The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

[XXXXXX]

Connected to Garcia's story of media lay offs, another confirmation of the slow death of printed media came last week with the announcement that a Harvard Square (Cambridge MA)landmark, known to locals and tourists alike is going to close.

Out of Town News,(OoTN) one of the most famous landmarks in the Boston area, is set to close in the new year. See story here http://tinyurl.com/69e5va and here http://tinyurl.com/5roxjw


When I used to come to Boston as a tourist in the early 80's and when I moved here in the late 80's I would spend nearly every lunchtime or visit OoTN after work to read the British newspapers and magazines. The BBC short wave signal in the US was crap in those days and if you wanted to get uptodate footie scores, this was the best way to get it. And OoTN would be packed on a Monday with europenan tourists clogging the small space reading all the football reports, Germans, Frenchies, Brits, the lot. I couldn't afford to buy a paper every day, so treated myself to the Monday edition of the Guardian to catch up on all the football. OoTN stocked newpapers from around the world but also from every state in the Union. It was a beacon for lost souls and ex-Pats.

CAMBRIDGE - John Kenneth Galbraith bought a copy of Le Monde there every day. Julia Child searched for obscure Italian and German cooking magazines, and Robert Frost once stopped by - it actually was a snowy evening - to get directions to a reading. Over the years, pretty much anyone looking for news from far and near, be they eminent professors or the masses rushing to work on the Red Line, found it at Out of Town News.

But the landmark shop, an axis at the center of Harvard Square's bustle, may be about to go away.

The owner, now a chain vendor, has notified Cambridge officials that it does not plan to renew its lease Jan. 31, saying the public appetite for printed news has all but vanished.

"It is not the profitable location for us that it once was," said Laura Samuels, spokeswoman for the owner, Hudson News of East Rutherford, N.J.

I had perosnal business with them for 5 years, as Fred Cohen, who was the manager agreed to stock our football fanzine, back in 1996 through 2001. It still is a great place to find obscure magazines, albeit since Hudson news took over in 2000, it stopped stocking a lot of poetry magazines and minor left wing publications. But, it's still a place I stop by every lunchtime to this day. Because picking up a copy of the Guardian or Indy reminds me of 'home' and when I used to buy a copy every morning before I got on the District Line at Barons Court heading to St James Park and the office.

I am sure a lot of you out there have visited or frequented (Ursus!) the place. If it really does go, it will be sorely missed, even if in reality, we are as much to blame for its closure by not buying enough printed media.

[ursus arctos]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

I'm on the verge of tears.

Some of the happiest hours of my life . . .

[G-Man]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

The scarcity of German media in London in the '80s used to drive me mad. In Cape Town there were two well-stocked German bookshops (one still survives); in London you couldn't find a Spiegel or kicker without first engaging a detective agency for ferreting out an outlet.

All that to say that it is a great shame that joints like the OoTN is folding.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Is the closure about the decline in printed news or the expense of downtown real-estate do you think? I ask because over the past ten years or so there's been a boomlet in exactly this type of store here in Vancouver. Generally they're in small retail units in residential neighbourhoods though, not in the centre of the city.

[Ginger Yellow]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Spiegel and Bild are pretty easy to get hold of these days. There's a shop on Fleet Street that sells them, and I think Borders stocks them too.

[WOM]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Generally they're in small retail units in residential neighbourhoods though, not in the centre of the city.

I'd kill to have a place like this near us. There's a real dearth of places you can walk to, and knock about in, out in suburbia. I mean, you're not going to stroll down and kill an hour at a bank or dry cleaner's.

But yeah, urban real estate is tough to support on print-matter margins. It's the high-margin coffee, crisps and smokes that keep the places open, I suspect. That said, Book City is growing like a weed here, and it's a standard book, paper and magazine joint. But you can always find what you're looking for.

[ursus arctos]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Amor, I'd be interested to hear Vernons' views, but it clearly involves both factors.

It may not be perfectly clear from the picture, but OOTN is on a pedestrian island in the middle of Harvard Square (which, like Times Square, isn't square (sorry, TonTon)). The building was originally a streetcar stop and then the entrance to the "T" (metro, underground, subway), which runs underneath it.

