So I can go get a job at a failing business, try my best to fight through bureaucracy and get people to rethink how they've done things, for, I don't know, a century, and have my work not understood or appreciated? Awesome!
Never said it wouldn't be a challenge. And I don't agree about the work not being appreciated. Sometimes it isn't understood, yes, but tell me how many insurance salespeople understand how the complex web forms they're filling out work?
And part of the disruption of the news industry can come from within. You can probably always find regular work as a web developer/technologist somewhere. But you won't often find a place that gives you more exposure and a louder voice.
If there's good, visionary leadership who wants change and has the full support of the board and needs engineering and other teams to make it happen then I agree with you. But if it's just a development job that are opening up as part of a panic-induced reaction to save their business model they're already doomed. No developer can fix an industry from inside a business model that doesn't really want to change. Sure, change can come from within, but it has to be nurtured and supported from the top.
Depending on the organization, it may not be "panic-induced" at all. The NYT is on fairly solid financial footing and have been doing innovative things for a long time because of their heavy investment in developer and data positions, including bringing in Jeremy, who's since put forth CoffeeScript, underscore, and backbone.js
There are other newspapers that are floundering and are basically looking for someone to take care of the CMS and anytime the server flops. But this is something you discern from their job description and initial inquiry. So, to say, "who'd want to work for that dying industry" is like vowing to never work for a tech startup because of their numerous failures in comparison to the few success stories.
And part of the disruption of the news industry can come from within. You can probably always find regular work as a web developer/technologist somewhere. But you won't often find a place that gives you more exposure and a louder voice.