The economic crisis of mass media in Colombia: the case of print press

Purpose. To analyze the economic situation of print press in Colombia during 2016-2024. Methodology. Quantitative study based on the analysis of financial statements of three national newspapers, seven regional newspapers, and one weekly magazine, using data from the Integrated Financial Information System of the Superintendence of Companies. Seven financial indicators were examined: assets, revenues, net profits, gross margins, return on assets, return on equity, and return on sales, through the application of trend analysis techniques and temporal comparison. Results and Conclusions. The findings reveal widespread decapitalization of assets in most print mass media, structural contraction of revenues, and negative net profits with high volatility during the analyzed period. The year 2020 represented a critical inflection point due to the pandemic. A marked difference was identified between national media, which maintain greater survival capacity, and regional media, which face a much more severe crisis, with risk of closure or elimination of print versions. The print media sector is experiencing a profound economic crisis, characterized by advertising migration toward digital platforms and the inability to generate new revenue sources, particularly threatening the sustainability of regional media. Original contributions. First empirical documentation of the financial deterioration of the Colombian press sector based on official data, with quantitative identification of the asymmetry in the crisis's impact between national and regional media, evidencing the risk of media concentration and news deserts.