Is Print Profiting?

"Times Company reports profit" is what the headline of this (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/business/media/23times.html?ref=media) article reads. It is correct, the article goes on to say that the Times Company, owner of the New York Times, did make a profit this quarter. They reported a net income of 12.8 million dollars this quarter as apposed to the same quarter last year where they lost 74.5 million. So how was the Times Company able to turn around so quickly? Cost cuts are one of the main reasons for this sudden turn around in the business, and saying the made a profit from last year is a stretch. Because of their cuts they cut their operating costs by 18 percent to $535.2 million. Their overall revenue actually fell 3.2 percent. One of the telling numbers is the amount made on ads. In the fourth quarter the print ads fell 14.7 percent, but the online ad revenue gained 18.3 percent.

The ad revenue is a huge indicator in media. Especially for things online because for the most part consumers do not pay to view the paper online. Advertising is how companies like the times company makes the majority of their profit. If the advertising companies are unwilling to put their ads in a newspaper then it has no choice but to shut down. The newspapers are unable to charge any more for the distribution of their papers so if they do not have the money from the advertising companies they will be forced to close down. The internet paper, in this case being nytimes.com, has only one source of income. They do not charge readers to read their site so they have to rely solely on the money they make from companies advertising on their site. Unfortunately the news is a business, and if the advertisers continue to see no profit in putting ads in papers then the papers will be forced to shut down. On the other hand, they will continue to advertise online, boosting the profits of the news company. Because of this we are seeing a disappearance in newspapers. Something that, for the last 250 years, has been a staple to our society could completely disappear off the face of the earth. Will this be positive for our society? only time will tell.
Jason