Monday, October 16, 2006

A new newspaper model     Yet another article in praise of the non-profit, trust-funded newspaper model.    And, of course, there is the usual praise for the Leftwing The Guardian that is funded by the Scott Trust.  This time, the model is the St. Petersburg Times.  It, too, is funded by a trust, but not entirely.  Apparently the paper has to make a small profit to pay back the trust some money.

It's an admission that Liberal newspapers are not ever going to be profitable and they know it.  No one is buying their products, let alone their insistance that they are objective.  (Think Dan Rather, think Valarie Plame, think Jason Blair)  And it's another good sign that the marketplace has put them in their place.

Editor & Publisher warning of the new circ figures that show more circulation declines, was particularly inventive in explaining that newspapers were more interested in pruning circulation for their advertisers' benefit.   This is lip gloss reality, kinda shiny but not the real thing.  Newspapers have had to drop those "other-paid" subscriptions -- deeply discounted or free mass delivery to hotels or schools -- because advertisers became wise to the scam.

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