Matthew Yglesias points out that the revenue that newspapers get from dead-tree subscribers does not make up for the cost of printing and delivering the paper.

Matthew Yglesias points out that the revenue that newspapers get from dead-tree subscribers does not make up for the cost of printing and delivering the paper. So the real problem is not that consumers would rather not pay for news, but that advertisers don't want to buy the online ad space. http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/news_without_the_paper.php http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/news_with... (Personally, I suspect that the problems are interrelated, because IIUC advertisers are more willing to buy ad space in a publication with paying subscribers--I guess the assumption is that if people are laying down their own cash, then they must respect the content, and that respect rubs off on the ads.)