Comments on: Can Newspapers be Saved?

By: Mark Beverage

Mark Beverage — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:23:50 +0000

Newspapers will hae t go online to survive.
Then they need to make all the news available and as a reader chooses stories/articles over time their servers would learn what types of stories interest this reader and present them as a front page.
Amazon.com does this with transactions on their site as do many others. All other news would still be available, a good search capability would be necessary.
I worked at a paper for many years so I know that they have many more stories from the wire services than they actually print every day. In this kind of setup they will need access to even more if they want to charge for a subscription. There might even be some value in pulling together what is now free on the web, to have it all in one place so the reader doesn’t do a lot of searching for it.
I think it will be difficult to get people to pay much so advertising will probably always play a part.
Store coupons coild be redeemed by giving out a code when the coupon was clicked on or the stores could issue cards that that have a number, you type that number into a box on the coupon and the store will give you the discount when you hand them your card.
I have my computer connected to a large screen TV so I can sit on the couch and read the Cabot Market letter but a universal “open source” portable reader would be nice to sit on the porch and read
with.

By: elyse

elyse — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:54:47 +0000

Thanks to everyone who commented here–your ideas about the future of the news business have really got me thinking. Some of the responses will probably end up in this weekend’s Cabot Wealth Advisory. http://www.cabot.net/info/cwa/cwaji00.aspx Thanks again for your insights!

By: H. Lorberbaum

H. Lorberbaum — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:11:59 +0000

I also see the handwriting on the wall. Newspapers will soon be extinct. For an internet financing model, bill advertisers for ‘hits’ ala Google. It is my understanding that reporting is substantially performed by reporters. They go to the scene of action, school board meetings, fires, congressional hearings and that good stuff we call news. When you are my age even obituaries are worth a leisurely stop. The local news is important to most of us. After all, gossip is always salable. The dumbing down of our youth (anyone under 60) is one of the causes of our national indifferance to high quality reporting.

By: D Roth

D Roth — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:55:47 +0000

I read the newspaper in print for four reasons…
The news, captions (pictures, editorials, etc. , ads (junk, employment, cars, etc), and “games” (cross word, sudoko, etc.)

How can I cut out articles, ads, games, and stuff from an online site when I’m on a bus, train, or simply outside in my back yard enjoying a cup of coffee?

Please let us support printed materials. I do recycle.

By: Andre Spina

Andre Spina — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:51:43 +0000

Hi,

A mental note I made recently was that if I had a big high definition screen say 40″ or more that I could use to read the online newspapers I am subscribed to I would never buy another paper paper.
I currently use my laptop and find only two major inconveniences.
I can’t see and read the whole page at once, and its not possible to print or selectively save information as desired; as issued.
For portability, as internet becomes more and more portable, its going to be another nail in the coffin for the printed version of newspapers.
My conclusion is that advertizing can remain in the current format, and the cost savings of actually printing the paper can be passed on to subscribers.