Report: National Newspapers Thrive As Locals Wither

While big national newspapers grow stronger, local newspaper chains that have for decades kept the vast majority of the country informed are combusting, Axios media trends expert Sara Fischer writes.

McClatchy, the publisher of local stalwarts from The Sacramento Bee to The Kansas City Star to The Charlotte Observer, announced Thursday that it voluntarily filed for bankruptcy to allow the company to restructure debt and pension obligations.

Sara Fischer

Warren Buffett, a longtime champion of the newspaper business, sold his 30+ daily and 100+ weekly titles to Lee Enterprises earlier this month, after calling the newspaper industry "toast" due to terminal advertising decline.

But the giants are thriving:

The New York Times said earlier this month that it passed $800 million in annual digital revenue, most of which came from the 5 million+ people that now subscribe to the paper's digital subscription offering.

The Wall Street Journal said last week that it topped 2 million digital subscriptions for the first time.
The Washington Post has been profitable for the past several years under the ownership of Jeff Bezos, and has added dozens of positions to its newsroom in the past two years.