Advertising Karma Hits Corporate Media and the New York Times Calls for Bailout. The Media Matters / Sleeping Giants blocklists are just another spread of torpedoes that circled back around. A rational movement might start thinking about why that keeps happening. . . .
Due to the coronavirus and a healthy dose of karma, newspaper advertising is drying up, and these same newspapers are now laying staffers off and slashing salaries while the far-left New York Times’ media columnist screams for a bailout.
Before I get to the karma part, here are the details…
On Monday, we learned the Tampa Bay Times is suspending its print publication from seven to two days a week. That’s not a typo. A newspaper that had been printing every day of the week will now print only on Wednesday and Sunday.
This, however, is not due to a lack of clicks.
“The company reported a surge in traffic to its website … and growth in digital subscriptions over the last few weeks” but “the pandemic sent advertising sales into a plunge. In just the last two weeks, [advertising] cancellations have cost us more than $1 million, and there is no sign of quick recovery on the horizon. We must act now.”
More…
Gannett, one of the largest newspaper companies in the country, publisher of, among others, USA Today, the Des Moines Register, and Arizona Republic, announced a sweeping round of furloughs. A memo from Gannett CEO Paul Bascobert asked employees to immediately make a “collective sacrifice … as soon as this week.”
“Our plan is to minimize long-term damage to the business by implementing a combination of furloughs and pay reductions,” the memo explains.
Since they are the primary ones driving this panic, they should be prepared to pay the consequences. It is completely their own fault.
Tom