Not a surprise, it just confirms much of the anecdotal evidence we have known for months. Major newspaper's circulation is now 44 million copies a day - fewer than any time since the 1940's. Ad revenue has collapsed down 28% in last 6mths to Sept 30, 2009. Circulation figures do not include online audience - except for 400,000 paid subscribers at the Wall Street Journal, mostly because very few newspapers are charging for online access. Unique online visits are up 20% to 72 million over 2007.
However I would characterize it as - the large well supported urban decision makers grow stronger while the "wannabe" franchise media outlets get weaker. This is mirroring the traditional movement of individuals to better resourced urban area's (although with the Real Estate meltdown, that contention is taking a beating). One online blog echo's these concerns by noting that he fears that "newspapers are offering less".
Two market anomaly's are Denver and Seattle where Rocky Mountain News and Post-Intelligencer closed to the benefit of remaining competitors.
Last week, News Corp head honco Rupert MURDOCK was quoted as saying that advertising sales appear to have bottomed out in the last few weeks of September (versus last year, at least) which triggered a bounce in a number of the remaining newspaper stocks (Tribune, New York Times) .
In Canada, Canwest was again given another reprieve, presumably based on the possibility for the upcoming CRTC hearings about CableTV "passthrough" to generate some revenue for Global, CTV and CBC broadcast operations.
As I am becoming more and more disgusted with many other newspapers (Mindy JACBOBS at Edmonton Sun, Antonia ZERBISIAS at Torstar plus many others at Globe&Mail and CBC) it struck me that "the rubber may finally be hitting the road" in regards to such upsetting fringe journalists, who only survive on the basis of being granted tenure by publishers who wish to seem "balanced" or are content to stir the pot by having such deranged individuals writing for them. The only reason for this has been the monopoly power of the major news media to finance such vanities by ad revenue. That revenue base is eroding - rapidly. With the growth and popularization of the web blogger, much of this power is transferred back to individuals. There is no need to support newspapers that do not provide a serive of value - like independently providing a "news service" rather than filtered ideology.
At the end of June I read that Al Jazeera English TV Network will be approved by the CRTC fro cable. I am not sure that is a good idea - but certainly as it will be an extra service and cable subscribers will have to pay Rogers to carry the service so there will be a small business advantage. There is a "I want AJ" website put up to encourage Canadians to lobby the CRTC and provides a number of advantages of the service, code of ethics, journalist profiles etc. That is wher a great number of pixels are spent pumping that former CBC journalists Tony BURHMAM and Avi LEWIS have joined the English service.
On Dec 26, Israel launched its military response to the relentless Hamas-directed missile/mortar attacks into adjacent Israeli territory (about 2-3 attacks per day over past 6 months) - code-named "Operation Cast Lead".
Without any precise targeting intelligence, Hamas's rockets they fall where they may. Such indiscriminate tactics allows Hamas to disingenuously claim they are not targeting civilians! Luckily for Israelis, their sophisticated military defenses/counter-measures are able to intercept most of the incoming ordinance - rendering it harmless. Nonetheless, these missile/mortar attacks have continued unabated since the June 2008 truce was abandoned by Hamas and have created a queasy climate of fear in the Israeli City of Sderot, situated on the boarder with Gaza. Not all counter-measures have been successful and some rockets have caused causalities but they only amount to a handful - compared to what they could be.
The Israeli Air Force highly targeted retaliation against Hamas rocket launchers - most of which are rapidly moved about by pickup trucks - has been devastatingly effective. (see youtube video below) Hundreds of deadly accurate strikes have been carried out against Hamas operatives. Scores of sites have been demolished. Hamas claims (as of Jan 18, the beginning of the Israeli ceasefire) thousands1 of causalities, many of them civilians.
However, in order to gain a propaganda advantage Hamas diabolically sets-up its rocket-launchers close to civilian schools, mosques, hospitals and parks in Gaza. They fire with impunity and when Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retaliate against such sites, the gruesome "collateral damage" is paraded about for the TV cameras. It is no longer debatable that many of these "photo opportunities" are actually situations faked or orchestrated by Hamas for the benefit of the captive Press Corps (who are only allowed to go where Hamas permits them to go - always accompanied). Hamas is funded by Iran.
On January 10, after significant air operations destroyed much of the public infrastructure of Gaza, the IDF moved-in with tanks and ground troops to "mop-up". They engage in house-to-house search missions to eliminate any lingering Hamas insurgents.
On Jan 18, Israel declares a truce brokered with the assistance of France and agreement of Egypt and the U.S. Hamas continues to fire at least 30 rockets but suffers instant retaliation before agreeing to cease hostilities 6hrs later for one week to allow IDF troops to withdraw.
Footnote: 1. Hamas claims 5,000 casualties (including civilians?) in Gaza. IDF places 1,300 Hamas casualties in Gaza and 13 IDF soldiers during the operation - half of which were "friendly fire" incidents. I have read that estimated civilian casualties in Israel are under 100, but I can not be sure of the time frame and so may be overstated. Clearly though, Hamas was pummeled. I understand Gaza population is 1.5 million. 2. "Why Israel Feels Threatened" by Benny MORRIS, 2008DEC08 NY Times. Hezbollah has re-armed since the 2006 war with Israel. The PA has an estimated arsenal of 30,000 to 40,000 Russian-made rockets from Syria and Iran. Inside Israel 1.3 million Israelis of Arab disent live and are growing rapidly (15% of population) - in fact projections have these Israeli Arabs constituting a majority by 2040-2050. This is also a reason why jewish immigration is highly encouraged.
