Legendary stock market and business tycoon Warren Buffet declared at the Berkshire Hathway annual meeting over the weekend that only three American newspapers were viable, long-term.
“No one except the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and now probably the Washington Post has come up with a digital product that really in any significant way will replace the revenue that is being lost as print newspapers lose both circulation and advertising,” the company chief said during the question-and-answer period of the presentation. “It is very difficult to see – with a lack of success in terms of important dollars rising from digital – it’s difficult to see how the print product survives over time.”
Buffet added that the fiscal impact to Berkshire Hathaway – despite its holding in the newspaper markets – will be minuscule.
“The economic significance to Berkshire is almost negligible, but the significance to the society I think actually is enormous,” he said.
Show business and media news outlet The Wrap reported:
Buffett’s prediction was precipitated by a question from former Fortune magazine journalist Carol Loomis, who noted that circulation for the 28 newspapers Buffett purchased in 2011 had all fallen sharply.
Buffett’s latest pronouncement on the newspapers was actually an improvement from his previous position. Earlier this year, the billionaire told CNBC that only two newspapers had an “assured future” at that time, leaving the Washington Post off of his list. In the months since that appearance, Buffett’s opinion of the Jeff Bezos-owned paper has risen.
Watch the exchange via video by YahooFinance:
