Feb 21, 2009

Rise of the newspapers

The newspaper industry isn't crumbling everywhere. In Asia, it's booming. From Time:
Asia's media expansion has mirrored the fall of its dictators, as newspaper readers thrill at no longer getting just the day's propaganda. In Indonesia, the number of newspapers has increased from a few dozen when strongman Suharto was deposed in 1998 to roughly 800 today. The market is so buoyant that a new English-language paper, the Jakarta Globe, revved up its printing presses last November, just as several cash-strapped American papers were readying their final editions. "The Indonesian middle class is growing, and many households subscribe to two newspapers," says Ali Basyah Suryo, strategic adviser to the start-up Globe. "People like to hold the newspaper in their hands and even clip stories or save copies. It's seen as a valuable product."

-snip-

Even in China, where state censorship directives are dispensed daily to newspaper editors, a press revolution is under way.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

We can fix that...have MNG invest in some of those papers!

Anonymous said...

How about this idea anonymous genious. Instead of investing in those papers, how about:

GIVE THE READERS A VALUABLE PRODUCT they can hold in their hands, clip stories and photos from and even keep as a souvenir.

Imagine that the Asians give us a noble idea.

With all the great experienced people leaving this industry, how can anyone here provide a valuable product. All you got left is interns and newbies who dont even know how to chase down a good story.

Anonymous said...

My we are sensitive. Ever heard of tongue and cheek. This anonymous genius is agreeing with you. The very fact that I suggest MNG invest tells you it is a good idea, that is why they won't.

Anonymous said...

Actually,

what anon 1 is saying is that we can "fix" all that progress and growth by investing in them. Any time LANG gets their hands on anything, it is destroyed

Anonymous said...

oh come on now, next you will be saying lang is cutting resources and not covering news in its own backyard!

calwatch said...

To be blunt, though, there's less newsprint required to cover the same idea, and a more literate population which reads newspapers at tea houses, coffee shops, or on board public transit. It's hard to read a newspaper when you are stuck in a car for two to three hours a day like many Angelenos.