Want an illustration of how differently move to digital is playing out for metro newspapers vs few leading national titles in the US?

Consider Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Boston, Washington DC, & New York in 2000 vs 2020 to see just how dramatically differently it is playing out 1/4

In 2000, while print circulation relative to population had declined for a half century, being a metro newspaper was great

E.g. NYT circulation 3.1 times Star Tribune, WP 2.1 times, Boston Globe 1.2 times

Relative to pop, NYT was doing worse (big, diverse, competive market)
2/4

In 2020, economies of scale and winner-takes-most no longer local but national.

Now, NYT digital subscriber base 61 times Star Tribune's, WP 30 times, Boston Globe is 2 times

Star Tribune (and other metros) used to do relatively much better. That's been completely reversed. 3/4

In winner-takes-most market for attention+advertising, FB and G are winning

In winner-takes-most market for digital news subscriptions, NYT, WP, WSJ, plus distinct niche and topical publications are winning

As businesses, metro papers are in a completely different position 4/4