The Inconvenient Truth About Print, a Response to Clay Shirky

Follow Newsonomics @kdoctor First published at Nieman Journalism Lab   I have to say, I find it funny to be called an apologist for the legacy news industry, as Clay Shirky suggested in an overnight post. Ask Steve Forbes or Lex Fenwick what they think about that, given my columns of just ...

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The Newsonomics of the Orange County Register’s Swerving All Over the Freeway

  Follow Newsonomics on Twitter @kdoctor First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab     Pity Aaron Kushner’s poor driving instructor. We can easily imagine the then-16-year-old’s driving inclinations as he first took the wheel. Heavy on the gas. Lightning quick on ...

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Six Things to Consider About the New Los Angeles Register

Follow Newsonomics on Twitter @kdoctor First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab   The last time a daily paper launched in L.A. was back in the Carter administration. The Valley Green Sheet, a green newsprinted shopper that would get thrown on my doorstep a few times a ...

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The Newsonomics of Digital First Media’s Thunderdome Implosion (and Coming Sale)

Follow Newsonomics on Twitter @kdoctor First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab   Today, we’ll hear official word of the demise of Project Thunderdome, one of the news industry’s highest-profile experiments in centralized, digital-first, mobile-friendly, new-news-partner ...

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The Newsonomics of the Orange County Register’s (New, Newer, Newest) Plan

Related Freedom/Orange County Register Coverage New Hollywood Sequel: Aaron Kushner’s L.A. Register The Orange County Register’s Contrarian Paywall Aaron Kushner’s Virtuous Circles The Newsonomics of Outrageous Confidence       First published at Harvard’s ...

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The Newsonomics of How the News Industry Will Be Tested in 2014

First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab   Our 2014 stage is set, and oh what a marvelous assortment of characters will be walking across it. Many of these characters — the Bezoses, Henrys, Kushners, Omidyars, and Buffetts — are new non-newsies thrusting themselves into the ...

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New Hollywood Sequel: Aaron Kushner’s L.A. Register

Why, I asked, Aaron Kushner, is he announcing the new L.A. Register as we’re winding down toward the end of the year? Given that the big questions about it — when will it launch, how will it be staffed — are as yet unannounced, why put the news out now? “We were ready to ...

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The Newsonomics of the November Shuffle, From Forbes to Freedom and Couric to Stelter

First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab Ah, the pre-Thanksgiving bounty. Those of us who try to chronicle the business end of the news business have seen our plates overflowing lately. Not since the Bezos blitz of August have we seen so many announcements, shuffles, offers to ...

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The Newsonomics of the Surprisingly Persistent Appeal of Newsprint

First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab Tonnage. The word speaks to a different age of news media when ink, bought by barrel, and newsprint, bought by the ton, ruled. Newspapers — in print — still go out to some 40 million-plus Americans and as many as 1.4 billion worldwide. We ...

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The Newsonomics of Outrageous Confidence

First published at Nieman Journalism Lab   Who expected a virtual coming-out party for the newspaper industry in late 2013? In the past several weeks, we’ve seen new newspaper owners proudly raising the flags of their new enterprises, speaking grandly of their futures and spouting that ...

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