New Seattle P-I Shows The Future of Newspapers
www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-new-seattle-p-i-shows-the-future-of-newspapers-2009-3
From the page
Saved with the link. Notes from 2007 to 2016 are mostly the page's own words, so this is probably an excerpt.
The Seattle P-I will shut down its print edition and go web-only. In the process, it will fire 88% of its newsroom, shrinking its staff from 165 to 20.
And therein, unfortunately, lies the future of newspapers.
Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times: But the P-I, as it is called, will resemble a local Huffington Post more than a traditional newspaper, with a news staff of about 20 people rather than the 165 it has had, and a site consisting mostly of commentary, advice and links to other news sites, along with some original reporting.
The site has recruited some current and former government officials to write columns, and it will keep some of the popular columnists and bloggers who already work there, in addition to the large number of unpaid local bloggers whose work appears on the site. Hearst also plans to repackage material from its large stable of magazines for the site.
It is no longer unreasonable to ask when the New York Times (NYT) will be forced to do the same thing. The cuts there won't have to be so severe, at least not for a while.
The Seattle P-I is one of two local papers in Seattle, and the P-I's subscribers will now start paying for (and getting, the Seattle Times instead. Here's a Q&A on the Seattle Times' site.
It's worth no Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Goes Web-OnlySeattle P-I's Online-Only Future Already In Doubt*