It's the advertising, stupid!

News that Playboy is planning "big changes" really demonstrates the weakness of the U.S. advertising business, rather than anything else. Do we really believe people are less inclined to see photos of nearly-naked women than they were in the past? Of course not. The problem, just like that for other print media, is that advertisers are pulling out (Playboy's ad pages are off 22 percent in the first quarter, it says). So much of what I read online doesn't separate reader demand from advertiser demand, and just assumes that falling readership is what's crushing the media. Of course it doesn't help that media companies continue to slash and burn their own product, making it less attractive to readers. (I say this after reading through my 30-page Tuesday Journal Sentinel, not counting the insert, "Spry," which I'm never going to read since I've hit an age where "spry" is an insult. And, of course, the Journal Sentinel now costs 50 percent more than it did a year ago, which is an insult to the remaining readers.) Yes, the business model is broken. Some people out there are going to figure out a new one (unfortunately it's Rupert Murdock who seems to be on the best track; he's actually improving his products).