The niche is in, the mass media is out.

The people The [New York] Times champions, by and large, do not read the newspaper and, for the most part cannot afford the goods and entertainment products it hawks to its audience. I keep wondering how many of the folks they root for can afford a $10 thousand bracelet from Bulgari or a hundred dollar ticket to a Broadway show, zealously and repeatedly advertised within its pages. Indeed, how many of the people who would be the recipients of the largesse it supports for the underclass can even afford a subscription to the paper.

This disconnect seems to afflict the news magazine business as well, which is another dinosaur headed for extinction along with other general interest magazines. Content aside, the proliferation of television channels, and the overwhelming competition from other amusements like computer games and other exploding advances in technology will eventually force one’s attention to niche areas of interest, making it impossible to reach a wide audience with a one size fits all message.

Advertisers are busy looking for other spots to hawk their messages. We wear their logos on our clothes without charge. Buildings, stadiums, parks and other visible public edifices are now being named after businesses and products. Expect more and more venues to sport business’ logos and product names. Not an inch of public space will be safe from advertisers, including airplanes and all forms of public transportation.

Movie theaters are forcing their customers to watch endless commercials. Cell phones will soon explode with text, moving pictures and jingles hawking products. News sites will give you a TV report live or canned but first you will have to watch a commercial. Expect ads to appear on prescription drug labels, on doctor’s prescription forms, on alarm clocks, and proliferate on old standbys like food packages, book pages, school supplies.