Bankruptcies necessary to transform journalism

Martin Langeveld offers a different analysis of the bankruptcy proceedings of several large American newspapers. He suggests this may be a good thing in order to shake up the old business models that appear to be failing in the current environment.

“If we experience a rash of bankruptcies among these larger publishing
groups, the likely outcome is that the underlying newspaper assets will
be sold individually, often to local groups wishing to regain control
of their local news enterprise. If those groups are willing to follow
through with the necessary investments needed to turn their local
papers into digital-first news enterprises, that could be a good
outcome for the public at large. In fact, it might be an essential
path, because the current owners have no resources or flexibility left
to complete the needed transformation.”

The question is: Is this equally true for Canadian media?

Martin Langeveld offers a different analysis of the bankruptcy proceedings of several large American newspapers. He suggests this may be a good thing in order to shake up the old business models that appear to be failing in the current environment.

“If we experience a rash of bankruptcies among these larger publishing
groups, the likely outcome is that the underlying newspaper assets will
be sold individually, often to local groups wishing to regain control
of their local news enterprise. If those groups are willing to follow
through with the necessary investments needed to turn their local
papers into digital-first news enterprises, that could be a good
outcome for the public at large. In fact, it might be an essential
path, because the current owners have no resources or flexibility left
to complete the needed transformation.”

The question is: Is this equally true for Canadian media?

Robert Washburn