This is rather local news for us New Yorkers, but it has just been announced that Cablevision beat out Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman to buy Newsday for $650 million.
Cablevision provides cable television, cable Internet, and voip service to the tri-state area (the areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut surrounding Manhattan) through its iO Digital Cable, Optimum Online, and Optimum Voice services. Aside from being my ISP, it is ranked, according to Wikipedia, as the 5th largest cable provider in the USA.
Newsday is a daily newspaper serving Long Island and the Queens borough of NYC. Personally, I prefer it to the New York Times as it tends to focus more on local issues. According to Wikipedia, it has the 10th highest circulation in the USA, and the highest for a suburban newspaper.
My reason for posting this story is the same as the reason why Cablevision acquired it in the first place - ad revenue. This deal could effectively translate into the online space when you consider that Google has recently expanded their AdWords program into radio, television, and newspaper print ads. Google Print Ads, which includes the ability to advertise in Newsday, lists Newsday's daily circulation at nearly a half million.
With Google expanding into traditional media, and Internet ISPs now acquiring traditional media ... what's next for the good ole black and white newspapers of such antiquated technology?