Warren Buffet famously said the internet was good for capitalism, not capitalists. The New York Times is supposedly the world’s premier newspaper and is learning the meaning of that truth. The internet will kill newspapers, Guido has been telling sceptical dead tree hacks this for years. The Guardian’s expensive shiny new HQ being built in Kings Cross will be a museum eventually. This affirmation has come across the wire

NEW YORK (Standard & Poor’s)– Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today placed its ratings for The New York Times Co., including the ‘BBB-’ corporate credit rating, on CreditWatch with negative implications.

Just in case some old hacks from the non-profit sector of journalism don’t understand what that means, Guido will spell it out slowly – the “Gray Lady” is going to non-investment “junk” status. J – U – N – K. 98 Pulitzer prizes, “All the news that’s fit to print” and they are trying to cut costs to survive. Blogalypse.

The Dead Tree Press is a dead industry walking. It is not a twenty first century business model: slaughter half a forest of trees, pay NUJ rates for news gathering, sub-editing, laying out, employing friend’s children, transferring ink onto aforesaid trees, then pay people to work all night sending the slices of dead trees around the country in the dark on lorries. Finally when you get to the point of collecting some money, split the sales revenue with the people who take the money. It is laughable.

Last year the Guardian, Independent and Telegraph all lost money, there is a good chance they will repeat the feat again this year. That is not business, that is vanity publishing.