Mark Glaser offers “10 Steps for Saving Newspapers.” Here are his recommendations:
- Do custom small print runs targeted to neighborhoods and interests. Not daily.
- Support local writers, reporters and bloggers; help market them, sell their ads; decentralize the operation.
- Replace circulation, printing, print production staff with tech, SEO, community managers.
- Find out what the community wants in real face-to-face meetings, not focus groups. Then do what they want.
- Use pro-am methods. Include community-contributed content edited and vetted by pros.
- Smart multimedia. Don’t do it just to do it. Use the right medium to tell the right story.
- Promiscuous revenues. From ads, niche paid content, donations, non-profit grants to directory listings.
- Produce mapping and database projects. Employ or train hacker-journalists.
- Meet regularly with local businesses to gauge their needs. Create online directories of local businesses.
- Create a bottom-up organization where innovation is encouraged and rewarded at the edges. Use good ideas from anyone.
What do you agree with, disagree with? Anything not here? Is it too late?
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June 12, 2009 at 6:55 pm |
Too late for newspapers to do this. And very hard for anyone to put all of these pieces together all at once. I think these types of operations are going to emerge over the next 10 years or so.