In the digital era, how do I grow readership in the old fashioned hometown daily newspaper. This might be answered with a unique distribution idea, partnership idea, co-promo idea, customer service idea, etc. Yes, the paper is available online. No, I cannot control the content of the paper, that's the editor's job.

-- Katherine Burgun (kburgun@heraldt.com), June 26, 2001

Answers

One thing to keep in mind is that online and hard-copy services should complement each other. Hard-copy and online services are certainly not mutually exclusive. There are unique advantages to each, and taken together they expand your paper's range of services.

The traditional print product, for instance, will always have sensual (not to mention portability)advantages over online media. Online content, on the other hand, can be searched electronically (scanning classifieds is all of a sudden so much simpler). By offering two different services, you allow customers to choose how they USE the newspaper.

Personally, one thing I love about online newspaper services is the interactivity. I can read a story and immediately e-mail the reporter (or the ombudsman, or other staff memmber) with my ideas about the piece. This is absolutely great, worlds different than typing and mailing a letter, something that is often pushed back onto a "to do" pile and not always revisited! The online version of the paper says to me, "Think about the story, search the archives for other stories like it, e-mail the story to someone, or simply correspond with the writers -- this is your tool to communicate and to redefine how the newspaper fits in your life."

Nevertheless, I don't wish for the publisher to do away with print, since I appreciate the traditional paper when I wish to read in a more comfortable way (reading online is taxing at times). And I absolutely enjoy having the paper WITH me physically, flexibly waiting to be read whenever and wherever.

So, "Two customer-centric services under the same brand." That's how I view a publisher's combination of paper and online offerings. All the best, --andrew

-- andrew carr (avcarr@delinvest.com), June 27, 2001.