Grey Lady Down

Everyone knows the New York Times is down, the question is, how far?

But speaking as a technologist and a veteran journalist (and someone who once wrote for the (New York) Times), I think there are even deeper levels to this story -- those dealing with the often foolish choices entrenched companies make in the face of technological revolutions.

Comments

[seekeronos]

Wouldn't it be a big ol' hairy twist if Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation decided to add the NYT to his collection.

Or better still, he bought it and then parted it out. :P

[Jon]

I caught just a snippet of a conversation on the radio the other day with Howard Kurtz of the WaPo who has a new book out about network news. He apparently makes the point in his book that the network news shows get a significant amount of their stories from the NYTimes, sometimes lifted directly. Although the paper business is bad, and the NYTimes' online ventures have been less than stellar, it does still seem to hold a place of special importance in the overall picture of American media.

[Capitalist Infidel]

That's what happens when all you do is produce terrorist propaganda. Don't believe me? Check out this New York Times al Qaeda video. Bin Laden couldn't buy this kind of promotion

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=8e9862a9f3a8216027ef2f9ecd1c3bc5345b4134

[Looking Glass]

Jon,

The NY Times and the Boston Globe nightly exchange front page information to coordinate stories.

http://www.lookingglassnews.org/viewstory.php?storyid=2506

[Jon]

Hmm. Not surprising, I guess.

The story in question was more about the TV newscasts. Kurtz gave an example of a minor NYTimes story about a man who recovered a stolen car many years after the fact (possibly this story - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/nyregion/17corvette.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) that was picked up by all 3 network newscasts. His point was that, from issues big to small, the NYTimes still has a special place of importance in the US media landscape.