Print product

This isn’t a quick read, but it’s one you should probably make time for. It’s a scholarly study by Scott Maier in the j-school at Oregon, and it compares the content of five prominent Web news sites to a cross-section of U.S. daily newspapers. Here’s a sample of the results from Maier’s conclusions: “In a time of turmoil for the press, this study’s findings offer a refreshingly positive perspective for newspapers—at least from the standpoint of content. Clearly, newspapers provide a product that offers depth and breadth unmatched by their online competition. This is a selling point that has not been made strongly enough by the press. With most major stories authored by named staff, newspapers also boast a high degree of story ownership and transpar¬ency—attributes largely missing from some of the nation’s most prominent online services. In sum, newspapers have good reason to boast that they offer in-depth, independent news unrivaled even in the digital age. The findings also underscore some of the strengths of online news. Read¬ers who now get their news on the computer rather than at their doorstep are not likely to miss out on the big stories of the day. The study showed that both newspapers and online news services shared similar news judgments regarding news topics and story prominence. But reflecting the Internet’s international audience, readers online are likely to get a broader picture of what’s happening around the world than do those who exclusively read newspapers, as well as a slightly heavier dose of analysis and opinion.”

Alan Jacobson at Brass Tracks Design has written a pretty persuasive argument for going tab using one of his recent clients, the Bakersfield Californian, as an example. Jacobson's suggestions could certainly apply to most community newspapers (minus the part about nixing feature photos). He outlines how a tab can save money and provide new revenue opportunities through both advertising upsells and single-copy sales.

Here's a statistic to share with your advertisers: Newspapers are still the main medium that influences the buying decisions of 59% of adults. That's according to data released by NAA, which contain a wealth of interesting stats about how newspapers readers are affected by advertising. The first link, to MediaPost, has some analysis with the highlights of the data. The second link is to a news release on NAA's site with the numbers.

Editor & Publisher reports that the Audit Bureau of Circulations will begin offering a new service for community newspapers, assuming the ABC board officially approves it. The new service is expected to appeal to community newspaper publishers with lower rates and a simplified auditing process.

John Zogby writes in his regular Forbes column about research data that suggest many news consumers trust online over print. Why? Zogby suggests it has to do with the deep-rooted perception bias. It's hard to apply his conclusions to community newspapers, but the survey results are still eye opening.

Alan Mutter (the same person who's pitching an industry-owned ad venture) has an interesting analysis of newspapers' cost structure on his blog, Reflections of a Newsosaur, and points out that changing that cost structure could be the key to the industry's comeback. Mutter is advocating a hybrid printed product that involves targeted, niche products combined with innovative online products. His plan is certainly easier to implement for small, community newspapers.

This writer finally did it -- he gave up his daily newspaper subscription in favor of getting his news online. Even if you don't encounter a lot of folk with this dilemma, what he has done will be more and more common. So take the time to read Mark Glaser's blog post, Kicking Ink: The Struggles of a Print Newspaper Unsubscriber.

If you’re tired of the relentless drumbeat of news about the demise of newspapers and rise of the Web, read this Philadelphia columnist’s rant about the value of newspapers. Favorite quote: “Rather than integrate with the devices that people already have and use for multi-tasking -- cellphones, laptops, etc. -- newspapers want people to pay for a separate device where they have more control over the content and the flow of information, and they can once again demand that people pay money for the content. There already is a such a magical device, and it's available for the low cost of just 75 cents a day or less, a lot cheaper than what you mindlessly fork over at Starbucks every morning. It's called a printed newspaper, and every year fewer and fewer people are buying it, because they prefer the free-flowing ways of the World Wide Web.”