Google and Newspapers: The Saga Continues

January 9, 2009

A pretty good Web log I follow is PaidContent.org. The story “Google Won’t buy Ailing Newspapers, Could Merge without Merging” popped up in the Washington Post here. I found this interesting.

The core of this story is that newspapers wanted Google to “save” them. If the US government can “save” investment banks, newspaper wizards figured it was worth a shot to solicit the country of Google to save newspapers. Google’s top dog told another dead tree outfit (Fortune Magazine), “No way.” Google, however, wants to help, a fuzzy concept in my mind. I picture Google as the video monster Godzilla wearing a Google T shirt. I guess the fuzzy notion works for the newspaper industry.

My thoughts on this weird acknowledgment that the Web does a better job of reporting “news” than dead tree publications are:

For most dead tree outfits, it is too late. Costs and customers have moved on.
The Web is a news generation and distribution system that operates without the intermediating steps so essential to the ego and business paradigm of dead tree outfits. Game over.
The consumers don’t want to fiddle with dead tree stuff. Newspapers are becoming like pale imitations of komikku , filled with soft features and pablum.

I am willing to listen to a counter argument. I enjoy hearing from professional publishers who are de facto monopolies. For most professional publishers, the days of increasing subscriptions is almost over. I also like the brilliant arguments advanced by book, magazine, and newspaper owners who tell me to look at their outstanding Web sites. Folks, building traffic asking me to look at your Web sites won’t do much today. I am also fascinated by the scientific-technical-medical crowd who relentlessly assert that their information is high value. Keep in mind that I am an addled goose happy if I can find an edible crust of bread in the coal mine runoff, I am happy. Stakeholders in the dead tree outfits want more than stale crusts of bread. Stakeholders want payoff, not promises in my opinion.

Stephen Arnold, January 9, 2009

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Uncategorized

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.