the future
   has to create some new habits, and be a bit more realistic about its
   niche. And, it clearly has to cut some costs.
   I'd do two things immediately. One, I'd adopt the Lileks model, that
   the local news is the A section. On national or world news, what paper
   can hope to compete with TV? Two, I'd eliminate the Saturday paper.
   Make the Friday paper the "weekend edition" with all the playdates,
   reviews, etc, which still works in print, especially when page one is
   local. Besides, the early Sunday edition is out by noon on Saturday
   even now and the Saturday morning paper has the lowest circulation of
   the week.
   In fact, I think I'll send them that idea.