As the newspaper industry looks to slow its demise, some publishers are looking for creative ways to stay relevant. MediaNews Group, the fourth largest newspaper chain in the country, announced that it will begin testing a customized, print-at-home version of The Los Angeles Daily News -- you receive only the stories that interest you with targeted advertising.That sounds so cool! In fact, it sounds exactly like an RSS feed that you get from about 15,000 different companies online for free.
But wait, there's more! The Daily News will also be offering customers a special printer for printing their own newspapers.
The newspaper industry is no stranger to bad ideas, but honestly, this is probably the worst idea I've ever heard in my whole life. People do not want newspapers and letting them print their own at home isn't going to make them want them any more.
The whole thing reeks of desperation. One of the reasons that newspapers will have a hard time reinventing themselves is that years of debt-fueled dividends and share buybacks have left them with little capital to invest in innovation -- and few banks or private investors are about to step up with cash.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-10-2009 @ 7:23PM
GetAClue said...
If by 15,000 "different companies online" you mean 15,000 "uneducated idiots with access to a blog", like yourself, then you are correct. Newspapers provide reliable and skilled journalism. Without them idiots like yourself wouldn't have news and facts to write your insignificant opinions about. The ideas of targeted advertising and customization are fine, I'll conceed that printing at home is unnecessary.
3-09-2009 @ 12:09PM
oldupser said...
Highly educated liberals only appeal to a small audience. They refuse to report the news they want to slant it to their ideals. The faster they are gone the better off this country will be.
3-09-2009 @ 1:35PM
Jrobinson said...
I like the free printer idea but it would work better for the likes of Feedjournal.com where you could create your own truly customized newspaper from RSS feeds or subscribe to specialized newspapers like the one I put up at http://www.Libertynewsprint.com
Not everyone wants to read off a digital screen that requires batteries (unless maybe its solar powered).
3-10-2009 @ 12:43AM
GetAClue said...
Oldupser - so you would argue that bloggers of today are less biased than newspaper reporters? You would rather have uneducated liberals preaching to you than "highly educated liberals"? The bias in newspapers is arguable to say the least, it is not as widespread as you might believe, the papers of Media News Group in particular stand out as unbiased. In any case, do the slightest bit of research in political science and you will find that newspapers are the foundation of a good democracy. Intelligent reporting through different perspectives keeps people imformed and politicians honest.
3-10-2009 @ 11:56AM
rmarie9 said...
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www.freedomathometeam.com/rmstewart
3-19-2009 @ 5:02PM
belavucica said...
Current headlines warning about Iranian nuclear programme, the president who is making outrageous statements on daily basis causing fear to those living in democratic societies are mostly why such a small number of people is trying to dig bellow the surface and learn more about Iran. Ban put on all the social networks thus preventing people to connect and share thoughts and opinions, no freedom of information nor speech are keeping youth of Iran in a strange kind of vacuum. If you want to learn more about Censorship in Iran and how it effects their society, if you are interested in hearing a different kind of voice talking about Iran and Iranians, you should read The Age of Nepotism, the book by Vahid razavi, or visit the site www.theageofnepotism.com