Tuesday 12 February 2019

digital first

In a move similar to the investor malfeasance behind the ultimate demise of Sears and many high street anchor stores—rather than the narrative we’ve been sold about the pivot to online retail, an aggressive real estate operation is behind at least some of the rampant dissolution of the press and local media outlets.
The predatory firm is picking off already distressed newsrooms and redeveloping their property footprint—scaling back staff and encouraging tele-work (wrecking cohesion) in order to free up office space, either converted and sold on or retrofitted as a co-working venue. The title (not the same as the management group) refers to the idea in communication theory that breaking news should be channelled through new media (social platforms that direct to a web presence) rather than traditional formats—for the sake of expediency, though polish and rigour are often sacrificed in the process to have a scoop.