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The Elite Newspaper of the Future  | American Journalism Review

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Saved by 11 people (-2 private), first by anonymouse user on 2008-09-27


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The endgame for newspapers is in sight. How their owners and managers choose to apply their dwindling resources will make all the difference in the nature of the ultimate product, its service to democracy and, of course, its survival.

Highlighted by mccallum

The endgame for newspapers is in sight. How their owners and managers choose to apply their dwindling resources will make all the difference in the nature of the ultimate product, its service to democracy and, of course, its survival.

Highlighted by mccallum

It is now clear that it is as disruptive to today's newspapers as Gutenberg's invention of movable type was to the town criers, the journalists of the 15th century.

Highlighted by arnieg

The Internet wrecks the old newspaper business model in two ways. It moves information with zero variable cost, which means it has no barriers to growth, unlike a newspaper, which has to pay for paper, ink and transportation in direct proportion to the number of copies produced.

Highlighted by arnieg

And the Internet's entry costs are low.

Highlighted by arnieg

These cost advantages make it feasible to make a business out of highly specialized information, a trend that was under way well before the Internet.

Highlighted by arnieg

specialized media had been enjoying more growth than general media.

Highlighted by arnieg

A metropolitan newspaper became a mosaic of narrowly targeted content items. Few read the entire paper, but many read the parts that appealed to their specialized interests

Highlighted by arnieg

Sending everything to everybody was a response to the Industrial Revolution, which rewarded economies of scale

Highlighted by arnieg

Newspapers "keep offering an all-you-can-eat buffet of content, and keep diminishing the quality of that content because their budgets are continually thinner," he said. "This is an absurd choice because the audience least interested in news has already abandoned the newspaper."

Highlighted by arnieg

The newspapers that survive will probably do so with some kind of hybrid content: analysis, interpretation and investigative reporting in a print product that appears less than daily, combined with constant updating and reader interaction on the Web.

Highlighted by arnieg

But the time for launching this strategy is growing short if it has not already passed. The most powerful feature of the Internet is that it encourages low-cost innovation, and anyone can play

Highlighted by arnieg

Clayton Christensen has noted, the very qualities that made companies succeed can be disabling when applied to disruptive innovation. Successful disruption requires risk taking and fresh thinking.

Highlighted by arnieg

One of the rules of thumb for coping with substitute technology is to narrow your focus to the area that is the least vulnerable to substitution.

Highlighted by arnieg

What service supplied by newspapers is the least vulnerable?

Highlighted by arnieg

I still believe that a newspaper's most important product, the product least vulnerable to substitution, is community influence

Highlighted by arnieg

We need someone to put it into context, give it theoretical framing and suggest ways to act on it.

Highlighted by abo46n2

The raw material for this processing is evidence-based journalism, something that bloggers are not good at originating.

Highlighted by arnieg

Newspapers might have a chance if they can meet that need by holding on to the kind of content that gives them their natural community influence. To keep the resources for doing that, they will have to jettison the frivolous items in the content buffet.

Highlighted by arnieg

But it won't be a worthwhile possibility unless the news-paper endgame concentrates on retaining newspapers' core of trust and responsibility

Highlighted by arnieg