13th Hour Reprieve: Inside the Globe Countdown
Posted June 4, 2009
Photos by Matt Rocheleau.
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Industry, academic insiders on the Globe crisis
When news hit the stands about the potential closing of the Boston Globe, industry insiders and academics expressed mixed feelings of what it would be like without this significant news entity that has existed since 1872. Many wondered how the citizens of Boston and surrounding regions would react without a print version of one of the most popular area papers and whether or not the Globe’s Web site, Boston.com, would remain online.
Industry insiders were generally surprised at the thought of the Boston Globe shutting down.
Ed Kubosiak, the online editor at MassLive, feels a deep connection with the Globe even though he lives in western Massachusetts. He admits to being “upset at the thought of the organization going away; it’s jarring.”
Wayne Braverman, senior editor at Gatehouse Media at the Community Newspaper Company in Needham, expected the Boston Herald to close first.
“I was really surprised that the Globe was on the block to be eliminated. Just a year ago, people were wondering about the Herald. No one thought the Globe would be facing elimination from the publishing world,” said Braverman.
The economic downturn has hit the newspaper industry hard, triggering a cascade of losses, bankruptcies and closures.
In the basement of the Boston Globe is a room with tall bookshelves; some are cramped with manila folders ready to burst with old newspaper clippings others are filled with history books and encyclopedias.
Massachusetts residents react to the possibility of the Globe’s closing and offer suggestions for how the struggling newspaper might survive.
With the newspaper industry in a desperate search for a business model that pays, many critics have begun to brainstorm what the new face of media will be.