A Big Week for Old Media

The world of media is changing so fast even the New York Times, the paper of record, can't always keep up. This week three developments marked significant shifts in the future of the media business model. All three could benefit the struggling daily newspaper industry, or at least what's left of it.

The first is perhaps the most obvious, because it comes from the newspapers themselves. The New York Times this week announced that it would begin charging nonsubscribers for frequent access to its website, starting in 2011. This is bad news for frequent news consumers, bloggers, and probably even cite-checking law students, who all rely on easy access to the Times' incredible archive of reliable information. But it's probably good news for the newspaper itself, which will see an immediate spike in revenue. With ad sales and circulation declining, the Times Company's decision to charge for access to online content will temporarily anger readers (like me) but undoubtedly will help the paper retain its invaluable news staff. This isn't a panacea for the newspaper industry, but others will watch to see if the Times' decision helps stop the bleeding. If it does, other large newspapers still standing in 2011 will likely follow suit.

Second, the Wall Street Journal claims to have confirmed rumors that Apple will unveil its long-anticipated iSlate tablet device next Wednesday. If it sells half as well as the iPhone, this device will revolutionize the way we access digital information. Few people enjoy reading large quantities of text on computer screens, iPods, or Blackberries but increasingly, not doing so leaves a person in the dark. Most of us need to access digital information with great speed and frequency, so we do it in spite of these reservations, and our preference for paper. I'm not suggesting that books will disappear, of course, only that Apple is filling a need. The iSlate is great news for newspapers because it decreases the need to distribute the paper versions of their product, cutting circulation costs without losing readers. (As an aside, the iSlate could also be fantastic news for college and law students. Think of the potential for digital textbooks to drive down costs.)

The third development is more subtle, and comes packaged in what seems like bad news: the U.S. Supreme Court held yesterday, 5-4, that people using the corporate form have the same free speech rights in political campaigns as the rest of us. Since Congress passed the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act, for-profit and non-profit corporations, as well as labor unions, were limited in the ways they could donate to and speak about political candidates. The Act exempted media corporations, meaning that a giant corporation like Fox News could say whatever it wanted about a candidate up until Election Day, while a non-profit group like the ACLU had no such ability to endorse or criticize a candidate. Media corporations, now on a level playing field with other corporations, have mixed views about the ruling. The Wall Street Journal hailed the ruling as a victory for the Constitution and free speech rights, while the New York Times (long a supporter of campaign finance reform) assailed it as a "blow to democracy". Whatever your feelings, until Congress makes a change, corporations are free to start buying political advertisements. Who will get all this money? The old media. The same New York Times Company that criticized the ruling will undoubtedly accept these advertising dollars. The Times editorial board may continue to support campaign finance reform but the Times Company's board of directors surely will not stop this new flow of money.

Not a bad week for old media.