Blog
05.27
Warren Buffett and his nail for the newspapers’ coffin
Warren Buffett – one of the world’s most beloved philanthropists, one of the richest dudes on the planet and a guy who knows a thing or two about newspapers.
Regarding the latter, Buffett was quoted at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting discussing the recent plight of dwindling newspaper circulations and the fact America doesn’t fancy itself as a reading nation any longer.
“For most newspapers in the United states, [his company that dabbles in publishing] would not buy them at any price,” he said in response to a question about whether he would consider investing in newspapers. “They have the possibility of going to just unending losses.”
Talk about kicking the crap out of an industry while it’s down. Publishing magnates everywhere collectively inhaled and choked on their stogies when this quote went transcontinental.
So, how so, O’ Sage of Omaha?
Well, to paraphrase Buffett’s street savvy, “It’s all about the Benjamins.”
As long as newspapers were essential to readers, they were essential to advertisers. But news is available in many other venues, such as the Internet, which means a dramatic drop in advertising revenue.
So, is this pandemic Google’s fault? Nah. It’s ours.
Folk enjoy anything that can chucked into a microwave and bought at a drive-thru. Our quest of diversify our calendars has been the driving force plundering newspapers everywhere.
We enjoy the Cliff’s Notes versions found online rather than sifting through countless headlines – and ads – to find just exactly where was the last place Brangelina or TomKat was seen in public.
Why look for the story when we can hunt for the Google images and copy that in our Facebook page? Who knows.
Post new comment