Mike Maisel

Newsday et al: Too Little, Too Late

The concept of paid content makes sense, but newspapers have already loused it up before they even try to get it off the ground. (And I would definitely take the UNDER on that succeeding.)

First, content has been free (mostly) for so long that it has become considered an entitlement. It is difficult to charge for what was once free. The airlines did it with drinks and snacks, but there are far fewer of them and they are used to moving collectlvely on things like pricing, etc. But, newspapers are still run like Mom and Pop shops (albeit with massive debt) and trying to get that industry together on ANYTHING is like herding cats. (If they had any industry cohesiveness, they would have been on the line for a bailout, like the auto and banking industries.)

Second, is the systematic dumbing and watering down of the core product. You cannot layoff journalists, share content, combine bureaus, make greater use of syndie material and expect to maintain high standards, or even interest. Chasing USA Today homogenizes newspapers and does NOT serve the public well. I observed years ago, that if you blindfolded me and dropped me in any enclosed shopping mall in the country, I would not be able to tell you what city I was in. Now, if you cover the masthead of any major market daily, I think the same challenge would face me.