The subject hits figuratively close to home

Well, word has just hit the digital streets that everyone's favorite satirical newspaper, The Onion, is shutting down its San Francisco and L.A. publication offices. This one saddens me more than any other closing news recently, as I am an avid Onion (or more specifically, the AV Club supplement) reader (Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, etc, not so much). Of course, I read the Onion and its accompanying content online, it not being available in my fine midwestern metropolis. I am part of the problem, is what I'm saying.

This news doesn't come entirely as a shock to me, maybe because I associate the Onion with a younger readership who is already inclined to more frequently and willingly use the internet for their news (or un-news, as the case may be).

With all of that said, I tip my hat to this fine satirical institution, though in my opinion your time is far from over. I had the opportunity to have dinner with a few of the writers/editors from the main New York office of The Onion last spring, and found them to be witty, intelligent, and innovative guys. We chatted briefly about print's decline and they of course were dismayed: but I think they have the unique and exciting opportunity at having a medium that translates very well to the internet, and these closings, at least in my eyes, hardly seem a death sentence for what seems like an already youthful and flexible media outlet. I'm sure California will miss their print edition, but to those of us who never had it, online content seems like a natural move.

Original article here

The Boston Globe sinks

You may or may not know that the Boston Globe has been in hot water for a while now- the New York Times Company has owned it since the nineties, and recently there have been negotiations in the works to try and keep the paper afloat. It looks like the labor unions are having issues with the Times Co., at which apparently there's been a "28% decline in advertising in the Times Co' publishing segment". That is an absolutely massive percentage- I'd be curious to know what the advertising on the online segment looks like. In this economy, has advertising decreased, or do advances in technology keep it on the up and up?

In any case, here's a link to the article- very interesting stuff

At Deadline, No Deal Yet On Boston Globe

More and more major newspapers are failing... I really am sad to see them go.