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Tough times for media companies

Most Indian media companies rely on advertising revenue. That explains why they are having a tough time in the economic slowdown. However, they are not alone. As per CNN Money, advertising revenue has declined dramatically for the two iconic American newspapers - The New York Times and The Washington Post. As a result, the papers are resorting to cost cutting and layoffs. The Times will cut the salaries of its non union workers. It has already laid off 100 union workers and has asked the unions to take pay cuts in order to avoid further job cuts. A bunch of other American newspapers have shut down or gone bankrupt.
The newspaper industry broadly relies on two sources of revenues -subscription and advertising. The advent of the internet has meant that readers look for news online. However, online subscription revenues have not been able to replace the print subscription that has been lost. Overall, the hold of newspapers on paid subscribers has weakened considerably. Still, when it comes to sensitivity to economic cycles, subscribers as a group tend to be more stable than advertiser

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