By gutting local advertising overnight, COVID-19 has accelerated strategies — like cutting print days, corporate consolidation, or even closing down offices — that publishers had hoped could wait a while longer.
The coronavirus pandemic is proving the value of local news to millions of readers, driving up subscriptions. But the advertising collapse is knee-buckling. “If it’s a couple of months, we’ll make it through. If it’s six months, all bets are off.”
Declines in ad revenue and all those canceled events might prove manageable. But the real risk would come with a virus-inspired recession — and how the industry’s hedge-fund owners might respond to it.
By selling Berkshire Hathaway’s newspapers to Lee Enterprises, the world’s most successful investor is acknowledging the industry’s downhill slide is not near an end.
Republicans and Democrats are (surprisingly!) teaming up to help news organizations negotiate with the tech giants. But it’s unlikely to have a substantial impact on the dysfunctional relationship between publishers and platforms.
It’s a big step for Salt Lake City — but also a major opening for other newspapers who might find nonprofit status a more appealing alternative than selling or closing down.
Schmidt, Christine. "Meet The Salt Lake Tribune, 501(c)(3): The IRS has granted nonprofit status to a daily newspaper for the first time." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 4 Nov. 2019. Web. 28 Apr. 2024.
APA
Schmidt, C. (2019, Nov. 4). Meet The Salt Lake Tribune, 501(c)(3): The IRS has granted nonprofit status to a daily newspaper for the first time. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/11/meet-the-salt-lake-tribune-501c3-the-irs-has-granted-nonprofit-status-to-a-daily-newspaper-for-the-first-time/
Chicago
Schmidt, Christine. "Meet The Salt Lake Tribune, 501(c)(3): The IRS has granted nonprofit status to a daily newspaper for the first time." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified November 4, 2019. Accessed April 28, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/11/meet-the-salt-lake-tribune-501c3-the-irs-has-granted-nonprofit-status-to-a-daily-newspaper-for-the-first-time/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/11/meet-the-salt-lake-tribune-501c3-the-irs-has-granted-nonprofit-status-to-a-daily-newspaper-for-the-first-time/
| title = Meet The Salt Lake Tribune, 501(c)(3): The IRS has granted nonprofit status to a daily newspaper for the first time
| last = Schmidt
| first = Christine
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 4 November 2019
| accessdate = 28 April 2024
| ref = {{harvid|Schmidt|2019}}
}}
