Another recession -- before the one that pundits expected would come 2014 or later, when the "news industry had somehow gotten its digital transition act together and found some stable going-forward
business model" -- would hit the business particularly hard, argues Ken Doctor.
One major problem: "The digital transition is still in its early stages... No major publisher is driving more
than 20 percent of total revenue from digital. In fact, publishers are playing a straddle game - just as the earth underneath is cracking, a dangerous position."
Bottom line, even if the
recession is stalled, "publishers are simply running out of good choices," writes Doctor. "They've been dealt a deck of wild cards, misplayed a few hands and now have fewer chips left to play."
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