Reader's Digest Bankrupt...Again

For the second time since August 2009, Reader's Digest Association has filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Please...someone shoot this horse and put it out of its misery already. Here's a funny quote from Chief Executive Bob Guth: "The Chapter 11 process, which will facilitate a significant debt reduction, will enable us to continue to redefine our business by focusing our resources on our strong North America publishing brands, which have shown a new vitality as a result of our transformation efforts, particularly in the digital arena."

Strong? New vitality? Is he saying this with a straight face? I think the captain of the Titanic said "Don't worry, everything's OK. We'll be in port soon."

The WSJ says in their article that RD emerged from its last bankruptcy "on a very healthy and viable basis" according to its bankruptcy judge, but even a lighter debt load couldn't save the company from the pressures on print publishers.

That seems to indicate that the problem with RD is that consumers aren't buying print anymore. This is true to a point, but maybe it's the crappy stuff that RD is printing that the consumer doesn't want, no matter what format they shovel it to the public.