There are a few problems with the industry. A tough one is that people read fewer papers. However, the major one that I don't see any way around is that the business model is unrelated to the core competency/value/activity of the company. That's a problem almost inherent in advertising though not quite.
The classifieds just piggybacked onto newspapers because they had a distribution mechanism & the could make the network effects happen. It never had anything to do with news. There was a symbiosis, but it was an incidental one. You can't just counter that with 'Democracy needs News.'
Consider a possible parallel. Imagine T shirts where a major ad industry. Various brands are able to sell cool T shirts that are very fashionable & desired. They sell em cheap & make it up on ads bought by the highest bidder. This becomes a cultural norm. Everyone wears these $2 shirts that would otherwise cost $50 & everyone gets a handful every month.
Now say no one wants to buy the ads any more or say the fashion becomes put a sticker over the ad or say atheist buses & neon building become so common that advertising is devalued. Whatever. Can't sell the ads any more. OK. Well, people will buy less shirts. It was nice while it lasted. We had $2 shirts. But that's it. No way around it. I will buy fewer shorts at $40 then at $2.
The classifieds just piggybacked onto newspapers because they had a distribution mechanism & the could make the network effects happen. It never had anything to do with news. There was a symbiosis, but it was an incidental one. You can't just counter that with 'Democracy needs News.'
Consider a possible parallel. Imagine T shirts where a major ad industry. Various brands are able to sell cool T shirts that are very fashionable & desired. They sell em cheap & make it up on ads bought by the highest bidder. This becomes a cultural norm. Everyone wears these $2 shirts that would otherwise cost $50 & everyone gets a handful every month.
Now say no one wants to buy the ads any more or say the fashion becomes put a sticker over the ad or say atheist buses & neon building become so common that advertising is devalued. Whatever. Can't sell the ads any more. OK. Well, people will buy less shirts. It was nice while it lasted. We had $2 shirts. But that's it. No way around it. I will buy fewer shorts at $40 then at $2.