Comments on: All eyes on Detroit newspapers: Don’t muff it, guys

By: Bill Mitchell

Bill Mitchell — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:34:17 +0000

Steve,
Between you and Martin, I think you’ve got an interesting approach. Scenario that seems to me to hold the most promise:
1. Free Press continues to publish on its strongest print revenue days, but publishes the weekend paper on Saturday instead of Sunday (seems to work in Canada and Europe).
2. JOA-style, Detroit News inserts a section or sections into the weekend paper, partly to include its editorial and op-ed but hopefully more.
3. Some combination of free papers, home delivered or not, for remaining days. I don’t know enough about the Detroit situation (have been gone from the Free Press since ‘92), but guessing that some free print dimension will factor into this new scenario one way or another.
4. An online and mobile strategy that goes to school on lessons already learned elsewhere and capitalizes on particular news and information needs of Detroit area markets.

By: Newspaper Innovation » Blog Archive » Steve Outing: US papers should go free some days

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:51:39 +0000

[...] critic Steve Outing suggest that US paid papers should concentrate on the advertising-heavy Thursday, Friday and [...]

By: John Kenyon

John Kenyon — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:30:17 +0000

Steve, I can see your point. I guess I’m torn because I still consider myself fairly young but still enjoy grabbing the paper off of the front stoop in the morning and reading it with the family over my cereal. I know that makes me fairly unique, but there is nothing electronic that duplicates that experience. I still get all of the rest of my news online, but scanning the headlines and being able to discuss local news around the table is something I’m not willing to let go of without a fight. While that may be a fleeting luxury, I’m disappointed that many online news advocates seem willing to toss that aside in a rush to the web. Doing everything well — delivering a paper product included — seems the ideal path for now.

By: Steve Outing

Steve Outing — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:50:13 +0000

John: My theory is that digital becomes the core of the transformed news company, and that every print edition (whether picked up free on the street or paid for with home delivery) does a bang-up job of pushing readers to web and mobile services (which we learn to effectively monetize over time). I’m not a fan of any print edition that treats itself as all a reader needs; the print-digital-mobile package is what is of value to the reader. Young people *might* still use some print with a free edition but mostly digital, while older home subscribers get trained for the inevitable transition to online/mobile and adopt behavior where they use both. I can’t overemphasize how important I think mobile (smartphones) will be to news organizations’ futures. Just wait till most everyone is carrying an iPhone, Gphone, Blackberry Storm and all that will follow. It’ll just be a small number of older diehards that cling to the “comfort” of the print edition. IMHO.

By: Talk of the Day » Blog Archive » Would you miss newspapers if they stopped publishing?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:39:50 +0000

[...] Detroit newspapers — The Free-Press and the News — might cut home delivery most [...]

By: John Kenyon

John Kenyon — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:20:57 +0000

Steve, your idea is intriguing, but I see one hitch: If you stick some “killer” content into the free editions that don’t go to home subscribers, won’t that just anger them more than losing four days of delivery will? I understand that they can get it online, but if they still get the paper at home, they show that is the delivery method they favor. If they have to go online or track down a free copy to get it in print, it might drive them to the web or it might drive them away. What’s the happy medium here?

By: Paper View Monday: Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News : William M. Hartnett

Paper View Monday: Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News : William M. Hartnett — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:03:14 +0000

[...] is home to the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. Stay tuned this week for potentially big newspaper news coming out of Detroit. Mash your mouse on the picture below to fiddle with the [...]

By: Notes from a Teacher - Sunday squibs

Notes from a Teacher - Sunday squibs — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:44:17 +0000

[...] All eyes on Detroit newspapers: Don’t muff it, guys. Steve Outing is right: everyone does want to see what comes out of Detroit on Tuesday, as rumours mount that they’re about to cut home delivery from as many as three days of the week. That, as much as the Tribune Co. Chapter 11 filing, could shake up the industry. Steve has his own ideas about what they should do. [...]

By: Steve Outing

Steve Outing — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:29:51 +0000

Derek: If the predicted scenario has no home-delivered Monday edition, and there is, as I suggested, a free slim edition on Mondays (no home delivery), it would make sense for that to focus mostly on sports. Though it would include abbreviated reports and lots of calls to the print readers to get more on the web and delivered to their phones.

By: Steve Outing

Steve Outing — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:24:56 +0000

Martin: I noted David Hunke’s announcement that they intend to keep “two strong papers.” Your idea of one of them being a 5-day free print edition is interesting, but my guess is that’s not what we’ll hear on Tuesday. Since they didn’t ask for my opinion (or yours, I assume), I wonder if they are working with a consultant who has a strong vision of the digital future to come up with this plan? I agree that this could be a pointer to the future of news publishing. Ditto for the Rocky Mountain News, which looks like it’s going to be shut down but would make more sense to be transformed into the digital “future of news publishing.” I hope executives in Detroit and at Scripps (for the Rocky) don’t disappoint. At this point in the game, I find it hard to be optimistic. I don’t know about you, but I feel like a voice crying out in the wilderness. So many good ideas being put out there by many smart folks; so seldom implemented seriously. … But perhaps my optimism will be rekindled in the coming days.