Google Explains the Newspaper Business to the Feds

Most important takeaway: We’re not the ones killing newspapers! Google’s 20-page lesson (via Jeff Jarvis) is a response to a Federal Trade Commission “how to save the industry” draft paper, and there’s nothing really new here. But it’s still useful if you’re looking for a good summary. Two sentence version: “The large profit margins newspapers enjoyed in the past were built on an artificial scarcity: Limited choice for advertisers as well as readers. With the Internet, that scarcity has been taken away and replaced by abundance.” Google’s real aim here, via its own summary: “We’re hopeful that our comments will help encourage policy makers to promote innovation and creativity rather than protectionist barriers.”