As it pertains to media news, the following is a great way to learn more about consumer sentiment and economic trends. I tune in to better gauge how e-commerce can help my customers and where they should be directing their ad spending (print, web, mobile, direct mail, etc..).
Tag Archives: Economics
A Change in Media Economics 1991 letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway
Excerpt from 1991 letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/1991.html
A Change in Media Economics and Some Valuation Math
In last year’s report, I stated my opinion that the decline in
the profitability of media companies reflected secular as well as
cyclical factors. The events of 1991 have fortified that case: The
economic strength of once-mighty media enterprises continues to
erode as retailing patterns change and advertising and
entertainment choices proliferate. In the business world,
unfortunately, the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the
windshield: A few years back no one linked to the media business -
neither lenders, owners nor financial analysts – saw the economic
deterioration that was in store for the industry. (But give me a
few years and I’ll probably convince myself that I did.)
The fact is that newspaper, television, and magazine
properties have begun to resemble businesses more than franchises
in their economic behavior. Let’s take a quick look at the
characteristics separating these two classes of enterprise, keeping
in mind, however, that many operations fall in some middle ground
and can best be described as weak franchises or strong businesses. Continue reading
LATimes.com Economically Sustainable? I don’t think so
1. LA Times editor Russ Stanton at USC: “Stanton said the Times’ Web site revenue now exceeds its editorial payroll costs.”
2. Jeff Jarvis then writes, Can The LA Times Turn Off Its Presses?
3. Which is republished by The Huffington Post as, Jeff Jarvis: LA Times: Turn Off Your Presses
My M.A. Thesis which was just completed two weeks ago goes into great detail how general interest newspaper websites are not now, and will never be capable of generating economically sustainable revenue. There is a huge difference between covering payroll expenses and achieving Economic Sustainability; Having a mechanism in place for generating, or gaining access to, the economic resources necessary to keeping the business operating on an ongoing basis. Continue reading