US Weeklies Retreat from the World
Adapting to competition from the Internet in a
downward advertising cycle, the largest U.S.-based newsweeklies have adopted
sharply different tactics for the future of their international editions - and
none of them involves expansion.
Dvorak Uncensored’s interest in the wider topic of contemporary journalism ain’t going away. Especially when the beancounters who control US media persist in making decisions based upon short-term balance sheets rather than anything founded in journalism. It’s not just a commodity.
Adapting to competition from the Internet in a downward advertising cycle, the largest U.S.-based newsweeklies have adopted sharply different tactics for the future of their international editions - and none of them involves expansion.
Editors at Newsweek, Time and BusinessWeek emphasize their commitment to international coverage. Yet within the last month, staff reductions at Time and Newsweek and the outright closure of BusinessWeek’s international print edition will almost certainly reduce the amount of news and analysis of global affairs.
The wave of “cutbacks at these major U.S. news weeklies overseas is a significant event,” said Doug Arthur, a New York-based publishing analyst at Morgan Stanley. “You cannot help but see this as a major retreat.”
Of course, the larger discussion on how to run an economy pits the whole process of commoditization vs. national or societal interests. The slugs running our nation and commerce are loyal to only one flag. The one that’s green and has pictures of dead presidents — this week.
Which country’s currency is at play doesn’t really matter either.
Posted: Sun - January 15, 2006 at 08:00 AM