Blogs may be transforming the newspaper business model
No longer just a haphazardly compiled mix of fact, opinion, and commentary, the new generation of blogs, such as those added on the Chicago Tribune’s relaunch or The Washington Post’s Loudon Extra, are legitimate sites for reporting news written by professional and freelance journalists.
Newspapers can use blogs in a variety of ways: for commentary, for traditional journalism, or for a hybrid of both. Due to their popularity, blogs could in fact shift the traditional model away from print and onto the Internet.
Scott Karp of Publishing 2.0 suggests that newspapers plan ahead and take a bold step in abandoning print to become a network of blogs. Such a network, if it included professionals, freelancers, and occasional “witness reporters,” could cover the same wide array of subjects without the high cost of producing a printed edition.
Karp postulates that if the Internet becomes “the only game in town,” newspapers could significantly decrease costs and increase online revenue through “this lean, flexible networked blog model.” Nonetheless, such a move would require a significant leap of faith for newspapers that currently face the prospect of much lower online advertising revenues.
Source: Publishing 2.0 through IFRA Executive News Service
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I like newspapers. I'd subscribe to one if they would let me choose which sections I want and only deliver those. How hard is that in this day and age? It would help advertisers target their spend, too.
Living in a large metropolitan area as I do, I'd choose Section A (national and international news) and Section B (local news targeted to my particular corner of the metropolitan area) every day. On the day they have a What's On section, I'd want that.
There'd be plenty of people who'd just want Sports and Autos, or Lifestyle and House/Gardening. Again, advertisers would be targeting their ads to people actually interested in those things.
But who in their right mind wants to pay to have piles and piles of unwanted and unread newspaper sections cluttering up their home? Gone are the days when shopkeepers used them for wrapping food and other merchandise.