Prediction time -- The Turning Point

[sporting_guista]

Maybe it's been done before, but let's anyway...

I read one of the interviews on SMG where the interviewee quoted a colleague who predicts that a major newspaper in the U.S. will fold in the next five years and will exist only online.

I think that's gutsy and ominous.

So which paper will fold and exist exclusively online? And will this be the turning point for the newspaper business?

 

[SF_Express]

Maybe it's been done before, but let's anyway...

I read one of the interviews on SMG where the interviewee quoted a colleague who predicts that a major newspaper in the U.S. will fold in the next five years and will exist only online.

I think that's gutsy and ominous.

So which paper will fold and exist exclusively online? And will this be the turning point for the newspaper business?

In a recent radio interview I read about online, Bill O'Reilly said he thought the Los Angeles Times would be gone in print form not that far down the road. I find that far-fetched, but in the current climate, who knows?

(I personally don't believe that will happen in my lifetime, which hopefully is still a while yet.)

 

[da man]

I have nothing to base this on, as I live many miles away and have no inside contacts, but wouldn't the Seattle P-I be the most obvious candidate to do this if it loses its court battle with the Times and the JOA is dissolved?

 

[HejiraHenry]

I can imagine a radically different kind of USA Today -- a free distribution tab targeted primarily to hotels and airports with a verrrry robust online component.

 

[STLIrish]

The Boston Herald seems like a reasonable candidate.
For what it's worth, I think online-only's fine if they can figure out a way to earn enough revenue to retain the staff it takes to do good journalism. Look at Slate, or ESPN.com.

 

[DyePack]

I'd look to Detroit. The two metros are bleeding circulation like a sword swallower's rectum, and JRC is forking up many of the suburban papers.

It's a fight between Timmy and Jimmy in the parking lot.

 

[Billy Pritchard]

The two metros are bleeding circulation like a sword swallower's rectum

Nice imagery.

 

[fishwrapper]

The two metros are bleeding circulation like a sword swallower's rectum...

Thanks, Dye. I'm having a hard time shaking that one.