A level field is bad news for newspapers

The Internet is the one way in which little guys can meaningfully influence their own destinies, even in the face of mainstream media such as the Gannett Company, "serving" Newark Ohio.

As more little guys get Internet savvy, so do advertisers. Bad news for big newspapers, even though the net profit margin for Gannett Company in 2005 was 16.4% on revenues of $7.6 billion.Read the whole financial report here.

The New York Times publisher has acknowledged that in five years there may no longer be a newspaper by that name; its remains may be strictly Internet-based. This is a trend Editor & Publisher magazine has been reporting for months - on its web site.

Meanwhile, the local Gannett-owned newspaper has been doing the exact opposite of what is normally preached to advertisers: if business is down, spend more to get it back. Instead, Gannett in Newark has killed off its daily television schedule and TV column. It has all but dismantled entirely its weekly "Booster," a once-beloved paper whose history goes way back before Gannett bought its way into Central Ohio. The Advocate is skinnied down, some days, to newsletter size.

Gannett is getting beat. Gannett is getting beat because it is a corporation headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. In spite of its 46% gross margin in 2005, it can't afford pretense at full news coverage.

Gannett is getting beat because its real interests are in a far-off corporation and not this or any other particular community. It gets no allegiance because it gives none.