Quote Note Of The Moment: It's The Product, Stupid

I'm as intrigued today by a series of articles examining the New York Times' recent announcment that it needeed to lay off another 4% of its workforce (they laid off 2% in the spring) as I was intrigued by the all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth that took place this summer about the decline in box office numbers for Hollywood.

I agree with both Bob Cauthorn and Jeff Jarvis in that it all comes back to the product. Same as with Hollywood. Earlier this summer I said a part of that problem was easy to fix, Make Good Movies.

We're going through a similar self examination here at Wayside Theatre as our numbers are off this season and yes, product is the first thing I'm looking at.

If you ask me, and I'm feeling way in the red zone on the old cynical meter today, it all comes back to basics. If folks want what you have to sell, they'll buy. Hollywood destroyed itself by inviting in the marketers and bean counters and pushing out the filmmakers. Newspapers are destroying themselves by going down a similar path and wearing a mantle of self made hubris while doing so.

I love the fact that the two very poor local papers in our area keep falling over each other for a piece of an ever dwindling circulation. Their answers, thus far, in trying to survive, have been to keep reducing their local stories (cost too much to actually hire staff) and run more wire stories. One still won't run its product on the internet. The other had to be dragged on-line kicking and screaming. Let's see, would you like me to hand you the knife to slit your throat with my right or my left hand? (Intriguing that the NYT news came out a day or so after they went to their TimesSelect paid model for editorials and other premium content.)

So, while I contemplate our own little down turn in business, and the foolishness from those who should know better in other businesses, I'll add this quote from my grandad to go along with "It's the product, stupid.":

"The minute you turn out the lights to save a little on the electric bill, you better be prepared to live in the dark, because that's where you're headed."