NYT/WSJ Staff cust | Online Adv. doesn't work

From: Ramon Ray <ramon_at_smallbiztechnology.com>
Date: Mon 16 Apr 2001 10:29:39 -0600

I read today in "NewsScan" that the WSJ and NYT are
cutting staff because they can't make money with online
advertising. Maybe I'm making things to simple. But is
it not possible to make money with advertising,
especially when large sites like the NYT, WSJ, MSNBC
and etc have millions of users, with smaller staffs.

Must these news sites try to re-create their offline
news rooms? What's wrong with simply taking the existing
news you have and putting it online? Of course you'll
need a certain number of staff, but to have a bloated
number and duplicating the print version, I don't see why
this is necessary.

People are so down on the online adv biz model, and I do
agree that content sites should do more than just rely
on adv revenue (do conferences, sell products, and premium
content). But let's use the 'net as a TOOL not as a whole
new type of business.

Here's the news item:

STAFF CUTS AT NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL
Two leading news organizations, the New York Times Co. and
Dow Jones & Co,are joining the list of companies that are
planning layoffs andcost-cutting, in response to reductions
in advertising sales. The New York Times Co. publishes the
New York Times, the Boston Globe, and various smaller
publications; Dow Jones & Co. publishes The Wall Street
Journal and provides various other news services.
(AP/Washington Post 12 Apr 2001)

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/latestap/A12720-2001Apr12.html


Ramon Ray, Editor/Analyst
ramon_at_smallbiztechnology.com
Smallbiztechnology.com
http://www.smallbiztechnology.com

News and analysis for small businesses and
small business technology marketers



Received on Mon Apr 16 2001 - 11:29:39 CDT