When I was spending several hours a week in OOTN in the late 70s doing pretty much exactly what Vernons did a decade later (though with more time spent with French publications), the surrounding area (and Cambridge in general) was not particularly posh, despite being literally in the middle of the "campus" of the oldest (and arguably most prestigious) university in the country. The city itself was rather down on its luck, having lost the light manufacturing base that had previously driven the economy, and being starved of funds by the fact that its largest landowners (Harvard, MIT and the old churches) were all tax-exempt.

That began to change dramatically after I left (largely due to the hi-tech, biotech and "consulting" revolutions), and the entire area (and the city in general) has been the subject of massive gentrification to the point where I barely recognise streetscapes anymore. No doubt the commercial value of the site has increased exponentially as a result.

The story is very painfully reminiscent of the similar demise of Hotaling's in Times Square, which is where I first saw Shoot!, France Football, kicker, Guerin Sportivo and every other piece of printed matter without which I wouldn't be who I am. Hotaling's (which also sold about 250 Sunday papers from all over the US) didn't survive the "rebirth" of Times Square.

OOTN as I remember it:

[XXXXXX]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Is the closure about the decline in printed news or the expense of downtown real-estate do you think?

Well, if no one is buying newspapers and magazines anymore, so stores have to close and the the Boston Globe has laid off 60% of it's journalists this year because no one advertises in newspapers since craigslist arrived, so newspapers are going broke, I would say that it's more about the decline of printed media, or perhaps the decline of big newspapers.

However, PC Magazine announced last week that they are going to be strictly a web based 'mag/webzine' and no longer print. The start of a trend I would think.

[E10 Rifle]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

I don't think it's helpful or accurate to say print media's dying. It's declined and will continue to decline in the current climate - but look at how the Obama commemorative issues flew off the shelves. I was talking to a print-media friend last night who organises competitions for a section of a paper, and he was saying how promoters still seek printed media space when they're plugging their stuff.

Of course the internet has changed how news is received, gathered and discussed - and much of this is to be celebrated - but video didn't kill the radio star, telly never killed books. A sense of perspective is needed - alas, such perspective is somewhat absent from many who actually run media companies, some of whom actively want to talk down a product that they actually produce. Cretins.

[XXXXXX]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Ursus -the area around OoTN just went under some major repaving and upgrading the last 3 months. They finished last Friday. I will take and post an updated picture for you. Harvard Sq has lost most of its charm anyway - small unique boutique stores and divey places to eat, replaced by banks and cell phone stores. In the 18 years I have neen here - it's changed massively but OoTN was always there.

[WOM]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

I would think, too. No paper, printing or distributions costs. It's really a no-brainer for pubs where currency, rather than depth/perspective of articles, is key. And really, unless the pub is a must-keep (think, you know, woodworking magazines or ones with recipes and crafts and whatnot) online offers all the tactile permanence that you need. Even in-depth pieces have no real need for paper. And if you want a paper copy of an article, print if off.

[XXXXXX]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

E10 you are right - I actually don't think newspapers are going away. A new model will emerge, at least a new model for regional small town publishing. A year ago it was dead certain the Boston Herald would close on 1/1/08 - but they are still here and in fact, they are gaining readers from the Globe because they have changed their business model and also changed the focus of their reporting to hard hitting local stuff, on politics, crime etc. And they are winning plaudits for their coverage from groups who one time wouldn't use the Herald (think The Sun without tits) to line a budgie cage.

Our Center is about to undertake a large research project on the future of newspapers and what the new model will be. At a lunch session I attended a few weeks ago, it defintely is the case that corporations want to move out/sell off of regional newpapers in the States and we are seeing a return to single person ownership by wealthy individuals who see the newspapers as an important asset to the Community. Anyway - this is a two year project and it's going to be fascinating to watch first hand what the researchers are finding out.

