Results and results

Yahoo posted higher than expected results making its shareholders to reconsider Microsoft’s latest bid. About week earlier Ebay showed also growth in profits. And not to forget Google, that also told the markets, that media business is doing great despite the economic situation. Those three examples are totally different story than last week’s news from the print sector. Media business is doing great online.

Same time as their digital competitors are innovating and seeking additional growth, traditional newspaper publishers are running cost cutting and debt reduction programs. Some shareholders lack trust to publishers’ ability to show sustainable growth and profitability and want return to their investment by other methods. According to Robert G. Picard, these programs are “stripping … of the resources they need to develop new initiatives and businesses should their management gain some vision, become entrepreneurial, and have some inspired ideas that might enthuse investor“. I’d say that short term shareholder vision may just reduce the opportunities that some of the most potential publishers would have.

There is of course encouraging exceptions like Norwegian Schibsted, which is targeting to reach 60 % of its 2008 revenues from digital operations (Read NAA report Schibsted – A model for global innovation).

The Norwegian flag used under CC licence, credits to Mr.Driver.