The New News Business

For most of the 20th century, any list of America's wealthiest families would include quite a few publishers. while many of those families remain wealthy, their historic core businesses are in steep decline and their position at the top of the wealth builders has long since been eclipsed by people with other names - generally builders of digital platforms, not specifically targeted at the news business. The transition from what is left of the old legacy new business to whatever comes next is likely to be the swiftest undertow yet of the digital riptide. We are in a period of fierce creative destruction where we are both awash in more news than ever and feeling the ebb of independent, verifiable, and sustainable reporting.