The continuing struggles of the news biz

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: The Continuing Struggles of the News Biz
Air Date: February 5, 2026
Host: David Brancaccio

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the ongoing struggles facing the news industry, especially in the era of digital transformation. Host David Brancaccio discusses the business models of major media corporations like News Corp and the Washington Post, highlighting how shifts in advertising revenue and labor cuts pose existential challenges. The episode further delves into Amazon’s retreat from its physical retail grocery experiment, exploring broader questions about innovation, consumer experience, and profitability in saturated markets.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. News Business Challenges: Profitability vs. Public Good

• News Corp’s Digital Success vs. Washington Post Layoffs

  • News Corp is thriving relative to peers, with a high price-to-earnings ratio, reflecting optimism about its digital transformation (00:31).
  • In contrast, the Washington Post—owned by Jeff Bezos—is struggling, announcing significant layoffs as it grapples with the shift to digital (00:31).

• The Systemic Decline in News Revenue

  • Kimberly Adams (Marketplace Senior Washington Correspondent) uncovers industry-wide issues:
    • Legacy news organizations cannot sustain themselves in the digital age as advertising revenue migrates to social media platforms (01:14).
    • The loss of reliable journalism threatens democracy, as Arkhan Fung (Harvard Kennedy School) observes:

      “A successful democracy depends on an information environment in which people can understand what’s going on with their government and that information and news isn’t going to produce itself.” (01:24)

• Self-Inflicted Wounds and the ‘Death Spiral’

  • Nick Usher (University of San Diego) describes a vicious cycle:

    “We’re not making money so we’re going to cut labor. But when you get rid of your journalists, it’s kind of hard to do journalism. So newspapers...are putting themselves in this death spiral where you weaken the product. And when you weaken the product, people leave—the people, in this case, being subscribers and audiences...” (01:45)

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2. Amazon’s Struggles with Physical Grocery Retail

• Amazon’s Strategic Pullback

  • The episode covers Amazon’s closure of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical stores, noting that they failed to attract enough customers away from established grocery stores (04:38).
  • Neal Saunders (Global Data Retail) summarizes:

    “They just weren’t strong enough to pull customers away from where they were shopping already and they weren’t generating the volumes from the stores. They therefore didn’t make economic sense.” (04:41)

• The Limitations of ‘Just Walk Out’ Technology

  • Both Saunders and Brancaccio recount experiences with the stores:

    • Saunders:

      “Since I was only buying a few things, the differentiation of just being able to walk out wasn’t really that strong. Because honestly, self-scanning some things or putting them through a register doesn’t really take that much longer in a traditional store.” (05:52)

    • Brancaccio:

      “I went to one in an airport and I found it disorienting...I felt it was a bit weird. And then I was unnerved that, like, what if because I picked up a candy bar but didn’t actually walk out with it, you know, would it register that kind of stuff?” (06:13)

  • Saunders adds that technical glitches and lack of clarity about spending contributed to discomfort:

    “Sometimes you wouldn’t get a receipt for hours and hours...sometimes it never even materialized. So it was all kind of a bit of a mystery. And I think that made a lot of consumers very uncomfortable.” (06:36)

• The Grocery Market Is Brutal

  • Amazon, Saunders notes, couldn't offer a strong reason for consumers to switch:

    “It’s very focused on price...very saturated and crowded. If you want to come up with a new concept...you have to do something really compelling. But with Amazon physical stores…what is that point of differentiation?...They never really answered that question convincingly.” (07:09)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:24 | Arkhan Fung | “A successful democracy depends on an information environment in which people can understand what’s going on with their government and that information and news isn’t going to produce itself.” | | 01:45 | Nick Usher | “We’re not making money so we’re going to cut labor. But when you get rid of your journalists, it’s kind of hard to do journalism...You weaken the product, people leave...” | | 04:41 | Neal Saunders | “They just weren’t strong enough to pull customers away from where they were shopping already and they weren’t generating the volumes from the stores.” | | 05:52 | Neal Saunders | "Since I was only buying a few things, the differentiation of just being able to walk out wasn’t really that strong." | | 06:13 | David Brancaccio | “I went to one in an airport and I found it disorienting...I felt it was a bit weird. And then I was unnerved...” | | 06:36 | Neal Saunders | “Sometimes you wouldn’t get a receipt for hours and hours...So it was all kind of a bit of a mystery. And I think that made a lot of consumers very uncomfortable.” | | 07:09 | Neal Saunders | “The grocery market is very, very low margin...the question with Amazon physical stores was what is that point of differentiation?...they never really answered that question convincingly.” |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:31–03:07 — The News Biz: Digital turmoil, layoffs, and commentary from industry experts
• 04:08–07:49 — Amazon’s grocery experiment: Why Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stalled and what it reveals about innovation and saturation in retail

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains the Marketplace standard of clear, fact-based reporting delivered with a blend of urgency and conversational insight. Guest experts speak with candor and a hint of frustration about the state of media and retail, while Brancaccio brings wry observational humor and candid commentary to the discussion.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode argues that both the news industry and the grocery sector are wrestling with seismic disruptions. Legacy newsrooms face an existential threat as they lose both revenue and relevance. Meanwhile, Amazon’s high-tech retail gambit underscores the difficulty of innovating in mature segments where convenience, technology, and economic reality are already finely balanced. Both cases highlight a central theme: in a crowded, fast-moving landscape, failing to articulate a compelling value proposition—whether for journalism or groceries—often proves fatal.

