Bruno Patino, director of digital projects at France's Le Monde, thinks that newspapers will turn back in the face of new technology, becoming “even more elitist” in focusing on longer, in-depth investigations. For Marco Pratellesi, online editor of Italy's Corriere della Sera, the internet will be the medium for long-form reporting, since once can publish stories of unlimited length without having to clear space or sell advertising.

Most European editors agree on one thing: the importance of investment in online editions.

Axel Springer, Europe's biggest newspaper publisher, is set to spend about €2 billion to expand its digital content, and Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet has started a financial news site, E24.se, in addition to its regular news site, Svd.se.

Some papers have already seen results; this year, after several years of loss, Le Monde expects to break even or make a profit, thanks solely to online services making up for print losses.

What are some European papers doing to make the Internet work for them?

-Zach Leonard, digital media publisher for the Times of London said his journalists are writing with an eye to search engines. Snappy, attention-grabbing headlines and tight, information-packed first paragraphs so that when stories show up in search-engine results, they will entice readers to click. “It's important in a newspaper, but it's even more important for a search engine, where the content is organized vertically” he said.

-The Times is also adding a small television studio to produce online video content, including TV shows. The content has brought in much revenue for the site. "We don't do anything on the site unless it makes money," said Leonard.

-French business daily Les Echos this month will launch a "digital paper" version available on PDA-type "readers".

-France's Hachette sells online subscriptions to 200 of its magazines for €10 a month, giving readers complete digital copies of a magazine, including audio and video.

Some simply don’t see the need to worry just yet.

Peter Wuertenberger, managing director for Axel Springer's Welt/Berliner Morgenpost newspaper publishing group, said that Germany’s older population is keeping newspapers steadily alive while the web readership grows. "Two-thirds of the population have not been part of the young internet generation,” he said. “Those people are still used to, and dependent on, paper as one of their information-supply chains. So we don't see newspapers fading away so quickly."

Source: Mail & Guardian through Paid Content Newsletter