The Seattle PI Closing: Who Wins and Who Loses?

After 146 years in operation, an icon, the Seattle PI is going out of business.  The Seattle PI announced on January 9th that they would seek a buyer for the newspaper for a period of 60 days, and if no contract is inked with a buyer, the newspaper will have to take dramatic measures, which could include closing their doors permanently and/or going to a web version only.

Let’s face it, the Seattle PI is not likely to find a buyer within 60 days, or within 365 days, since the paper lost $14 million in 2008 and is slated to lose much more if it continues operations in 2009.  No businessman in his right mind would buy a business model that is not only losing money, but is losing money at an accelerating rate.  Losses could be much higher than $14 million per year.  Imagine what an investor might be thinking.  “So if I buy the newspaper, how much will I have to pump into the bottomless pit in 2009 and in 2010 and beyond?  $25 million?  $100 million?  More?”

While many lament the apparent and almost inevitable end of the print version of the Seattle PI, and while the consequences will have ripples that hurt many good people in a very difficult economic time, no one appears to be asking a logical question:  What responsibility does the management of the Seattle PI have in not planning ahead and seeing the death of the print newspaper?

It’s not like the Seattle PI was hit by a speeding car running a red light!  The Seattle PI had years, I repeat years, to see this coming.  We are all sitting around weeping and moaning, but the management of the Seattle PI should be held accountable in the news.  Obviously, the buck does not stop at the Seattle PI news desk.  Maybe we are the first news site to suggest that the Seattle PI management is responsible for short sightedness and lack of vision, and that by their absolutely terrible management decisions have cost a lot of good people their jobs.

The traditional print newspaper business has been incredibly slow and inept at recognizing the extraordinary and obvious changes in consumer preferences and demand.  The Seattle PI isn’t closing because people don’t want to pay for a subscription when they can get live news on the Internet free.  The Seattle PI isn’t closing because advertisers don’t want to pay for ridiculously high advertising rates that don’t bring results.  Of course those variables play into the math of their failure.  The real reason the Seattle PI is closing is because it is no longer a viable business model today, and it is no longer a viable business model because consumers have been sending a loud and clear message.  Consumers voted to end the Seattle PI in favor of the Internet.

That’s it.  You and I can discuss the tragedy of the end of an era all week long, but the consumers are the ones who sent the message here, and they have been politely sending the message loud and clear for years, but the Seattle PI kept ignoring the message.  Now management plays dumb and pretends to be the victims of some nebulous evil cause in the sky, but there is no evil cause in the sky–just ignorance and stupidity on their part for not adapting much earlier.

The sad news here is that the individual writers and staff of the Seattle PI are going to suffer as they lose their jobs and can’t find any other jobs in a depressed economy.  They are the losers.  And that truly is unfortunate.

The real winners are consumers.  Many would have us believe that consumers are the real losers here, but the consumers are the ones in a free enterprise system that have been saying for years, “We are no longer interested in supporting the Seattle PI, and we prefer to get our news online for free.”  Consumers voted, and the Seattle PI lost.

Many have declared the closing of the Seattle PI to be tragic or sad news, but there are many other voices not getting headlines at the Seattle PI, or in other print media, who do not think it is sad news at all, but good news.  How can I possibly write that?  Because it is true.  There are many people who are happy to be shed of the Seattle PI, although I am not one of them.  In fact, I am on the panel of real estate experts for the Seattle PI Real Estate Blog, but that is not part of the print newspaper, and the popularity of these blogs only proves my point further.

The point is that consumers have spoken.  They have voted.  They chose to bid the Seattle PI farewell.  Whether they are right or wrong, this is reality.  Whether you and I agree or disagree, all of this is unfolding before our eyes as the result of consumer choice.  The Seattle PI operates in a free enterprise system in which they must deliver a service to consumers who want to purchase that service.  Consumers have said they no longer want to purchase what the Seattle PI sells.

We live in the greatest free enterprise system on the face of the earth, and in this system there is the freedom to express opinions.  The Seattle PI management and supporters of all people should agree with this proposition.  Unfortunately for the Seattle PI, consumers have expressed their opinion, and their opinion is that they no longer feel the Seatte PI meets their needs and wants.  When it did, consumers were willing to pay a price in subscriptions and advertisements.  For consumers that time has come and gone.

And now the Seattle PI will become part of our nation’s history for those of us who have enjoyed it for so many years.  But life goes on, and consumer demand now continues its dramatic shift to the Internet for news, for entertainment, and for shopping.  Will the Seattle PI make a successful transition to the Internet as a 100% Internet news site?  I don’t think so.  Why? Because traditional print newspaper management does not understand the Internet. It is a horse of a different color. If they could have recognized the horse, they would have made the transition years ago, and so many people would not be getting hurt now.

I bid farwell to the Seattle PI with some sadness for an era passing, and I bid farwell to the Seattle PI with a sense of anticipation for the exciting things to come in the growing Internet world of news and entertainment.  I believe these next five years of transition will be extraordinary for consumers, who ultimately are the winners.

Technology and the Internet are exploding with opportunities. I started my own online “newspaper,” which can be seen at Sequim-News.com. This would not have been possible even 10 years ago.  I predict that passionate writers will band together to bring their skills to the Internet to a potentially vast and enthusiastic readership. There will be entirely new business models, and those of us who decide to catch the wave, work hard, and be creative will meet consumer needs and flourish ourselves.  At least, that’s my plan.