I know you know.
It seems like we’ve been straining to hear the death knell of the newspaper for a lifetime. But this past Thursday morning, I think I heard something.
Media giant The Nielsen Company announced it would fold the 108-year-old newspaper authority Editor & Publisher magazine. The axe affects both print and online forms.
Speculation and writing on bathroom walls aren’t the strongest signals, but the death of “America’s Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry” should provide enough voltage to turn the staunchest broadsheet optimist.
In an internal memo, Nielsen Business Media president Greg Farrar said the decision was made “to strengthen investment in our core businesses–those parts of our portfolio that have the greatest potential for growth.” He might as well have said, “Newspapers are dead.”
When someone in a “The End Is Near” T-shirt claims it, I doubt. When the pillars of a venerable industry establishment crumble, I believe.
Excuse me. I’m off to buy a Kindle.
About the author
Jordan Hay was the Front of Book Editor for the Summer 2010 issue of the Ryerson Review of Journalism.