Will readers pay for

Here's an interesting twist on the notion of paying for the news. The public proposes the stories and then chips in to pay for journalists to investigate. Click here to see the LA Times' James Rainey's take on Spot.us.

Newspapers are very much alive

OK, enough is enough. Frankly, I've stood on the sidelines for far too long listening the ongoing litany about how newspapers are dying. They point to the depressed advertising market and the bankruptcy filings of Star-Tribune and Chicago Tribune as evidence. "Nobody reads newspapers anymore," we're told by newspaper writers no less. National Public Radio says newspapers are struggling to find a viable business model. Gloomy TV news anchors project their reports as though they are on a death watch of news.
The problem with all of this hand wringing is the premise is wrong, dead wrong.
And finally some newspaper executives are starting to fight back. You may have noticed the newspaper advertisement Monday after the Super Bowl that said more people (100 million) will read a newspaper in one day than all of those who watched the Super Bowl (95 million). This is being touted by a grassroots effort call the Newspaper Project with a website at http://www.newspaperproject.org (It should be noted that one of the founders of this group is the CEO of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., the parent company to The Free Press.)
Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, has taken to the columns to point out there is now a demand for journalism and for newspapers. Link to NYT column
Thank heaven we are starting to hear the other side.
Newspapers, especially community newspapers like The Free Press, are very much alive. And our business model is sound -- cover your community, watchdog your government, design effective advertising the moves traffic through the door and do it every day.
We are not losing readership. In fact, our daily circulation GAINED in our annual audited report. And our website traffic continues to grow and add to those readership numbers.
“The roar of misinformation swirling around newspapers is deafening,” said Donna Barrett, CNHI’s president and CEO. “We must cut through the noise to set the record straight.”
That's not to say we aren't affected by the economy or the changes in our media habits. We are adapting and adjusting just like everyone else. We will continue to experiment and because of our size we can be nimble in our execution.
But the basics, the blocking and tackling of newspapers, remains the same -- to inform and educate our readers. To bring results for our advertisers like no other medium. The need for newspapers, for journalism, was never more urgent than now during these difficult times. That's why I'm bullish on community newspapers and have stuck with this business for more than 30 years.

Yes, we are a little different

Sometimes a perspective from afar can give a fresh view on things we ordinarily might take for granted.
Out of curiosity (and because I was invited), I attended a recent community "listening post" sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio. MPR has held such events around the state to quickly learn what matters to the people in a given community.
They broke up the attendees into small groups each with their own facilitator and then after asking some probing questions -- "What news do you feel is not being covered? What are some big issues facing your community? How do you define your community" -- they listened.
I'm not a big fan of this technique especially for news media. Doesn't work for speed dating or speed reading. It sure doesn't work for trying to truly understanding what makes a community tick.
Still I'll give a tip of the hat at least to MPR for coming to Mankato to listen and learn.
And learn they did.
At the conclusion of the sessions, when all participants gathered for a debriefing, someone asked the MPR staff "so what did you learn about Mankato?"
One staffer was a little taken aback because, after all, they are supposed to be neutral. But then offered this observation.
I wasn't taking notes so I will paraphrase ... Unlike other communities visited, "you all seem to feel good about where your community is going. You seem very positive."
Kind of sad that this is what makes us different -- being positive. Still, you could see some pride on the faces of those attending.
Yes, we are a community that reaches out, that helps others, is extremely generous and relatively happy with what we have but always looking to make it better.
We have issues and we're working through them. We meet challenges head on collectively and work to improve our collaborations with others.
We are diverse, tolerant, progressive, upbeat and hard working.
Not a bad image for Mankato to project.