Daniel Schwarz, professor of English at Cornell University and author of “Endtimes? Crises and Turmoil at the New York Times,” comments on the significance of former BBC director Mark Thompson’s appointment as the new CEO of the New York Times Company.
He says:
“Once the New York Times was the ‘Paper of Record,’ but for the past decades it has been somewhat desperately searching not only for a new identity but also for a financially viable model. That Mark Thompson has no experience in print journalism or in selling advertising is an indication that the search is continuing.
“The biggest challenge, which all print papers are facing along with the Times, is how to profit from the Internet. In March 2011, the Times started charging those who don’t subscribe to its print edition a fee for its electronic editions. With over 500,000 electronic subscribers, the Times is claiming great success in this experiment.
“To survive in its present form with an 1,100 person news and editorial staff, the Times needs to figure out how to charge other news media for using its product. For example, The Times provides a great deal of foreign news appearing in the U.S. media that the major networks and cable stations as well as other newspapers and such blogs as the Huffington Post borrow from the Times site without paying the Times anything.”
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