DEATH OF PRINT…NOT GREATLY EXAGGERATED
If billionaire Sam Zell had gotten into the horse business, he might have bought a couple of hundred mares this summer, just before bloodstock prices plunged. The self-styled “Grave Dancer” was already in enough financial trouble, however, fighting to keep the massive Tribune Company out of bankruptcy after spending $8.3 billion to buy it less than a year ago.
That struggle took a new turn yesterday for Zell, who filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware for the company that publishes the Chicago Tribune (the self-proclaimed World’s Greatest Newspaper, which led to the call letters of the WGN TV superstation and radio station the Trib owns). The Tribune Company stable also includes the once-mighty Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and, of course, those hapless losers, the Chicago Cubs, who recently celebrated their 100th year without a world championship. Its real estate holdings include one square block on the North Side of Chicago – better known as the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.
Zell said he had to file for protection from creditors in order to save the company – or at least what’s left of it.
What’s next for Zell, a purchase of the Bloodhorse, Thoroughbred Times and Daily Racing Form? Perhaps a racetrack or two? (Note to Sam: If interested contact Magna Entertainment in Aurora, Ontario, Canada.)
The traditional print industry is in trouble. Earlier this week, the Miami Herald was put for up for sale. Last week it was Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, which might fold if no one steps forward to buy it. The two major newsweeklies — Time and Newsweek — are thin as a pancake as advertising disappears, and the third title in that market, U.S. News and World Report, stopped printing and instead publishes an online edition only. That’s the same route taken recently by the venerable Christian Science Monitor. Even the book industry is reeling. Last week, a number of book publishers announced massive layoffs and cutbacks.
No industry is exempt from this sea-change in media trends. More and more folks are getting their national and international news from one of the three 24-hour cable networks. People seeking local news or information on a multitude of subjects, from cooking recipes to horse racing news and analysis, can find it online….instantly.
Here’s an assignment for you: Try to find someone under 30 years old who subscribes to a daily newspaper.
Advertisers are following the flow of eyeballs away from newspapers and magazines and the transfer of ad dollars from print to online is killing traditional publishing companies, even those with a presence on the Web. When a company like the Bloodhorse or Thoroughbred Times has an advertiser shift an ad from the magazine to its Web site, it’s a bit like a racetrack losing an on-track bet to an account wagering company. It costs the same amount to put out the product (whether it’s a magazine or a horse race), but the online ad generates far less revenue to the publishing company than a print ad does, just as an account wagering bet generates less revenue to the racetrack than an on-track wager does.
Compounding the challenge for traditional publishers is new competition from Web sites that aren’t burdened with the heavy cost of production staffs and printing and distribution. On top of everything else, those products are outdated by the time they reach consumers. That’s why so many print products and their staffs are getting thinner, from the largest daily newspapers to niche publications serving the Thoroughbred industry.
Daily Racing Form recently trimmed its editorial and handicapping team. Bloodhorse has gone through two rounds of job cuts in the last year, and as many as a dozen more positions may be eliminated, according to sources, including the company’s book division, Eclipse Press.
Print may not be dead…but it’s a dying breed. Ask Sam Zell.
Are you spending less time thumbing through the Thoroughbred weeklies than you used to? Check in on the Daily Paulick Poll on the left-hand column of our home page and let us know.
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Tags: bloodhorse, daily racing form, Paulick Report, Print Media, Ray Paulick, thoroughbred media, thoroughbred times
December 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am
There are parallels between print media and the racing industries.
1. “Try to find someone under 30 years old who subscribes to a daily newspaper.” And try to find someone under 50 at the track. Those 30 and younger grew up in the era of the 24 news cycle of cable news and the Internet. They aren’t used to going to the newspaper for news. Similarly, “young” people grew up in the era where people buy lottery tickets, bet sports, or go to the casino to get their gambling fix. The NFL, MLB, NBA, and college sports dominate the sports landscape. Racing has been pushed to the margins in terms of gambling and as a sport.
2. Newspapers and horse racing, I fear, use obsolete and inefficient business models. When you can get news on demand, why wait a day to read it in a newspaper? (There are benefits to reading a story in the newspaper, like additional fact checking and in-depth stories, but many do not seem to be concerned about that.) And the distribution method is a lot more cost-intensive than publishing to a website. Racing incredibly capital-intensive. Slot machine parlors, off shore sports betting, and poker rooms have lower overhead, which means they can clobber racing on price (takeout). And while the lottery makes racing look like a bargain, it piggybacks on existing retail venues to have wide distribution. Lottery pools are large enough that people don’t care it’s a rip off.
I feel like I *should* subscribe to a newspaper to keep print media alive, but then when I buy a newspaper, I see how thin it is and how it’s full of wire stories that I could, well, get on the Internet. I’d rather read a news magazine, which has more analysis than a newspaper and has a longer shelf life than a day, so I can read it at my leisure. Racing and print media need to sell themselves as products that are most esoteric than their competitors’. This concedes that it isn’t for everybody, but those who want more details in their stories or want a greater mental challenge than pushing buttons on a slot might be interested.
December 9th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
There is a big difference in reading print media and online news, just as there is a big difference in being at the track and watching at home. When I read the paper with my morning coffee, I’ll read entire articles and editorials. When I read online, I skim more. I expect to hit more stories faster and shorter. That’s why I visit the Paulick Report everyday, as I can see plenty of stories from numerous sources instantly.
The same is true for the horseracing experience. When I go to the track, I’m there to see and bet every race at that track, go to the paddock, watch the post parade, but when I watch at home, I do other things while the TV is on, especially since they are covering races at so many tracks that I am not encouraged to spend much time on any one race.
The two experiences feel quite different, and the more satisfying ones are still the morning newspaper and the box seat at Santa Anita, even though I would hate to be without TVG or the Paulick Report now that I am spoiled by both.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
What did Jack Welch say?…change or die. Some media companies get it, but most don’t. Many of them will die. May they rest in peace.
December 9th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Go Cubbies!!!!!!!!!!!
December 9th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
All of the posts above have good points to champion and I believe them to be the truth (save for the Cubs of course…but I’d love to see them do it).
What I find interesting, as subscriber to two papers (Washington Post and my local Hoooterville Holler) is that the majority of stories I watch on TV or even listen to on radio are lifted from the print press. They (the papers) provide the level of detail and follow through that the instantaneous media seems disinterested in providing or pursuing. When they go, I’m afraid we will all be a bit more disenfranchised.
The Post rarely does a story on horse racing and spends more time on local high school games than Curlin’…2 pages last time I noticed……pretty tragic.
I’m not a fan of the Washington Post, LA Times or Baltimore Sun, but I read them. I’m afraid that the American culture is dwindling in conscientious and intellect. I can tell you Congress and the White House read them all. If we as citizens don’t care, those entities are not far behind. Then where will we be. It’s hard enough now to find the truth and with fewer touting their supposed interpretation of it, where will we get it? Not everyone has a computer either and those that do seem to be more interested in O.J. and Brittiney…again, God save us.
December 12th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
From Baltimore: It serves them right since they don’t and will not print the racing enties and results. The paper has nothing but go down hill.
December 14th, 2008 at 6:00 am
CUMBERLAND — Sam Perlozzo had to make a stop on his way home to Cumberland before he could help his daughter Mia with homestretch arrangements for her Saturday wedding. It would be a very beneficial stop for Perlozzo as, before