Dear CEO,
Legacy sectors — especially those once built on stable demand, high fixed assets, and predictable consumer habits — now stand face to face with an unrelenting truth: the rules have changed. The economics that once supported decades of predictable revenue evaporated in just a few years. For the global newspaper press printing industry, this shift has been as unforgiving as it has been clarifying. Some players — while few — chose reinvention over decline. They pivoted. They rewired their operations. They reimagined their value proposition, not merely for survival, but for leadership in the next era. Today, I want to share their journey — not as an abstract case study, but as a strategic provocation for any business still anchored in an outdated model. The first thing we must acknowledge is this: disruption in the newspaper press industry was not a surprise. It was ignored. And as the saying goes: “Denial is the most expensive business strategy”.
Executives dismissed early warnings in the late 2000s as cyclical. Many saw digital migration as a temporary trend. But year after year, print advertising revenue declined globally at 5–10%, while digital grew by double digits. By 2023, over 2,500 U.S. newspapers had closed. In Europe, similar fates befell hundreds of local and regional dailies.
Case Studies in Reinvention
NYT is now more profitable than in its print heyday:
- Product unbundling: Selling cooking, crossword, and audio content separately
- Brand repositioning: From newspaper to global lifestyle information brand
- Tech investment: Building internal platforms and data science capabilities
Mediahuis (Belgium/Netherlands) – Real Estate Meets Platform Strategy
Mediahuis, owner of NRC and De Standaard, took a hybrid approach:
- Sold off underperforming real estate assets
- Outsourced printing to partners
- Focused on platform acquisitions (e.g., Jobat.be for employment classifieds)
Outcome: Maintained relevance and profitability while reducing fixed costs.
Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) – Editorial Integrity Meets UX
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s flagship newspaper, saw a 35% drop in circulation between 2005–2010. In response, they redesigned their business around user experience and reader trust:
- Introduced metered paywalls based on behavioral data
- Refocused newsroom on audience-centric journalism
- Invested in real-time analytics for editorial decision-making
Outcome: 80% of revenues now come from subscriptions, not ads.
Key Lessons: Business Model Innovation, Not Just Digitization
Across these stories, the winners didn’t just “go digital.” They redefined what business they were in:
- From newspaper companies to digital content platforms
- From advertising intermediaries to direct-to-consumer service providers
- From print manufacturers to data-powered subscriber businesses
They applied the four principles I advise legacy businesses to embrace:
- Reimagine the core product — Unbundle it, customize it, diversify it
- Monetize differently — Move from one-time sales to subscriptions or platforms
- Leverage legacy assets — Real estate, data, trust, and brand still have value
- Expand the stakeholder lens — Employees, communities, and long-term partners matter
The New Playbook for Legacy Sectors
Business owners in traditional sectors — whether in logistics, manufacturing, or local services — often ask me: “But Ginio, what can I do with an outdated operation and declining demand?”
My answer is this: look at what these media companies did.
They:
- Turned sunk costs into new revenue lines
- Converted analog assets into digital ecosystems
- Reclaimed narrative control by focusing on audience trust
This is not just transformation — it is strategy grounded in reality.
The Sustainability Mirage — Why Business Model Innovation Must Come First
As someone who previously worked as a sustainability consultant, I must say this plainly: no ESG policy will save a company with a dying business model.
Too many legacy businesses are being told to green their operations while their economic core rots. The better path is this:
Start with business model reinvention — and embed sustainability within it, not around it.
That’s the philosophy I now bring to my clients as a Business Model Innovation Advisor.
Final Thoughts
The newspaper printing industry shows us that legacy need not mean obsolete.
But it does demand courage — the courage to let go of yesterday’s certainty, to embrace experimentation, and to look not just at what you do but why it must evolve.
If you are leading a business in structural decline, I invite you to speak with me. We are living in a time when transformation is not optional — it is existential.
Warm regards,
G Franker
Founder, Zentrepreneur
Business Model Innovation