Johnston Press, publishers of The Scotsman and dozens of local titles across Scotland have announced that they are going into administration.
With debts of around £200m the owners of the fourth biggest publishers in the UK can see no way of making their business model viable.
The onslaught of digital news and social media has destroyed the old market that served The Scotsman for 200 years with a near monopoly of news in the East of Scotland.
Alongside the Evening News the Edinburgh market was virtually tied up with those publishers able to take news to supporters of Hearts and Hibs.
Like other newspaper publishers attempts to master the digital age have failed massively with no successful model available of how a newspaper handled the transition.
The pace of change in the digital age is relentless with readers, or more accurately customers now getting their news from multiple sources.
Digital competition, rising costs and lower circulation has resulted in advertisers looking elsewhere to reach potential customers.
Johnston Press have spoken off selling off individual titles but it’s highly unlikely that anyone will invest in a printed publication.
Over the last decade print advertising has propped up the digital versions of newspapers, without that subsidy the online edition isn’t a viable business.
With The Scotsman raising the white flag the main question is which Scottish publisher will be next- The Herald or Daily Record group?
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