The New York Times is regarded by many to be the best newspaper on earth. While others might disagree, there should be no debate that the The New York Times is widely respected for its high standards of journalistic integrity. Critics assert that the ideology reflected in the The New York Times is unfairly liberal but the newspaper itself regards its purpose as a vital one in our democratic society. This is reflected in their mission statement:
To enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high quality news, information and entertainment.”
The New York Times is an influential paper but its bias can be recognized. A telling example is a 2008 incident in which the paper refused to publish an Op-ed piece by John McCain in response to one the paper published by Barak Obama.
The New York Times is considered influential culturally as well. Its coverage of the arts, literature, film, and drama is extensive. A positive review from The Times can make or break an upcoming author.
The most obvious form this media commodity takes is the physical newspaper itself. The circulation for the physical copy of the newspaper is about 760,000. That's a lot of newspapers, but it is down about 30 percent of what it was in 1998.
The distribution system for the paper is pretty impressive. In most areas it can be delivered to your door by 6:30 a.m. Every morning. If only they brought you hot coffee too.
These days, electronic versions of the paper are becoming more and more popular. Its electronic version has a circulation of only about 90,000. With the cost for the daily paper at $2, rates have increased 38 percent since 2000.
The New York Times makes most of its money from ad revenue. However, ad revenue has decreased 15 percent since last year. That's not good for the paper. surprisingly total profit is down too.
Despite decreasing circulation and revenue of the physical broadsheet paper, NYTimes Digital, a synergy with newyorktimes.com and Boston.com, made an astounding $53.1 million in the first half of 2004 alone.
Newspapers everywhere are aggressively capitalizing on a remarkable new product platform: e-readers. E-editions for The New York Times for platforms such as the Kindle are said to have increased by 40 percent. The New York Times was very quick to introduce an I-pad app for its digital edition. If the I-pad becomes as big as Steve Jobs hopes it will, that may prove significant. However, if in the future newspapers are only available on these devices, the only people informed of the news would be those with enough capital to afford an I-pad. (They're not cheap!)
Currently, The New York Times' website is free. Karl Marxist would probably think its a good thing that so much information is available at no cost to the average worker, but that will soon change. Next year, they plan on charging for all web content.
The New York Times keeps a tight wrap on their product. You need express permission from the company to use or license their stories or photos. They own the content, so you have to play by their rules.
The New York Times makes most of its money from ad revenue. However, ad revenue has decreased 15 percent since last year. That's not good for the paper. Not surprisingly total profit is down too.
In my opinion, The New York Times is at a crucial juncture in history. It is one of the most important papers in the world and wields wide influence over culture and politics. Decreasing circulation and ad revenue are alarming, but aggressive attempts to take advantage of new media platforms may be the savior of The Times. Creating a synergy between the online edition, print edition and e-readers may very well prove to be the profitable new business model to propel The Times into the 22st Century.
To close out, an interesting lecture about the future direction of The New York Times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHM6o6qPMLw
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