What kind of impact is the Web having on newspapers—an extremely cost one. The New York Times reports that help-wanted ads at the Mercury News have fallen to $18 million a year from more than $118 million. Monster.com and Craigslist.com are having a tremendous impact. 

As a result of falling revenues, the newspaper axed 30 percent of its newsroom staff. Little wonder that McClatchy wants to get rid of the newspaper when it finalizes its takeover of Knight-Ridder. Some media analysts had originally speculated that McClatchy didn’t want any of the Knight-Ridder papers with strong unions. Looks like there are other reasons at work. 

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In Boomtown, but Still Stuck on a Bubble - New York Times

At its peak in 2000, The Mercury News had a Sunday circulation of 326,839 subscribers, according to the newspaper. Last September, the company counted 278,470 Sunday subscribers, a drop of about 15 percent. Revenue from the company's help-wanted ads fell to $18 million a year from more than $118 million, according to the paper. The newsroom was whittled to 280 people from 404, a 30 percent decline.

We went shopping yesterday at Bellevue Square, the major regional mall in our area.

As usual, I hardly recognize about a third of the stores since last Christmas. But one thing was obviously missing, the mall has no bookstores. The Borders store moved out several months ago. The Walden and Dalton stores are long gone.

There's still a Barnes and Noble store about 1-long block from the mall. We went there late in the afternoon and it hardly seemed crowed. In fact, there seemed to be more people in the Starbucks next door.

So what happened to the bookstores? Did Amazon do them in? Have people stopped buying books? If so, why? Has the Net seriously impacted book sales. Is there just too much free, timely information on the Web?

I know that I don't quite buy as many books as I used to, and when I do, I buy them through Amazon. It just much more convenient. Moreover, my Tablet PC is my major source of information.

Last night Brenda and I talked about cancelling our subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and the Seattle Times and reading both publications on line. I'm not sure we'll do it anytime soon, but the idea if firmly planted.

John Ellis, a partner in a venture capital group and former columnist for the Boston Globe, raises the possibility that no one will step up to buy the Knight Ridder chain. "But what if there are no buyers," he asks. He speculates that that Microsoft, Yahoo or Google may want parts of the newspaper chain, especially the membership in the Associated Press. Google is apparently set to enter the classified advertising market, which until the advent of Ebay and Craig's List, was one of the few bright spots for the newspaper industry. Just another indication that the print world cannot compete with the fast moving world of broadband.

WSJ.com - For Sale -- Mostly Second-Rate Newspapers (requires subscription)

 Is there anyone who thinks that Knight Ridder can really compete with Google, if Google decides to mount a full-scale offensive?