Who’ll Fill Your Shoes? —Michelson

Admittedly, large newspaper publishers/printers are in a tailspin—trying to make up for the loss of highly profitable classified advertising to online counterparts, unable to compete with the Internet and 24-hour cable news television outlets for breaking news coverage, and watching their subscriber—and hence advertising—bases sink faster than the 46,000-ton Titanic. But other printed products, including local weekly papers, are holding their own, if not flourishing. Despite the latest round of postal rate increases, checks are in the mail for direct mail printers. Harry Potter and offshore sourcing notwithstanding, U.S. book manufacturers are seeing strong intake orders for other best-sellers, textbooks, reprints and short-run digital titles. A recent research study from Deloitte found that almost three-fourths of consumers—no matter the age group—choose to read magazines, even though they might be able to find the same information online. Specialty news publications like The Economist and The Week are also thriving.