Again. This time the New York Times Inc. hits the wall in its online About.com unit. The last time was when it had to throw in the towel on its paid-subscription TimesSelect.com.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL writer Robert MacMillan reports, "The chief executive of New York Times Co.'s online unit About.com is leaving the company, as the publisher faces a looming proxy fight from a group of investors dissatisfied with its digital strategy."
So, why is it that the gang at the elite THE NEW YORK TIMES can't go digital? My hunch is that their heart isn't in it. Unlike the rest of us non-elite communicators who had to go digital, starve or find another way of making a living, they can afford or assume they can afford to conserve the world of communications as it once was.
When the company is taken over by a Murdoch type, the trust fund crowd will just fade. Those without trust funds might be too old, too experienced, or too arrogant to be hired for digital jobs, even if they can and do learn the technologies.
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