The Decline and Fall of the Baltimore News American

Abstract

This study examines the factors that led to the Baltimore News American's failure as a major metropolitan afternoon newspaper and the efforts taken to try to save the newspaper. Factors examined include the number of newspapers in the Baltimore newspaper market, the problems faced by major metropolitan afternoon newspapers in the United States and the shared inability of large newspapers in the Hearst newspaper chain to make money. The changing content of the newspaper under a series of newsroom administrations from 1973 to 1986 was examined and a series of interviews with managers and staffers were used to gain insight into the decline of the newspaper. This study concludes that the closure stemmed from underlying demographic and competitive factors and was exacerbated by the unwillingness of the newspaper's owner to invest in improvements.