At a conference in London, Arthur Sulzberger Jr conceded that someday the New York Times Company will be forced to stop publishing a printed paper.
via Business Insider.
Sulzberger Concedes: “We Will Stop Printing The New York Times Sometime In The Future”
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Yet another bold prediction of the indeterminate future. Maybe it’s just me, but you would think these senior guys representing large publishers in public forums would take the time to develop a more compelling message.
This is a period of great uncertainty in the publishing industry. I think everyone recognizes things will be different in a few years. It’s the exact nature of what “different” will look like that has everyone guessing. That’s a great opportunity for the big publishing houses to put forth their vision of the future. At least these guys could try to sound like they have given some thought to where the industry is headed.
Without hearing Sulzberger Jr.’s full remarks it’s hard to make a call on whether he’s as clueless as this article suggests. A crisper, more specific, message could get a lot of traction right now. If the possible, eventual, elimination of a printed paper was the highlight of his speech, then he blew a good opportunity to promote the NYT vision of the future.
If big publishers like the NYT and Condé Nast ultimately fail, it’s not going to be because technology caused the market to shift. It will be because the management of these companies were too distracted to adapt to the changing market.