Now the European Commission is worrying about the fate of newspapers. It has called for submissions on the future of print media.
It wants to discover how print is coping with the twin challenges of falling advertising revenue and the continuing shift to free online sites.
The commission is particularly concerned about the future for small and medium-sized publishing companies (SMEs) that, it says, "play a vital role in civil society", adding: "A dynamic print sector is important to guarantee press freedom and access to culture."
Viviene Reding, the EU commissioner for information society and media, said: "The overwhelming majority of European publishing companies are SMEs, or even micro-companies. And our SME pool is the key catalyst for innovation and growth in this key sector.
"That's why I want to find out how publishing SMEs are doing, what obstacles they face in these difficult times and whether there is scope to share best practices on responses to technological innovation and the current economic obstacle."
Advertising revenues have fallen across Europe. Comparing March this year with March 2008, early estimates suggest that the UK's ad revenue has fallen by 12%. In Spain, it fell by 16.12%, in Ireland by 9% and in France by 3.7%.
The commission's consultation will run in all EU languages until early June and the results will be available by the middle of the year. (Via Irish Times)
