Blogs prosper as traditional media giants face daunting odds

While traditional print journalists, major newspaper chains and television networks with falling advertising revenue struggle to stay afloat during the financial crisis, blogs are actually prospering and freelance content writers are continuing to find work, as some of their more established journalistic colleagues face challenging odds. Two major media giants found themselves in hot water this week, including one in Europe and one in North America. Canwest Global Communications, the owner of Canada’s second largest national newspaper, two dozen big city daily papers, the Global TV network, as well as a range of speciality channels, has until May 5^th to pay back creditors at least $30.4 million in accumulated interest. If Canwest fails to come up with the funds, it may be forced into bankruptcy protection and would undergo major restructuring and cutbacks. Like all major media giants, Canwest newspapers face falling circulation figures, as more people go online for news-related content, and as blogs become ever more respected sources of punditry and editorial columns.

In Europe, Hungary’s Zoom.hu media company—a rapidly expanding firm which provided online news articles and extensive video reporting—was forced to shut down yesterday, after the company’s new owner chose to discontinue the news service. Its content-rich website was removed from the internet for good late yesterday.

Blogs are becoming more successful and giving the traditional press a run for its money, for a number of reasons. Blogs launched by companies to offer news related to niche markets are much cheaper and more effective to run than even a small newspaper business. Content providers have teams of experienced freelance writers who can produce up-to-date quality content in a short amount of time. Secondly, Google News provides news-based blogs with top notch visibility. In fact, if one’s blog is accepted into Google’s news feed, it will be featured side-by-side with the biggest names in the journalism industry, such as The New York Times, the Washington Post or Britain’s Guardian.