Stop the presses!

We all know, and have for awhile, that print is dead.  Broadcast, and now cable, are on their way out too.  I know this isn't news to some of you.  And I don't mean to overstate things; they're not going away tomorrow.  But they need to change, rapidly, in order to survive.

Don't get me wrong, I love reading the paper.  Well, I love reading books; I like reading the paper.  Even books, I'm mainly reading online or as downloaded books.  I have a shelf full of paper books I need to read. I love them, but they're not as practical as, say, a tablet.

The press in general is going downhill, and doesn't have a sustainable business model.  Our local paper, the Disgrace, has never been great.  It fills a need, though- local news, plus some in-depth coverage of regional and national stuff.  It has destroyed or bought out the competition, though, including some really good publications.  It owns some local radio and TV outlets.  And it has stagnated.  It's center-right, which I can live with as long as it's fair.  (It still gets called a liberal rag by know-nothing conservatives.)  It's just not that great a paper.  I have subscribed off and on over the years, mainly for the coupons.  Their delivery is spotty, and customer service isn't always great.  They're currently on probation with us; Miss Mox and I have each, um, chatted with them and delivery has been steady for the past couple of weeks, but we'll see if that holds up.  We only get Sunday, for the ads.  They changed the paper format recently, making it a bit less enjoyable to read and a lot less useful as doggie-paper.

The price has gone up to the point where it's just not worth getting every day, and really not worth it even for Sunday.  I read it for free if someone leaves it at work, but anymore I don't even feel the urge to do that.  It's just not that great.  I get my news mainly online, and from the radio during my commute, from less-biased and more current sources.  

Broadcast TV is failing.  There are so many other options out there.  And cable?  It seems to be stagnating too.  There are some good shows, but not that many.  You can watch so much online.  And some papers, and TV channels, put up paywalls of various kinds.  Which leads me to the point of all this:  a paper, or channel, needs to find a business model that works.  And if your product is entertainment, or news content, you really do not want to cut people off from it.  Don't make it hard for people to see your content.  Because guess what?  They'll go somewhere else.  I can get the news other places, I can watch shows many places.  If you make it so I can't see your show, well, there are plenty of others out there.  I'm not that into TV anyway, so if it's a hassle to watch your show, I'm gone, and you're not making any money from me.  

Video, music, news, whatever- you need to have a product people want to see or hear, and make it so they can access it easily.  If you don't, you have doomed yourself.  I can't believe businesses don't see this.  I wish I could have hope for the future of newspapers, but I don't.  Even newsmagazines are folding, or will soon- I'm looking at you, Time.  Even if they migrate online, if they have crappy content or make it hard to see, people will go elsewhere.  Show ads, make your money that way, but don't keep people from seeing your stuff.  I can live with some ads. I don't like them, but I'll take them over paying more than something is worth.  And the Disgrace?  It's worth about a quarter, which is, I believe, a quarter of what they want on a weekday.  It'll be gone soon.  And if they don't get the Sunday one on our doorstep regularly, it'll be gone from our house permanently.