A lot of people are discussing the demise of the newspaper industry. Which appears to be imminent. So, here is some advice for anyone in charge of a newspaper:

If you are selling something that people can get for free, you are going to fail.

Let’s see how newspapers stack up with the interent!

• Newspapers show up everyday conveniently on your doorstep. The internet is (for all intensive purposes) infinitely larger than one edition of a newspaper and it is available at your finger tips instantly.
• Newspapers have wonderful, professional writers. The internet is full of thousands (to be conservative) of bloggers who are great at writing. Say what you will about blogging, but I think we’ve gotten to the point where we all respect some of it. (Though, I’m not saying there also aren’t thousands of bloggers who suck)
• Newspapers keep you informed on important news. The internet keeps you informed, gives you hundreds of different opinions and viewpoints from all over the world, and does so the moment the news happens.

Ouch things just aren’t looking too good! I will give newspapers two things for now:

• Fact checking
• Local news

But those days are fast becoming numbered as well. Basically, if your newspaper doesn’t have something else to offer, besides the things I have mentioned, it is going to fail.

So, back to the drawing boards! Let’s see what you can come up with!