Mit dem Verkauf des Boston Globe unter Dach und Fach schreibt Ken Doctor für das Niemanlab den aktuellen Stand der New York Times auf. Sie hat was das Wachstum im Digitalen angeht ein Plateau erreicht und muss nun neue Wege finden um weiter zu wachsen.
- Keep the current business at as close to a steady run rate as possible over the next two years. This is the newsonomics of zero I’ve written about, wherein zero is a new floor. The zero math is simple: offset declining ad revenues with increasing all-access/digital-circulation revenues. The Times’ 2012 financial performance offered hope there. Zero is still but an aspiration for most metro publishers in the U.S. and Europe; just as they seemed to be getting closer to it, ad performance worsened. Even the FT, a clear leader in the digital transition, just reported flat revenues for the first half of the year.
- Invest in growth initiatives that will finally provide dependable revenue and profit growth — if the companies can hit the zero benchmark in their core businesses.