[E10 Rifle]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Good post, VP, and I agree with you. Although there's carnage at the moment, there are opportunities for new and perhaps better and more progressive models of ownership emerging. What's clear now is the multinational conglomerate-owned method of local newspaper management and consolidation has failed.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

I'd kill to have a place like this near us. There's a real dearth of places you can walk to, and knock about in, out in suburbia.

Yes, it's definitely one of the benefits of living here. And due, it must be said — and frequently — to a government (shock, horror) making difficult but correct decisions thirty years ago.

[WOM]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Which decisions were they?

[Amor de Cosmos]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Ones that made retaining neighbourhoods in the centre of the city a primary goal of planning policy. This meant managing growth slowly: maintaining the existing mix of residential/retail/commercial space, height and zoning restrictions, no freeways into the centre of the city, investing in public transit and so on.

It's meant the old retail strips in most neighbourhoods have survived in some form, in spite of increased taxes. The small bakeries sell four dollar loaves of bread instead of two dollar ones, and the newspaper store sells imported magazines instead of cigarettes and candy but at least they exist.

[West End Zuma]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Oh Christ, that really is bad news about OoTN, that was an institution you thought would last forever. Harvard Square just won't be Harvard Square without it. I Iived in Cambridge in the 70s to mid 80s so I remember what a wonderful funky place it was before all the gentrification. A few years after I moved away I was shocked to see how many of the bookstores had closed. I used to spend many idle hours browsing in those places, and then to find Cafe Algiers turned into a posh restaurant was definitely the sign of things to come.

One of my fondest memories was the crowds that came out to party in the streets the night Nixon resigned. Another fond memory was Orson Welles holding court at the Welles theater & restaurant, all long gone, sadly. Is Passim's folk club club still there?

I hope the Plough and Stars is still going, not only a great bar, but it was almost a cultural institution in my day. The Sunday afternoon Jazz jams were not to be missed.

So what does Harvard Square have going for it these days?

[XXXXXX]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

The Plough & Stars is still going - although it was threatened with closure over noise by new local residents, the pub had to put in all new soundproofing. Club Passim is still going, it remains the number 1 folk club in the Northeast.

Still surviving in the Sq are : Bartley's Burgers ; Charlie's Kitchen (with 4 Belgian beers on draft); Algiers Cafe is not that posh - and still has a basic lunchtime setup deal upstairs; Harvard Bookstore and Cardullo's - who charge $2 for a Mars Bar.

There are still quite a few new and secondhand bookstores in business, despite the Coop being taken over by Borders, who sell at deep discounts. There used to be 6 second hand record/cd stores, catering to a variety of tastes but we are now down to 2 and I think one is closing in January. Music and newspapers both highly affected by the 'net.

[Ek weet nie]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

Didn't want to start a new thread so I'll put this here.

Man uses internet to read daily papers before I was born.

[XXXXXX]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

For Ursus and others.

Great news ! Out of Town News is saved by Mr Patel.

[Reed John]

The slow Death of Printed media (continued)

I imagine it's a bit of both. That real estate is expensive and a lot of stuff that was previously only available at places like that is now available for free or cheap on the web.

I lived in Boston from 95 to 97 and spent some time in Harvard Square because I had some friends over that way and in those pre-Amazon days I'd often need to wander the bookstores there (and all over the city) to find some of the philosophy and religion stuff I was looking for. BU's bookstore, one of the first such campus store to be taken over by Barnes and Noble, was/is very good, but it didn't have everything.

It was clear in that era, that the Square and the whole city of Cambridge was rapidly gentrifying. But what was even worse, I thought, was that the students didn't seem to care that old established places were being replaced by Starbucks, Au Bon Pain and Urban Outfitters.

The same happened by BU. When I was there, Kenmore Square had the Rat (legendary punk club), an artsy movie theater, Deli Haus, a couple of used record shops, a comic book store, multiple cheap pizza and sub places, Chinese take away, etc. Exactly what a college area should have. But BU helped to wipe all that out and build a big fucking luxury hotel on top of it. And the kids at BU seem to be fine with that. I actually recall a letter to the school paper applauding the plans to bring a Gap and Starbucks to Kenmore Square. A fucking GAP!!! Jesus wept. I mean literally. Jesus would weep if he saw that.