Tuesday, February 24, 2009

How Print Media Could Be Saved

The Internet is killing Print Media. The New York Times and others are relying more and more on advertising and giving away their articles free online. Local newspapers have become little more than AP wire distributors due to budget cuts. The people who actually buy and subscribe to newspapers are dying out.

Why not create a newspaper kiosk? Local newspapers could "syndicate" national opinion, news and sports content and provide local news as well. A customer could walk up to the kiosk, select the content they want, and have it print out at an a la cart cost. Additionally, they could create an online account and simply sign in to retrieve the content they're interested in. Celebrities could do "guest lists" of topics and authors of their choosing. It would be RSS feeds for the real world. Preferably, the paper would be printed on newsprint, to give an authentic feel that draws people to newspapers in the first place.

Environmentally it makes sense. You only use print the stories people want, there is nothing wasted. Staff time would be reduced. Advertising could still defray a large portion of the cost, maybe more with the addition of an online community. People who still want a physical copy of the paper would still be able to get one.