So The Tribute Co. (owners of the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun) has gone bankrupt. And the blogosphere is a twitter with stories of ‘the death of the newspaper‘.
I then heard the scary news that the New York Times has taken out a $225 million mortgage against its new HQ in Manhattan in order to pay off a revolving line of credit.
I say ‘scary’ because I really do care about the Times, probably more than any other brand in the world. While the newspaper business my be facing extinction, (IMHO) there is nothing on the web that even comes close to delivering the value of NYTimes.com.
Speaking of…they just launched a beautifully executed new site called NYTimes Conversations that features celebs talking about their relationships with the times. A few reasons why I love it:
- The right celebrities. Campaigns that feature multiple celebrites quickly run the risk of becoming hollow (Macy’s is currently trying to avoid this), but NYT has chosen a compelling set of creative class icons that all have street cred. Examples: Padma, Ripert, Leguizamo, Cole, etc…
- The Execution. Stylistically this microsite is a home run. Clean design, simple idea, and videos that serve up fresh footage and charming interplay between interesting people.
- It’s compelling. NYT.com is now inseparably linked to the survival of the brand and they know it. Innovations such as Times Reader, Times Mobile, Times People, Times Extra, continue to improve the experience. While these bells and whistles are a bit geeky, watching likable (and beautiful) people to stand in front of Mac Book Pros and talk about why they go to NYT.com has universal appeal. (right?)
- It’s interesting, so it’s on brand. I love how the ‘related links’ feed updates while each person talks. I’d never seach out Tea as a ‘Times Topic‘ but after hearing Lynn Redgrave talk about her morning tea I’m tempted to.
