Thanks for the post. You make some good observations.
Time and convenience have always been the enemy of newspaper circulation and now cost has been added to the pile.
So when I talk with folks about "different," I focus on three areas:
Content: News with depth and context that folks can read any time and when they have time. Research shows "time," meaning how long someone will read an article online (optimal word count 400-500 max) makes time an enemy for online readers, too.
Page count: Put the pages in the paper on the days folks have time to read them. This means reduced distribution (Detroit model), loading pages into weekend editions and keeping the rest of the week thin, and more free distribution.
Newspaper "youthful" days are gone. But they can and will age gracefully.
Thanks for the post. You make some good observations. Time and convenience have always been the enemy of newspaper circulation and now cost has been added to the pile. So when I talk with folks about "different," I focus on three areas: Content: News with depth and context that folks can read any time and when they have time. Research shows "time," meaning how long someone will read an article online (optimal word count 400-500 max) makes time an enemy for online readers, too. Page count: Put the pages in the paper on the days folks have time to read them. This means reduced distribution (Detroit model), loading pages into weekend editions and keeping the rest of the week thin, and more free distribution. Newspaper "youthful" days are gone. But they can and will age gracefully.