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Why I Hung Up on a New York Times Reporterby Gary North Recently by Gary North: Rick Ackerman Defects to the Hyperinflationist Camp After 30 Years
Yesterday morning, a New York Times Op-Ed writer called me. He wanted to write a piece where I am quoted. I chose not to talk to him. I asked him straight out: "How did you get my phone number?" He said a staffer had retrieved it. The number is unlisted. I told him I was busy. I was in the middle of my monthly Remnant Review piece. I had a deadline to meet. I told him to compliment his researcher. I choose not to give interviews, except on rare occasions. I know how the game is played. It's called selective quotation. I figure if an OpEd guy is after me, he will be highly selective. If he has some published quotations from me, he can cite them. They are public. They are for citing. But the "phone interview" game I will not tolerate. I would have no record of what I said. The reader has no way to be sure I said it. The writer will not run the article by me to make sure that I approve. He said he would say I refused to talk. Fair enough. I surely did.
He had to invade my privacy to get even that much out of me. He has the ethics of a telemarketer, but without the respect for sales. The Times is slowly going bankrupt. Print media are dying. The Times is flailing around, desperately trying to find a revenue model that will work. It won't find it. In February, Mashable ran a story on the Times. Digital advertising revenues were up by 11.1% year to year, but this did not offset a 7.2% decline in print revenue. Overall revenue fell 2.9% in the 4th quarter of 2010, compared to 4th quarter 2009. Circulation revenue declined 3.1%.
I note that 2009 was a recession year. Janet Robinson, President and CEO, said this: "visibility remains limited." Visibility is clear to the rest of us. The Times is the Titanic. It has hit the iceberg. Here is an April 21 press release from the Times.
Janet Robinson is the right woman for the job. She is a master of the art of spin.
The staff will be cut. The influence of the paper will fade. It has faded considerably already. The joy within the conservative world will increase. At least my caller has a career escape hatch. He can become a telemarketer. His researcher is really good. That person does have a future – in police work, bail bond jumper tracking, or even the CIA. This video will cheer you up. The Daily Show clearly sees the future of the Times. April 30, 2011 Gary North [send him mail] is the author of Mises on Money. Visit http://www.garynorth.com. He is also the author of a free 20-volume series, An Economic Commentary on the Bible. Copyright © 2011 Gary North
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Profits
are fading fast. It is clear what is happening. The Times
is going belly-up.