Defend Truth

Eish! Ailing US newspapers being bought up by very people they watch

Banks and other financial firms are set to take over dozens of US newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and The Philadelphia Inquirer. It doesn’t sound good when Wall Street gets to own the very institutions that skewer money lenders for the decisions that caused the global markets to go bust. But the Internet has so damaged traditional paper and print titles in the world’s most technologically advanced economy, that the money-men are taking control via bankruptcy proceedings, although giving few clues about their turnaround plans. The new owners face huge problems, as advertising spend of around $27 billion this year is about $22 billion less than three years ago. And newspaper circulations are dropping like stones. It’s going to be a messy transition to market rule. The bottom-line is what good journalists look at, and news is driven by the very same factors that markets will be trying to explain away. Read more: BusinessWeek

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