In one of my first posts on OurPDX, I made note when The Columbian announced it was facing possible bankruptcy. The newspaper industry is dying, and when the Columbian built a brand new building in the midst of an industry downturn, many proclaimed it would be the end… that proclamation might come true. Today we learn that Bank of America is expected to begin foreclosure proceedings for the new building. The paper recently moved all of its staff and operations back to its former facilities across the street.
I stand by my commentary in my original post from October. The publisher is indicating today that the newspaper will continue to operate, but I wonder for how long. A $30 million building gaffe would be problematic for a smaller newspaper in any climate, but with the current economic situation this might be the end.
I don’t know that anyone has the answer for the survival of the newspaper. Folks seem to love the idea of a newspaper but the traditional models have failed. I’m open to the idea of new models of subscription but it’s hard not to get cynical when organizations such as the Columbian make “new media” screwups like proprietary registration systems. Subscribing to the Columbian’s RSS feed means you’ll get to see every story twice, because they publish throughout the day and then for some unexplainable reason they republish stories again at midnight. They don’t get it. And realistically, we’re beyond the point where it’s ok for a publisher to not understand RSS.
What does the future hold? Will it be small niche publications in an online-only model? Hybrid print/web outfits like the Mercury that focus on some areas and leave others alone? Something entirely different? A crowdsourced model where everyone reports hyperlocal news in 140 character bursts on Twitter? Tell me more…
Comments on this entry are closed.