The internet has already overtaken newspapers and the protracted demise of the medium is given another nudge as internet giant Google ends its print ad program.
In the last few months, we’ve been taking a long, hard look at all the things we are doing to ensure we are investing our resources in the projects that will have the biggest impact for our users and partners. While we hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers, the product has not created the impact that we — or our partners — wanted. As a result, we will stop offering Print Ads on February 28. For advertisers who have campaigns already booked, we will place their ads through March 31.
With advertisers pulling out, newspapers are dropping like flies. A list of the dead or dying includes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Rocky Mountain News, Tucson Citizen, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Miami Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Daily News, and the New York Observer. Will cash infusions be enough to keep the New York Times going?