Warren Buffett sees The New York Times (ticker: NYT) and The Wall Street Journal as the only two newspapers to definitely make it through a rough financial period for the industry.
Citing their online paywalls, he said the two companies have an “assured future.”
“If you look, there are 1,300 daily newspapers left in the United States. (Berkshire Hathaway has) 31 of them,” the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) chairman and CEO told CNBC Monday. “There were 1,700 or 1,800 not too long ago. Now, you’ve got the internet. Aside from the ones I mentioned, 1,400 or 1,300 of them haven’t figured out a way to make the digital model complement the print model.”
Buffett adds that The Washington Post could also outlast the industry’s struggles. Amazon.com (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos purchased the newspaper in 2013.
Berkshire Hathaway‘s media investments include the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia, The Press of Atlantic City in New Jersey and the Tulsa World in Oklahoma. In addition to 31 daily newspapers, Berkshire Hathaway also has 47 paid weekly newspapers plus 32 print and online products.
The state of newspapers has been in flux for some time, as the decline in print advertising revenue compounded with the fight for digital advertising growth has created financial difficulty. In some cases, the damage seems irreparable.
Aside from financial difficulties, the media contends with the disdain of President Donald Trump, who often critiques the industry. Fortune notes the White House even blocked certain news outlets from attending a press briefing last week. The New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet told CNN Sunday each Trump tweet increases subscriptions. Subscriptions to the legacy outlet have skyrocketed post-election.
Polls have varied in recent weeks as to whom the public trusts more. An Emerson College poll found a small majority of registered voters (49 percent) felt the Trump administration was truthful compared to just 39 percent who saw the media as truthful. A more recent Quinnipiac University poll found people put their trust in the media more than Trump.
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Warren Buffett Sees New York Times, Wall Street Journal Persevering originally appeared on usnews.com
