I was in New York City for hours yesterday, including a couple media events, and I can tell you there is only one conversation in New York, what will happen to the New York Times? What is the future of our business?
There is a real sense of terror around these issues, and the answers always strike me as not very interesting. I have learned to shut up during the conversation, because no one wants to hear what I have to say. And after all, I can blog about it! Here are some quick notes:
–The Times, and Newsweek and Time for that matter, and the Atlantic in its monthly cohort–they are all pursuing the same strategy: Last Man Standing. If they are the Last Man Standing, they survive profitably into the new era. My friends fault the Times for not having a more specific plan, but I don't. Who can have a secure plan in this environment? The plans of 2 years ago are meaningless today. It's the wonder and thrill of what we're experiencing. No one knows. At least the Times is trying. They have a beautiful website, everyone agrees.
–These people who are so upset about losing the Times, I always want to ask them: How much do you read the Times? How much are you getting out of the web right now!? How have your reading habits changed? Why is the 6000-word magazine piece (that put this nice roof over my head, and other great accomplishments of western civilization) to be lamented? Aren't you getting more and better information?
–When they trash the blogosphere, and the opinionizers of the web, as ill-informed, or unprofessional, or unfactchecked (a friend made that irritable criticism to me yesterday!), does the future care? As I say here often, there are more smart people writing on the web now than have ever written before. Yes there is a ton of hogwash. But people have to be discriminating. They always have. I chose to disbelieve the Jeffrey Goldberg piece on Saddam's chemical/biological weapons that got into the New Yorker before the Iraq war under the noses of the factcheckers. Readers must be smart, too.
–None of us who was paid $3 and $4 a word wants to believe that volunteer journalism, which is what is happening on the web to some degree, is all that good. Maybe we have an investment?
–I did say, to two friends, It feels so scary now. One thing we know, in two years we'll be having a different conversation. Maybe everything will be figured out then! Till then, try and be the last man standing.
