They think we are simply defending what we have for as long as we can before it gradually slips away. We were very profitable last year. This parallels research showing that 55 percent of all journalists believe that newspapers' prospects will be diminished in 10 years. Not only must we, the leaders, believe newspapers can flourish far into the future, but we must make our people believe, too. As newspaper publishers, we have presided over an era of record financial success, and that success will continue for a while even if we do nothing.
Newspapers remain very, very strong.
We still sell more than 56 million newspapers a day, and an average of 2.23 people read each copy. No other medium reaches so many people on a regular basis. But unless we reverse the self-fulfilling prophecy that we are ultimately doomed, we surely are. First we must believe in our future. Count on it.