Are newspapers dying?
That’s the question of the day, since Tuesday morning The New York Times Company reported a 21 percent drop in adjusted operating profits during the second quarter compared with the same quarter in 2013.
According to president and CEO Mark Thompson, the Times Company saw growth in its online presence, evidenced by an increase in digital advertising.
“We are very pleased to have delivered a second consecutive quarter of positive growth in our digital advertising revenue,” Thompson said in a statement. “We also know that long-term digital revenue growth depends on the reach and depth of engagement of our digital audience.”
Despite the profit setback, the statement contains a few hopeful notes. For example, according to the report, the Times’ online presence is improving. This means there is most likely a future for the famous newspaper, even if the path is fraught with losses. But if the Times wants to survive in this digital age, it will have to find a way to keep readers paying and advertisers paying for online material.
“We know that we still have more work to do to transform our business and deliver long-term sustainable revenue growth for the Company,” Thompson said.
At the market open The New York Times’ stock was down -5.06 percent from the last market close, and continued to drop after the opening bell.