NY Times

One of the biggest topics in media and technology these days is the demise of newspapers as a result of the web. Yesterday, the NYTimes had a story about how hyperlocal web sites deliver news without newspapers. And several newspapers have shut down operations due to their cost structure no longer being viable, or in the NYTimes situation, threatening to shut down their Boston paper amidst serious issues at NYT Corp. However, as I entered the subway this morning and was accosted by 2 people trying to hand me a free Metro and AM New York paper, it dawned on me that the NY Times' problem is probably just as much competition from the freebies as it is from the web. Turns out that two of the three Metro's US outposts are in NYC and Boston. Combine the free option with a down economy - and the proliferation of mobile devices that allow for a paperless news distribution - and you have the perfect storm for disruption.

But, for me at least - and I know this is not much of a case study - I find that while I am reading the NYTimes paper less than I used to (the elimination of Sports and Metro sections really killed it for me), I am reading it more online. Not just because it is more easily available to me on the web, but because my mobile devices are formatting it better, and because with so much news available now from a million sources, I want one source I can trust, and I want it through a lens that is consistent with how I see things.

This post isn't one that is offering a solution - other blogs can do that. I am merely pointing out that the impending demise of the local paper may be exaggerated due to the free dailies and current economy, and that the web may in fact make them more relevant than ever. Of course, there will need to be some changes in cost structure, etc. But, at least for me, the Times is as important a read as ever.