\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0236047220090502 Buffett said Berkshire would hold on to the Buffalo News, a daily newspaper in the New York state city of the same name, if only because Berkshire buys businesses for the long term and does not sell simply because the companies hit a rough patch. He did not rule out having to squeeze out excess costs, including possible job cuts, or eventually shuttering the paper if it goes too deeply into the red.
Fingon Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 No way the Buffalo News get shuttered. They have some of the highest penetration in the nation.
BillsFan Trapped in Pats Land Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Buffett is a genius, but newspapers sure seem like a losing investment to me.
TheLynchTrain Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 No way the Buffalo News get shuttered. They have some of the highest penetration in the nation. yes fingon is right, but the use of "penetration" is rather funny...
Big Turk Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Sadly, this is like the many of the Swiss watchmakers who never believed consumers would be willing to replace their watches with cheaper Japanese electronic watches. They refused to change, and many perished because of their unwillingness to embrace new technology. If the newspapers continue to be unwilling or unable to embrace the internet, they too will perish in time... time waits for noone---adapt or die... every day the newspapers in this country continue to be in denial is another day closer to them being out of business. Unfortunate, but true. Personally, the only reason I even get the Sunday paper anymore is because of the coupons. Everything else I read online.
GOBILLS78 Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 "If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, don't own it for 10 seconds." -- Warren Buffet One of my favorite quotes. And words to live by. p.s. -- The News is fine. The editor says so. Every 3 seconds, seemingly.
bbb Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 I read the Internet all day long, but I still need to read the paper every day. The way it is put together, edited, etc. I don't think there is any subststute for it.......Reading stuff on the net is so fractured to me.
Big Turk Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 I read the Internet all day long, but I still need to read the paper every day. The way it is put together, edited, etc. I don't think there is any subststute for it.......Reading stuff on the net is so fractured to me. Half the kids in school today can't read anyways, so the papers should really start worrying about that... The US throws 3 or 4 times the amount of money at education in the school systems as the next closest country, but yet still has an abysmal literacy rate among its peers and is falling behind in many other areas as well.
The Big Cat Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 I read the Internet all day long, but I still need to read the paper every day. The way it is put together, edited, etc. I don't think there is any subststute for it.......Reading stuff on the net is so fractured to me. Newspapers are worthless to the news industry. Today's "news" is all about scoops, who breaks 'em first. Today's editors get pissed when they're minutes, SECONDS behind the competition. Newspapers--as they exist now--can't POSSIBLY continue on reporting yesterday's news.
Live&DieBillsFootball Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Sadly, this is like the many of the Swiss watchmakers who never believed consumers would be willing to replace their watches with cheaper Japanese electronic watches. They refused to change, and many perished because of their unwillingness to embrace new technology. If the newspapers continue to be unwilling or unable to embrace the internet, they too will perish in time... time waits for noone---adapt or die... every day the newspapers in this country continue to be in denial is another day closer to them being out of business. Unfortunate, but true. Personally, the only reason I even get the Sunday paper anymore is because of the coupons. Everything else I read online. I beg to differ. One of the big reasons for their troubles is that they give the news away for free online. Every newspaper that I read is now available for free online with the exception of the WSJ which you have to pay for in order to see most of the content. Furthermore, the online versions is updated continuously. I think that the vast majority of papers would have a hard time getting online readers to start paying for something that they have always gotten for free. The other BIG killer for papers has been Craigslist. Why pay for an ad in the paper if you can put it online for free and get fast results? It is amazing how slim the Buffalo News classified section has gotten in the past year. Very hard to compete with "free". BTW, I still get the Buffalo News delivered every day but have thought about stopping it and just reading it online. Unfortunately, they haven't come up with a good online version to read while taking a crap.
Lori Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Sadly, this is like the many of the Swiss watchmakers who never believed consumers would be willing to replace their watches with cheaper Japanese electronic watches. They refused to change, and many perished because of their unwillingness to embrace new technology. If the newspapers continue to be unwilling or unable to embrace the internet, they too will perish in time... time waits for noone---adapt or die... every day the newspapers in this country continue to be in denial is another day closer to them being out of business. Unfortunate, but true. Personally, the only reason I even get the Sunday paper anymore is because of the coupons. Everything else I read online. "Embracing the Internet" is something The News has gone into full-speed-ahead in recent years. Making enough money to pay the writers and editors, now, that's something else again. The Rocky was all over "new media," adding tons of video, blogs, podcasts, the works ... but the rate of return obviously wasn't good enough to keep them in business. And if anyone has some good answers for that problem, there's a whole bunch of us out here who would be mighty appreciative.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 There are many reasons for the demise of newspapers and most of them have been outlined in good detail above. Yet another of the many reasons is the cost of paper, newsprint, the cost to purchase and maintain the equipment to print newspapers, and the need for expensive distribution networks (trucks, drivers, delivery people, etc). Even if the daily papers change their business model, I personally see the industry continuing to shrink. It will never become totally extinct but I don't think its near bottomed out yet either.
GOBILLS78 Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Newspapers are worthless to the news industry. Today's "news" is all about scoops, who breaks 'em first. Today's editors get pissed when they're minutes, SECONDS behind the competition. Newspapers--as they exist now--can't POSSIBLY continue on reporting yesterday's news. Community newspapers can. There's no substitute for local news -- I'm talking small town. Of course, almost none of them are cash cows anyhow.
The Big Cat Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Community newspapers can. There's no substitute for local news -- I'm talking small town. Of course, almost none of them are cash cows anyhow. I think the small communities large enough for "real newsworthy stories" have all gone online anyways. Those too small for a website? Probably wouldn't be the end of the world if their paper folded. <--pun of the day
The Big Cat Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 "Embracing the Internet" is something The News has gone into full-speed-ahead in recent years. Making enough money to pay the writers and editors, now, that's something else again. The Rocky was all over "new media," adding tons of video, blogs, podcasts, the works ... but the rate of return obviously wasn't good enough to keep them in business. And if anyone has some good answers for that problem, there's a whole bunch of us out here who would be mighty appreciative. Do you know anything about the cost-structure for online advertising? The Internet's not going anywhere, and society shouldn't function without its fourth pillar. So we've got to have the two co-exist (Internet and news). If advertisements are the only source of revenue, and if it's a break now, break first environment, seems to me that news organizations should/could demand more from their advertisers. But again, I have no idea how online advertising is priced/purchased.
Arkady Renko Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Half the kids in school today can't read anyways, so the papers should really start worrying about that... Link?
stuckincincy Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 Half the kids in school today can't read anyways, so the papers should really start worrying about that... The US throws 3 or 4 times the amount of money at education in the school systems as the next closest country, but yet still has an abysmal literacy rate among its peers and is falling behind in many other areas as well. We have (yet another) school levy on the ballot this May. They have been defeated several times, and the prevailing tactic is to hold them at odd times in hopes that they pass. The last one (like most of them) had the school officials and the school unions exploiting kids by driving students around town the days before the ballot in the beds of trucks, shouting "Give us money! Give us money! Since the last increase in my district, they did in fact eliminate the 75K position of "Director of Quality Assurance" and told us how evil we are. She had no underlings, of course. But we aren't supposed to notice things like that. They sold their last property owner millage increase because of "academic performance" problems. Of course, considering things like average 80% attendance is considered unmentionable, or if that doesn't fly, it must be racist. Their last property tax bonanza resulted in a union hiring binge, as well as two million spent on a football stadium upgrade. It's for The Children, of course...and never, ever whisper the idea that parents are crappy. Well, whatever represents itself as a parent. The great rallying cry for money, tea, and sympathy of course being "I'm a Single Mom!"
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