Given the current inability of the Times to offer reliable, unique content online, that will leave a bit of a market void to be filled on a number of topics - such as sports and editorial opinion.
It will be interesting to see what sort of digital-only organization emerges from this.
Posted by Eric Earling at January 09, 2009 06:11 PM | Email ThisGoogle is selling for 3/8 of its high.
MSFT is sellng for 1/3 of its 2000 high.
Ebay is in trouble.
Yahoo is on the chopping block.
All you need to deliver content is a web site and some good writing and good focused content.
You can run http on Windows, Linux or OSX.
No one can monopolize information...YET!
The money would be through ad revenue on the website, as well as marketing data obtained from users based on what articles they vote up/down.
I think I'll dance a jig!
"Oh God... now we are going to be seeing ex-journalists sitting at intersections..."
If they are from the Pee Eye they won't be ex-journalists. They will be ex-propagandists.
Posted by: pbj on January 9, 2009 06:49 PMPlus, it would be valuable to own an organization with a little easier name recognition like the PI and a little smaller pool of competition. If one were to return the paper to some journalistic roots with actual local investigative reporting I believe that people would begin renewing their subscriptions.
Newspapers used to expose corruption, but now they either seem to be complicit or simply conduits for the AP.
Posted by: rp on January 9, 2009 07:34 PMStill it is tough to shed a tear after so many years of unbridled bias, and misuse of their position for purposes of warping public opinion. I would have titled this thread "In the tank, part deux."
Posted by: russell garrard on January 9, 2009 09:11 PM
While much of Pravda-Izvestia's financial troubles are related to advertising revenue, leftism contributed greatly to declining subscriptions. The P-I made no attempt, in the last decade, to feign objectivity. The front page became an additional editorial page, with major news stories (available elsewhere) conspicuously missing from the P-I, only because they may benefit the conservative cause or opinion. Yes, Pravda-Izvestia, your demise isn't all about ad revenue, many of us long-time readers just grew up. Too bad you didn't.
Posted by: Saltherring on January 10, 2009 06:43 AM" Conservative blogs like this one should band together to raise money to purchase the PI. "
Sound Politics is not a 'Conservative blog'.
For Sound Politics to be a 'Conservative blog', the people behind the blog would need to be 'Conservative' and Stefan Sharkansky, Eric Earling, Jim Miller, et al are anything but Conservative.
Just look at and listen to the creepy 'republicans' who are Stefan's good friends - Phil Bevis, Mark Griswold and Ross Marzolf - and you will know that Stefan has a queer idea of what is a 'Conservative'.
As for purchasing the PI, this issue was brought up before when newspapers on the eastside and south sound were for sale and the purchase of the newspapers was discussed extensively in Conservative groups on the eastside and south sound as a way for Conservatives to have a printed voice at what many thought was a reasonable price.
The leadership of the Republican Party in King County and Washington State showed no interest in organizing the effort.
To be fair, they probably didn't know anything about it.
Posted by: Brian Thomas on January 10, 2009 08:36 AMYou, of course, however, are the perfect example of a conservative, and you have done a ton to organize such an effort, giving you endless credibility in criticizing, right?
Or are you, like most of the idiot commentators similar to yourself on this blog, a self-important blowhard who shouldn't throw stones in glass house?
Posted by: cliff on January 10, 2009 08:41 AMThat op-ed is worth a topic of its own.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on January 10, 2009 10:05 AM" You, of course, however, are the perfect example of a conservative, ...."
Cliff:
I am not " the perfect example of a conservative ", I am a Conservative and I am a Conservative who will freely and openly discuss differences that I have with others in the Conservative movement over what is a 'Conservative' and what should be the direction of the Conservative movement. Which is one of the reasons that I have credibility. Unlike you. 'Cliff'.
" Or are you, like most of the idiot commentators similar to yourself on this blog, a self-important blowhard who shouldn't throw stones in glass house? "
No. Unlike you. 'Cliff'.
Posted by: Brian Thomas on January 10, 2009 10:28 AMThis isn't Amerika anymore, is it?
I smell bailout money comming from Washington DC (er... I mean your grandchildren's children). After all, if you can't have good liberal robots spreading the word in Seattle-- what has become of us?
I mean-- they could have at least waited until after the inagurial. Then the good workers there would have had a few more obasms before getting the "bad" news.
Posted by: Jimster on January 10, 2009 12:26 PMOther point: I understand that other major papers in the state that FOCUS ON LOCAL NEWS are doing quite well thank you. See... even in our left coast culture the market place is still the deciding factor.
Posted by: Victor on January 11, 2009 11:02 AM