????討論報紙行業的困境時，有一點需要非常明確，那就是報紙行業不同于其他買賣，或者說它不應該只是一門生意。報紙行業還肩負著公共服務的職能，但這通常會與出版商們對利益最大化的追求產生矛盾。實際上，這一點也是報紙讀者人數和收入持續縮水時報社面臨的核心問題：美國許多家報紙背后的公司大多以追逐利潤為主要目的，甚至是唯一目的，這無益于新聞行業的發展。報紙要想在短期內維持利潤，唯一的途徑只有削減成本。

????比如，新奧爾良《時代花絮報》（Times-Picayune）的幕后老板是先進出版公司（Advance Publications）。近期，該公司宣布，公司將把該報紙由日刊縮減為每周三期，同時將進行裁員。據報道，該報紙實際上依然在盈利——只不過盈利能力滿足不了先進出版公司的胃口。

????然而，人們在討論這家報紙的艱難經歷時忽略了上述事實。有人甚至故意忽略了其他一些顯而易見的事實：《時代花絮報》的讀者滲透率——即實際閱讀該報的潛在讀者比例——在美國名列前茅，超過了75%。雖然先進出版公司辯稱，此舉是實現報紙數字化的大膽舉動（公司承諾要加大對公司網站的重視，實際上這個網站惡評如潮）。而且，事實上，新奧爾良超過三分之一的人口無法上網。此外這座城市尚未從卡特麗娜颶風引發的洪水災難中完全恢復，當地政治上的腐敗問題也讓這座城市焦頭爛額，而今年秋天，新奧爾良又將成為美國第一座沒有紙質日報的大城市。

????在有些城市，“數字化優先”的策略或許是不錯的選擇。而且，對于有些報紙來說，不論是壓縮還是徹底取消紙質報紙，數字化都是很好的主意。但無論如何，新奧爾良絕對不適合做第一個吃螃蟹的城市，雖然削減周一、周二、周四和周六的版本在短期內可以提高報紙利潤。

????《紐約時報》（New York Times）媒體作家戴維?卡爾在對先進出版公司的決定大肆稱頌時，根本沒有提到報紙實現盈利的問題。科技博客GigaOM的馬休?英格拉姆對這個問題也避而不談。英格拉姆是數字化必勝理論的堅定支持者和一名優秀的“公民記者”，他認為，先進出版公司的這一決定更加證明，“行將就木”的紙質媒體即將成為歷史，報業公司最好現在就開始向網絡陣地轉移。或許是這樣吧，但不管怎樣，根本不提《時代花絮報》目前還是一家盈利企業的事實，又有什么資格討論這個話題？先進出版公司的決定并非是對數字化未來進行投資，這一舉動恰恰證明了這家報業公司的企圖：它只想盡快將每一分利潤都撈進口袋里。

????One of the challenges of discussing the besieged newspaper business is that it's not like just any business, or it shouldn't be. There is a public-service component to newspapering that is often at odds with the pursuit of maximum profits. That, in fact, is the industry's core problem as readership and revenue continue to dwindle: Many of the nation's newspapers are owned by corporations that are concerned primarily or solely with profits, which often isn't good for journalism. The only way to maintain profits in the short-term is to cut costs.

????The New Orleans Times-Picayune, for example, is owned by Advance Publications. That company recently announced that it would soon cut production from daily to three days a week, and that there will be layoffs. The paper reportedly is profitable -- it's just not profitable enough for Advance.

????Many of the discussions of the paper's travails leave out that fact. Some also leave out some other salient facts: The Times-Picayune's penetration -- the proportion of the potential audience that actually reads the paper -- is among the highest in the country, at more than 75 percent. And although Advance spins its plans as a bold step into the digital future (it promises more emphasis on its typically terrible Web site), more than a third of New Orleans' population has no Internet access. Nevertheless, that beleaguered city, still recovering from the flooding after Hurricane Katrina and dealing with an endemically corrupt political culture, this fall will become the first major American city without a daily printed newspaper.

????A "digital first" strategy might be a great idea in some cities. It might even be a good idea for some papers to cut back or even eliminate their print editions. But New Orleans is perhaps the worst possible place to try it first, even if dispensing with the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday editions will improve the paper's margins in the short run.

????David Carr, a media writer for the New York Times, didn't mention that the paper is profitable in his (otherwise fine) writeup of the decision. Nor did GigaOM's Mathew Ingram -- a reliable digital triumphalist and champion of "citizen journalism" -- in either of his writeups. Ingram sees the decision as just more evidence that "dead tree" media (he actually uses that hoary phrase) is on its way out, and that newspaper companies had better get with the online program. Maybe so, but you simply can't address this topic without even mentioning that the Times-Picayune is, right now, a profitable enterprise. Advance's decision isn't an investment in the digital future -- it's simply proof that Advance wants to squeeze every nickel it can out of the operation as quickly as possible.?