Print Is Down, and Now Out

[Commentary] In August 2013, Jeff Bezos, an avatar of digital innovation as the founder of Amazon, came out of nowhere and plunked down $250 million for The Washington Post.

His vote of confidence in the future of print and serious news was seen by some as a sign that an era of “optimism or potential” for the industry was getting underway. Turns out, not so much -- quite the opposite, really. The Washington Post seems fine, but just recently, three of the biggest players in American newspapers -- Gannett, Tribune Company and E. W. Scripps, companies built on print franchises that expanded into television -- dumped those properties like yesterday’s news in a series of spinoffs.

The journalism moment we are living in is more about running for your life than it is about optimism. Newspapers continue to generate cash and solid earnings, but those results are not enough to satisfy investors.