Media Again Fail to Meet Expectations

Anyhow, while looking around for a more muted reaction, I ran across another example of how the business media never understand the prospect that price cuts might have consequences. I had just gotten done examining how Apple(AAPL) was largely taken at its word that its price cut was merely a strategy to put more iPhones in people's hands, without a potential downside.

That's when I began to read the business media taking The Wall Street Journal and New York Times at their word that giving away their product for free online will end up making them more money. Could be.

But by about 10 to one, the articles I've seen have not examined this central point: When you charge $500 or so for your product under one form of distribution and give it away free as air on the other ... how many people eventually switch?

The question is tantamount to the survival of these companies, since, any way you slice it or cross your fingers, newspaper readers are worth so much more (to advertisers) than online readers. Has anyone ever prospered by giving away the same product they were selling for a lot of money at another place? I can't conjure one up ... but since the business media failed, maybe you can educate me. Please email.

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