It appears that one of the few remaining major newspaper companies that still circulate news in the physical print form is in a downward spiral after a string of firings and resignations, according to The New York Times. One such resignation, that of executive editor John Solomon a couple of weeks ago, has had much more of an impact and is much more telling of the state of The Washington Times today.
Many blame the downturn on Rev. Sun Myung Moon, owner of the company that oversees The Washington Times. In October of this year, Mr. Moon stepped down and turned control over to his four children who began fighting amongst themselves for power. The article states that the feuding was apparent, and caused many to question the company's future after employees began to resign or be fired.
On the positive side, the newspaper did make clear its intentions on transitioning to digital. The article noted that though The Washington Times only circulated about 67,000 printed copies, its website received nearly 2 million "unique visitors" per month, according to Nielson Online.
It's pretty clear that the company needs to address the leadership positions in order to improve their executive structure, no company can succeed without that. After Mr. Moon gets the Times back on its feet, I think it's only a matter of time before the company plays to its digital audience and stops its print circulation to operate fully online.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Wow, it's sad that siblings have to fight over power of a company like that. They definitely need to address their leadership issue. They should put greed and their hunger for power aside and focus on getting the paper back to where it was. Great post.
ReplyDeleteA family feud is not surprising in this day and age, it seems that everyone is power hungary. I think either way though that the poor circulation is due to the overall fact that hard copy sales of newspapers are just declining. Going digital is the best option for them.
ReplyDelete