Yesterday evening a news program reported the possible closure or sale of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle, founded after the gold rush in the 19th century, is surely a sign of the times. Last year, in the U.S., a 7.5 billion dollar loss was expected to hit the newspaper business. Is this a symptom of the oft advertised recession the U.S. and world faces today? It is possible, but in my opinion it has to do more with an overall worldwide social climate change. People no longer want to wait for the newspaper to arrive when they can instantly receive the latest breaking news on their TV or internet. Experts continue to say these bankruptcies and failures are caused by society not having enough money to spend. In my eyes, I see the decline in newspaper sales as a direct correlation to people spending their money in other places. The music industry cries wolf at the illegal downloads that are pirated every day, and blame them for the collapse of CD sales. Yet, global digital music sales were up 25% last year. They also accounted for 20% of the industries sales, up 5% from the year before.
To me the issue is obvious. I think there has to be industries that are hurt during a time of revolution. Change is constant in the world, and like some say "things get worse before they get better". Just as during the Great Depression, things changed greatly after the financial meltdown. New jobs and world views were created. In the past there have even been other depressions in the U.S.. During the 1907 and 1920 depressions, the federal government did nothing, and within a year both depressions were gone.
I guess my point is to ask you not to always listen to the garbage your anchorman, teacher, or even President is telling you. I don't see the economic conditions facing us as eternally devastating. Rather I just think the times are changing, and as the course of our economy unravels, some industries will disappear. Others will arise from the dust and flourish. Nothing lasts forever.
