Lynch: Newspapers' Web Struggle Has Lessons for All Businesses

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By: E&P Staff In an article on CIO.com, associate editor C.G. Lynch looks at how the way that newspapers are dealing with the threat of the Web can be viewed as a lesson for all businesses in dealing with disruptive technology and change.

The article looks back on how newspapers initially responded to the the Internet, and how they have finally come to see it as their best chance for survival.

"Despite the pessimism of those who tally the mergers, layoffs and tanking stocks in the newspaper business, some experts believe newspapers can be saved by using the Web to reinvent themselves and thereby retain their role as a vital institution in American society," writes Lynch. "If they fail, and newspapers begin to fold with the great rapidity many expect, the loss to the American polity will be incalculable. In either case, there will be some valuable lessons other businesses can learn about dealing with disruptive technologies: principally, that one?s customer base and competition can change overnight, and a failure to prepare for that change can have catastrophic consequences."

To read the full article on CIO.com, click here.

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