E-Media Tidbits

Amy Gahran I finally had the pleasure of meeting Vin Crosbie of Digital Deliverance at a recent Columbia Univ. J-School event.

Last week, I complained about the tunnel vision evident at a recent Columbia Univ. J-School event, "How Newspapers Can Survive (and Thrive) in the 21st Century." Tidbits reader Mary Specht then challenged me to offer some possible solutions that I would have like to have heard raised there.

Fair enough. Here's an idea that former Tidbits contributor and Digital Deliverance founder Vin Crosbie and I discussed after the event:

What if newspapers and local advertisers got serious -- and smart -- about both print-on-demand and targeted print/online advertising?

Imagine this:

• Every day, the print paper you subscribe to lands on your doorstep loaded with ads targeted at your unique combination of zip code and interests you've indicated to the publisher. It's a thinner paper, but all the content (stories, commentary, and ads) is more relevant to you personally, your neighborhood, or your business. Both you and the advertisers are getting a bigger bang for the buck.

• You get from your local paper the equivalent of a grocery store discount card that you can use with local businesses for special offers or discounts. This helps determine which ads appear in your paper.

• You can also use your news card to swipe at print-on-demand kiosks to get instant, updated, custom editions with just the sections you want -- again with customized ads.

• Every story and ad includes a web code that gives you easy access to related online discussion, stories, resources, and ads. You also can use this code to receive text updates to those items on the mobile device of your choice.

• You can also elect to follow specific blogs or online community conversations -- or particular topics or keywords -- that you select in your custom print edition.

• Newspapers reward people who engage most actively with the news org -- or its advertisers -- with free subscriptions or other perks.

• Online, newspapers start focusing more on contextual search-based advertising (similar to Google ads) and less on poorly performing banner ads and similar offerings. Newspapers start realizing the benefit of hiring smart folks away from Google and Yahoo -- or entering into ad partnerships with major search engines.

• Newspaper ad staff learn how to educate advertisers about customization, performance measurement, and quality vs. quantity. They help advertisers get smart about which eyeballs to reach, and help connect advertisers to true potential customers (individuals, not just demographics).

• If all the custom content and advertising feels a little invasive to some readers, they can opt to subscribe to a totally uncustomized basic option, which would be virtually identical to what subscribers receive today.

Vin and I agreed that kiosk-based systems such as Newspaper Direct's Print on Demand are a step in the right direction, but need to go farther. Why should supermarkets be more adept than newspapers at printing and presenting relevant ads?

We also discussed how the prevailing silo mentality in many news organizations (especially in terms of how advertising, print, circulation, and editorial staff envision their respective roles and defend their "turf,") hinders experiments in this direction.

Print is, after all, still hugely popular. It also has many advantages in terms of portability, usability, and persistence. And it's a core strength of many news organizations. Plus, traditional news organizations tend to have the strongest ties with local and hyperlocal advertisers. Why not tie that all together with the best of online publishing and search/personalization technology to deliver more value and bring in more revenue?

...And, incidentally, to do an even better job of informing communities. Because believe me -- dumping a think sheaf of mostly irrelevant paper on people daily, where almost every page is filled with huge, off-target ads, while the stories get smaller, is making a worse and worse impression. Gross inefficiency is never the hallmark of a worthwhile effort.

OK, that's one possible approach. There are others, of course. What are your ideas? Please comment below.