Massachusetts Bill Set to Subsidize Newspaper Subscriptions

It may have civic value, but you still have to figure out a business model. Just saying there is some value to the institution doesn't solve its problems. Constantly complaining about "corporate ownership" in whatever form doesn't do anything. Newspapers were owned by corporations for centuries.

 

He makes the point many of us have made here repeatedly: You can’t force people to eat their vegetables.

It’s hard to say if local news coverage is less popular or valued than it used to be in healthier days for newspapers, because other “goodies” like hearty sports sections, comics, entertainment coverage and (hate to say this) tons of advertising drew readers into the paper. Maybe those goodies got readers to eat a few more veggies of local news coverage.

 

They've never eaten their vegetables. That hasn't changed.

That's why subscriptions alone were never enough to cover the cost of producing a general-interest news product. You had to sell advertising as well.

And it's why we need a new business model.

 

Yes. Subscriptions alone, or even great local news coverage, hasn’t carried smaller newspapers who’ve gone online only, either.

Remember the Seattle Post-Intelligencer? It ditched the print edition during the 2008-09 recession, vowing to continue its vigorous coverage of the Puget Sound region. It’s a hollow shell of its former self now.

 

BuzzFeed News’ business model turned to dust because they were always at the whim of mercurial tech titans | James Hennessy

 

Vice Media cancels its flagship 'Vice News Tonight' program as it makes 'painful' layoffs and restructures the company | CNN Business