On a day when the NYT Co. is talking about closing the storied Boston Globe, its Technology section reports on a lifeline thrown to old media in the form of big-screen electronic readers that make it easier to sell news by subscription coupled with large-format adds. While content consumption clearly continues to morph into new formats, this development is not going to save the news business, for several reasons:
- Contrary to myth, the news business model did not collapse because publishers gave their content away free online. It collapsed because the web provided millions of alternatives for advertisers to reach potential consumers, breaking the distribution oligopoly of media companies;
- Publishers are not going to be able to get all news back behind subscription walls, and most readers will still seek free content. And it's worth noting that subscription revenue that is generated will need to be shared with tech companies such as Amazon and Apple, who are likely to control the first platforms to gain critical mass.
Still, devices such as Amazon's Kindle are welcome in that they make it easier for consumers to find the content they want, and generate revenues that can help content producers piece together some kind of future.
UPDATE: TechCrunch likens newspapers' hopes for big-screen e-readers to throwing a Hail Mary (and Arthur Sulzburger is no Doug Flutie). It points out these devices could make a real impact in the monstrously overpriced world of textbook publishing.
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