A look at the gloomy newspaper biz

bookmarks

More and more newspapers have folded over the past few years due to the crisis facing the printed news media industry. Following it were a number of articles exploring the transformation of the business. One notable piece deals with The Washington Post case entitled, Post Modern, by Michael Wolff.

According to the article, The Washington Post suffered an operating loss of $86.3 million (2.87 billion baht) in the first half of this year. Its newsroom has been downsized from over 900 people to about 500 in the past six years, and sections seem to disappear every day. The psychological impact appears to be greater there since it is one of the most successful newspapers and, perhaps the happiest in the US. Wolff questions if the staff's devotion and the owner's ability will be enough to save the newspaper - a paper that "created" modern journalism through its two most important stories on the Pentagon Papers and Watergate.

Interestingly, the article takes a look at different things The New York Post and The New York Times have done. For example, The Times has not slashed its 1,300-staff newsroom, but squeezed all its other resources to support this flagship newspaper, as well as cut the salaries of reporters and editors by five percent.

Meanwhile, The Post opts for a more radical change in focus, specialisation and market needs so that the paper will be "all things to all people". However, the author believes there will be an alternative such as building an online news business. The article concluded with a quote by Larry Kramer, the former editor of The Post, who says a "billion-dollar news business making $200 million becomes a $200-million business making $75 million".

Check out http://www.vanityfair.com/business/feature/2009/10/wolff200910.

For greener loos

As the world becomes increasingly hotter, more and more people are aware of the climate problem that faces us and are doing their best, big and small, to save the planet. National Geographic's website offers five easy tips on making your bathroom environmentally-friendly, borrowed from the book True Green Home.

First, don't let the tap run while brushing your teeth, washing your hands and face or shaving. Second, opt for a water-saving flush toilet model, or install a toilet dam in the cistern to reduce the amount of water for each flush. Third, switch to unbleached or recycled toilet paper. Two-ply toilet paper is not that necessary. Fourth, spend less time in the shower or replace the shower head with a high-efficiency model. Last, choose energy-saving exhaust fans for your bathroom and remember to clean the filter once a month.

Surfing the net to find new tips on making "green homes" is easy and fun, however, don't forget that spending too much time on the computer means using too much energy as well.

For more tips on how to make your home greener, visit http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/true-green.html.