Depends how you look at it. Newspaper profits were at their highest in that period, but only because the industry had been ravished by radio and TV in the past

Depends how you look at it. Newspaper profits were at their highest in that period, but only because the industry had been ravished by radio and TV in the past decades. By 2004, it was extremely rare for a city (other than the very biggest) to have more than one newspaper. In past decades, most cities had multiple newspapers, including morning and afternoon papers. The newspapers that survived to be the only dog in town effectively had a monopoly in classified and print ads. That's why profit margins were so huge -- but there were far fewer players in the game.