[Update:2008JAN20 Jerusalem Post "Palestinians are being rounded up and eyewitnesses said the detainees were being held in school buildings and hospitals that had been turned into make-shift interrogation centers". Oh my, call the UN! Oh - it's ok it's just Hamas having "fun" with Fatah.]
[Update2: Oct 2 - CBC said it will meeting a reporter - Isabelle Guilbeault, who reports on arts for the morning radio show in Quebec City - for recorded a 30-second filmed spot for a campaign called "Unite our voices" to protest Conservative cuts in culture subsidies and prevent the party's re-election.]
I am beginning to think that anyone who works for the Federal Government should be dis-enfranchised (not permitted to vote in Federal elections) due to the the conflict of interest they find themselves. Honest! Liberals and NDP mostly all work for the Government. If they really has to earn an honest day's wage they couldn't cut it. [Update1: Sept 30 - CBC accepts the blog has generated substantial criticism and has "pulled the piece". Head of News - John Cruickshank states the problem lies not with the piece but editorial control and lack of diversity in viewpoint. ]
This blog by CBC Journalist Heather MALLICK raised a stink at the National Post. Johnathon KAY also logged in on basically the same topic. When she was at the Globe & Mail I rarely gave Ms. MALLICK much attention.
I do think that such unadulterated smears demean any news organization that allows them, but that is for the to CBC to decide. Sometimes news organizations hear from their readers via letter campaigns, from subjects in defamation and libel lawsuits, customers "voting with their feet" and even shareholders.
However the CBC is a different news organization than Canwest Global, the CTV/Globe & Mail or Torstar in as much as it is taxpayer funded. So I think the point made is "should our tax dollars be used against us?".
The breadth and power of the state to abuse should not be overlooked, under-estimated or unappreciated. I merely point to the antic's of the many HRC's across the country - which have allowed an instrument of the state to trammel unhindered over many innocent lives with little or no recourse to stop any abuse of individuals rights. We can see the same circumstances in Education, Law Courts and Healthcare - where rights of the majority have been subjugated to attack by various vocal minorities.
In B.C., "Gay lifestyle" is being "promoted" in grade school under the domain of HRC-threatened "sexual equality". 1
In Ontario, pediatric forensic pathologist Dr. Charles SMITH has been the subject of an inquiry for convictions from misleading evidence he presented during 1991-2001 acknowledging his disorganization, arrogance and the dogmatic manner in which he often presented evidence as an expert witness resulted in a "wrongful conviction factory". 2
Incorrect testing by a lab at a Newfoundland Healthcare Region for 6 years led to 386 cancer patients receiving an improper diagnosis of their cancer illness. Clearly, bureaucratic procedures and attitudes protected the bureaucrats and inhibited discovery of errors that led to many untimely deaths. (It is very difficult to conclusively untangle exactly how many premature deaths occured from mis-diagnosis - or how much it may have directly reduced their lifespan and ending quality of life - versus what may have happened if the cancers were properly treated.) 3, 4
These are examples of government departments using rules and regulation created by other government departments to abuse it's own citizen's. Intervention in any of these situations is a Kafkaesque experience and practically impossible to effect except through a Supreme Court challenge. Personal accountability is removed from bureaucrats as they are merely following "the law". If they zealously "over-interpret the law" it is not possible for mere individual citizens to easily correct them until they have destroyed a vast number of people with their injustice. Such is the power of the state.
How are these issue relevant to the CBC? Many will defend the CBC as a top tier news organization, and I would not disagree. I depend on it mightily and I can usually count on them getting the facts right and eventually they get the context or interpretation right as well. Still others - supporters from left and right - will defend the CBC as being representative of many left and right-wing viewpoints. That would at least be fair. Sort of like the deary "free time political broadcasts" that used to clutter the airwaves just before the signed-off for the night. The full spectrum of political viewpoints should be represented at the CBC because it is a state run organization. Canada should not emulate Russia 's media control.
Unfortunately I believe the ranks of the CBC are filled with nothing BUT left-wing and liberal supporters - much like many other federal government departments. If they could be trusted to bring even-handed and balanced viewpoints to the table they would not be accused of political bias, but they don't and they haven't. There is no pressure to advocate for right-wing, conservative viewpoints at the CBC, just the need to sing along with their comrade brothers and sisters. They are subject to group-think of the worst kind. This is because they are - like the examples above - organized as instruments of the state and lack the controls that govern private behaviour and organizations.
Footnotes: 1) National Post Sept 2, 2008 "When Jill wants to be a Jack". According to Statscan "Gay Pride: by the numbers" 1.5% of the adult population +18 self identify as Homosexual (Gay or Lesbian). How is it that 98.5% of the population must bow to the apparent wishes of 1.5%?
2) National Post Oct 1, 2008 "Charles Smith Inquiry" 20 of 45 criminally suspicious deaths he investigated between 1991 and 2001 were found to be in error in reviews by other pathologists. Among these cases lie the wreckage of families destroyed by convictions of "shaken baby syndrome" where parents were sent to jail.
4) There must be some kind of "secret bee dance" among bureaucratic organizations that drives them to "play nice" with each other and adopt common legal barriers amongst themselves. To wit how the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons were on the brink of changing their Standards of Practice to prohibit Doctors from exercising their right of personal conscience in advising treatment for client's to avoid potential HRC prosecutions this summer. Opposition from members and the national organization led to the amendment being withdrawn.
Not a surprise, it just confirms much of the anecdotal evidence we have known for months. Major newspaper's circulation is now 44 million copies a day - fewer than any time since the 1940's. Ad revenue has collapsed down 28% in last 6mths to Sept 30, 2009. Circulation figures do not include online audience - except for 400,000 paid subscribers at the Wall Street Journal, mostly because very few newspapers are charging for online access. Unique online visits are up 20% to 72 million over 2007.