Transcript

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[David Brancaccio]

Fact based news is necessary, but can it be profitable? I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. News Corp. The parent company of the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, marketwatch and Fox News, will announce quarterly profits today. News Corp's price to earnings ratio that's a measure of investor optimism in the company is very high compared to other media properties, driven by a sense that the firm Rupert Murdoch developed is doing well converting its legacy media to the digital world. Meanwhile, another tycoon, J.E. jeff Bezos, today faces a backlash for the sweeping layoffs announced this week at the Washington Post, which Bezos owns. There, the digital transformation is not so good. Marketplace's senior Washington correspondent Kimberly Adams has more.

[Marima Reis]

The Washington Post layoffs represent a disturbing trend, not just in the media business, but in the country overall, says Arkhan Fung, who teaches public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School. A successful democracy depends on an information environment in which people can understand what's going on with their government and that information and news isn't going to produce itself. And old school news organizations have struggled to find a sustainable business model. A huge amount of advertising revenue, which used to go to organizations like the Washington Post and hundreds of local newspapers, has shifted over to social media organizations. Some of the struggles of the news business are self inflicted, says Nick Usher, who teaches communication studies at the University of San Diego. There's this kind of self fulfilling prophecy. We're not making money so we're going to cut labor. But when you get rid of your journalists, it's kind of hard to do journalism. So newspapers and news publishers are putting themselves in this death spiral where you weaken the product. And when you weaken the product, people leave the people, in this case being subscribers and audiences who have ever more options for where to get their information, whether it's real journalism or not. In Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams for Marketplace. Dinner time. It's where little moments are cherished with Blue cash preferred. Get 6% cash back at US supermarkets and bring everyone together. Did say everyone. Learn [e-mail] Explore bcp terms and cashback cap apply with Blue Cash Preferred.

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[David Brancaccio]

We're talking about the Washington Post. Another property in the Jeff Bezos portfolio. Amazon reports quarterly profits today. Those results could include the cost of closing down its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical stores, which were ways to grab something quick without a trip to the full Whole Foods casino. These had automated just walk out technologies where tech tracks what you've grabbed and bills you automatically. Neal Saunders is managing director at Global Data Retail. Neil, good morning.

[Neal Saunders]

Good morning.

[David Brancaccio]

All right, Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go. What happened to these guys, do you think?

[Neal Saunders]

What they really found with both concepts over time is that they just weren't strong enough to pull customers away from where they were shopping already and they weren't generating the volumes from the stores. They therefore didn't make economic sense. They've tried and they've decided actually it's better to cut our losses and invest in where we know we can make an impact in grocery.

[David Brancaccio]

Yeah, and it's not like some people as an alternative, are going completely outside the Amazon fold. I mean, if you need an emergency jug of Tide detergent and a loaf of sourdough, you can get that actually delivered without going over to the nearby store.

[Neal Saunders]

Well, that's the thing. You have to look at where Amazon is strong and what Amazon does well. And it really is mostly in the online space. They're super convenient, they're super reliable, they're super fast increasingly when delivering things. And that's actually the arena where they can win when it comes to running physical grocery stores. The country is already pretty saturated.

[David Brancaccio]

Neil, did you ever try one of these stores set up with just walk out technology?

[Neal Saunders]

I did try them. I've been in quite a few but to be honest, since I was only buying a few things, the differentiation of just being able to walk out wasn't really that strong. Because honestly, self scanning some things or putting them through a register doesn't really take that much longer in a traditional store.

[David Brancaccio]

I went to one in an airport and I found it disorienting. I mean, there are these two human employees there to answer my questions. I said, really? I could just walk out right now? Yes. Where there. I felt it was a bit weird. And then I was unnerved that, like, what if because I picked up a candy bar but didn't actually walk out with it, you know, would it register that kind of stuff?

[Neal Saunders]

And that was one of the problems with Amazon Go. You never quite knew how much you were spending. And sometimes the technology was a bit glitchy. I mean, sometimes you wouldn't get a receipt for hours and hours until you'd left the shop. And sometimes it never even materialized. So it was all kind of a bit of a mystery. And I think that made a lot of consumers very uncomfortable.

[David Brancaccio]

Also, supermarkets, grocery, it's a tough market, always has been. I mean, this fierce competition and profit margins, you know, I'm told, are generally pretty slim.

[Neal Saunders]

The grocery market is very, very low margin. It's very focused on price and it's also very saturated and crowded. And if you want come up with a new concept and you want to pull people over to your stores, to your brand, you have to do something that's really compelling. But the question with Amazon physical stores was what is that point of differentiation? What's the reason I should come here over the supermarket I already go to? And honestly, they never really answered that question convincingly.

[David Brancaccio]

Neal Saunders is managing director and retail analyst at Global Data Retail. Thank you for this.

[Neal Saunders]

You're very welcome. It's great to speak with you.

[David Brancaccio]

And in Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio. This is the Marketplace Morning report from APM American Public Media.

[Marima Reis]

Have you ever kept a financial secret from a partner? I'm Marima Reis, and this week on this is Uncomfortable. I sit down with a divorce lawyer who shares some pretty extreme cases of financial secrecy. They had a forensic accountant went through the numbers and they calculated that he spent $250,000 in a year on strip clubs. And I also chat with a couples counselor about how financial issues in a relationship are often really about trust and power.

[David Brancaccio]

I find that like a lot of.

[Neal Saunders]

Dudes typically are like, I know how to spend the money the right way. I should be the one that has.

[David Brancaccio]

All the control over it. And you with your girl brain don't understand.

[Marima Reis]

Listen to this is uncomfortable on your favorite podcast applied.