Jamming a Square Peg Through a Round Hole

Local newspapers and their websites continue to lose readership and revenue. We just don't seem to care about the content they produce nor their gradually accelerating demise.

"But we're online now! And we're free too! People should be reading our stuff!"

Newspaper publishers looked around and first ignored the Web. Then they started to fear it as it grew. Then they decided to join it when they couldn't beat it and its legions of amateur bloggers.

First, the newspaper folks made people pay to read. Then they made it free. But it still doesn't quite work.

In newsrooms across the free land we hear, "Why doesn't anyone read good newspaper-quality content?"

Maybe they are asking the wrong question? It ought to be, "Why doesn't anyone read good Web-quality content for local topics?"

When new mediums or distribution channels arrive, they demand a new form or style of content. The radio folks couldn't figure this out when TV blasted onto the scene. You cannot just port your usual stuff and expect it to work in the new new thing. That's boring and awkward.

Write for the Web. Distribute for the Web. Not for newspapers in digital format. It's why TechCrunch and Huffington Post are winning. DailyCandy, Flavorpill, and UrbanDaddy have figured out a way to win too. They're wagging the long tail of interesting and focused local topics.

Comments

[Joseph Sherman]

The radio to TV comparison is great. It is not enough simply to transpose the same news for the internet. I think sources like Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News is a great take on old style news. They condense and organize the news for a certain group of readers based on articles from many traditional sources such as The Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg. Then they give people an easy way to comment and find related articles. The news market is actually getting larger as it changes. I think news for specific tribes will emerge as a major trend.