It's a treat to return from the long holiday weekend to a stirring and heartfelt exposition of the world of media in New York today, courtesy of New York Times media columnist David Carr.

In his column today, Carr sums up the feeling among many in the media (including us) pretty succinctly:

"Pages are down, spending is down, revenues are down, and the biggest feature of this holiday season in the media kingdom has been layoffs and buyouts at Condé Nast, Time Inc., The Associated Press, and yes, The New York Times....That carnage has left behind an island of misfit toys, trains whose cabooses have square wheels and bird fish who are trying to swim in thin air. The skills that once commanded $4 for every shiny word are far less valuable at a time when the supply of both editorial and advertising content more or less doubles every year."

But despite all this, Carr still manages to stay optimistic about the future of the industry. It's refreshing to see a little bright spot in the midst of all the doom and gloom:

"So what do we get instead? The future, which is not a bad deal if you ignore all the collateral gore. Young men and women are still coming here to remake the world, they just won't be stopping by the human resources department of Condé Nast to begin their ascent."

The future of our industry, for Carr, rests on the shoulders of "bright young things" who are launching Web sites and blogs from their "tiny netbooks and iPhones." "For them, New York is not an island sinking, but one that is rising on a fresh, ferocious wave," Carr concludes.

Can those who have been recently laid off from old media ride the wave, too?

The Fall and Rise of Media --New York Times

(Photo via flickr)