Comments on: No Substantial Offers for the Statesman. Now What? http://www.jeffbeckham.com/2009/03/26/no-substantial-offers-for-the-statesman-now-what/ Austin, Texas Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:05:28 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Jeff http://www.jeffbeckham.com/2009/03/26/no-substantial-offers-for-the-statesman-now-what/comment-page-1/#comment-90002 Jeff Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:37:33 +0000 http://www.jeffbeckham.com/?p=440#comment-90002 Thanks for the comment, Jude. I agree that the comments section at statesman.com has gotten out of hand. They should probably shut it down and come up with a new system that filters out the trolls better. If you consider the land value and the printing business (the Statesman facility prints the Chronicle, the Sunday New York Times, and others) along with the paper and online business, then $50MM is a bargain. Thanks for the comment, Jude. I agree that the comments section at statesman.com has gotten out of hand. They should probably shut it down and come up with a new system that filters out the trolls better.

If you consider the land value and the printing business (the Statesman facility prints the Chronicle, the Sunday New York Times, and others) along with the paper and online business, then $50MM is a bargain.

]]> By: Jude http://www.jeffbeckham.com/2009/03/26/no-substantial-offers-for-the-statesman-now-what/comment-page-1/#comment-89466 Jude Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:16:28 +0000 http://www.jeffbeckham.com/?p=440#comment-89466 It's a dinosaur! The return on investment for the Statesman at $50MM is just not there. The physical newspaper is an expense more than generator of future enterprise value. Which leaves the buyer wondering "What is the potential for the Statesman brand to thrive online?" Have you noticed the comments sections at Statesman.com. Trolls, trolls, trolls. Readers have begun to seek out blogs that cover the issues they are interested in. The unfortunate reality of the Statesman is that it is journalistically empty. Most of the ink is spent on AP and syndicated stories/columns. In terms of local coverage, local bloggers could quickly fill the gap and moderate the discussion if the Statesman just went away. It’s a dinosaur! The return on investment for the Statesman at $50MM is just not there. The physical newspaper is an expense more than generator of future enterprise value.

Which leaves the buyer wondering “What is the potential for the Statesman brand to thrive online?”

Have you noticed the comments sections at Statesman.com. Trolls, trolls, trolls. Readers have begun to seek out blogs that cover the issues they are interested in.

The unfortunate reality of the Statesman is that it is journalistically empty. Most of the ink is spent on AP and syndicated stories/columns. In terms of local coverage, local bloggers could quickly fill the gap and moderate the discussion if the Statesman just went away.

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