Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age

The New York Times looks at one of the rare online successes in newspapers, Norway’s Schibsted, which has bucked all recent downward trends in journalism and now finds itself flourishing in an increasingly digital world instead floundering. Why? Because “while other newspaper companies tried to cling to their existing business model,” Schibsted kept an open mind and embraced new technologies, investing heavily in new media as early as 1995. What’s amazing is that Schibsted really didn’t do anything more than have the realization that its product isn’t as important as its service, and that it doesn’t matter how that service reaches people (as long as it does). This is of course a much different viewpoint from most publishers, from magazines to newspapers to books, who view their printed artifacts as their product.

From the story: “At a time when other newspaper companies lament a loss of readers and advertisers, Schibsted is thriving. Its earnings rose 28 percent in the fourth quarter. Online operations will generate about 20 percent of the company’s revenue this year, according to analysts at Kaupthing, a bank based in Reykjavik, Iceland, even as many other big newspaper publishers struggle to reach the 10 percent mark.”

While Others Struggle, Norwegian Newspaper Publisher Thrives on the Web