It's the owners not the internet stupid

An interesting comment from Peter Preston in the Observer.

Looking back at a manic week in the US press he concludes that

The central problem isn't the internet (a dampener on profits and spreader of uncertainty, at worst; not the end of everything). The problem is newspaper ownership flawed by misplaced ambition and short-sighted management.

It's a good point.There is plenty of evidence that the management of media enterprises has contributed at least partially to the crisis

According to Peter,

Why is the New York Times having to turn its new home into a crutch? Because it has a $400m debt repayment due next spring, and this is the only way left to meet it. Why are the Denver Post and 53 other MediaNews-owned dailies in such straits? Because their debt is eight times earnings, before tax. Why did Trinity Mirror, Britain's biggest chain, drop out of the FTSE 250 last week? Because its shares have tanked - down to a seventh of recent value.