benveniste (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} benveniste) wrote,@ 2009-04-08 19:16:00 |
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Death by Paper Cuts
It's been a while in coming, but I will mark today as the day that doomed the Boston Globe.
Simply put, when a company raises prices in order to compensate for decreasing demand, it's doomed. And that's exactly what the Globe did today. My favorite line in this official party line story? "Globe spokesman Robert Powers declined to comment on whether the price increase might result in fewer newsstand sales." Is the Globe really trying to pretend that supply and demand doesn't matter?
Globe columnist Scott Lehigh isn't so careful. In a column today, he talks baldly about the decline in circulation and the fact that the paper has become smaller and the coverage less comprehensive. Yet he seems to imply that it's our civic duty to keep the Globe alive.
He also floats the idea of subscription fees or micro-payments for Boston.com. I have no problem with that concept, but given that the webpage I viewed had 10 different ads on it, I did find it a bit ironic.
I suppose I'll feel nostalgia for the Globe when it's gone, but it's been a long time since I relied on it either for news or local features. I'll occasionally buy the Globe to read on the morning train, but I can't remember the last time I bought a Sunday newspaper of any sort.
But perhaps I'll pick one up this weekend. After all, when one finds out an acquaintance is dying, isn't the first reaction to try to spend a little time with them?
It's been a while in coming, but I will mark today as the day that doomed the Boston Globe.
Simply put, when a company raises prices in order to compensate for decreasing demand, it's doomed. And that's exactly what the Globe did today. My favorite line in this official party line story? "Globe spokesman Robert Powers declined to comment on whether the price increase might result in fewer newsstand sales." Is the Globe really trying to pretend that supply and demand doesn't matter?
Globe columnist Scott Lehigh isn't so careful. In a column today, he talks baldly about the decline in circulation and the fact that the paper has become smaller and the coverage less comprehensive. Yet he seems to imply that it's our civic duty to keep the Globe alive.
He also floats the idea of subscription fees or micro-payments for Boston.com. I have no problem with that concept, but given that the webpage I viewed had 10 different ads on it, I did find it a bit ironic.
I suppose I'll feel nostalgia for the Globe when it's gone, but it's been a long time since I relied on it either for news or local features. I'll occasionally buy the Globe to read on the morning train, but I can't remember the last time I bought a Sunday newspaper of any sort.
But perhaps I'll pick one up this weekend. After all, when one finds out an acquaintance is dying, isn't the first reaction to try to spend a little time with them?
