If the Web is launching an assault on newspapers, former Knight-Ridder Digital president Tom Mohr thinks the newspaper industry has to fight back by joining forces. If you're in the newspaper business or simply interested in how the industry can survive/thrive the Web's growing popularity, his lengthy "Manifesto" (aka Switzerland Inc.) is a must-read. Ceding the fact newspapers will not be online innovators, Mohr believes newspapers will survive through strong leadership and alliances with online vertical partners. "Newspaper industry leaders are frogs in a pot. The water’s starting to boil, and it’s time to jump," he said. "Only 19 percent of 18-34 year olds read a daily newspaper; 44 percent of them go to a Web news portal. Broadband penetration has reached 57%. The blogosphere is doubling every 5 ½ months. Search provides instant access to the world’s information. User-generated content has turned the authority model of institutional media on its head. Peer-to-peer networks, tag clouds and reputation engines are fundamentally changing how people engage with content and communications."
For more thoughts on Mohr's thesis, check out John Battelle and blackrimglasses.com. Two other essential reads for newspaper fans/executives is the Bivings Report, which outlines nine things newspapers must implement, and a cover story in The Economist titled "Who Killed the Newspaper?"
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Mark Evansthe blog - examines the world of telecom and technology from a distinctly Canadian perspective.the person - lives in Toronto, CA with his wife and three children, and works as director of community with PlanetEye Inc. 
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Newspaper Survival Manifesto
Comments
Re: Newspaper Survival Manifesto
by
Ian Delaney
on Tue 05 Sep 2006 09:12 AM EDT | Permanent Link
The difficulty is that print still provides around 90% of newspapers' revenue. They may move to become sizeable new media publishers. However, those businesses will only be worth 10% of their current value. That won't make the shareholders very happy as a strategy.
Re: Newspaper Survival Manifesto
by
Anonymous
on Wed 06 Sep 2006 05:02 AM EDT | Permanent Link
Mark, The Tom Mohr piece can be summed up; "Gee, I was on the way of doing all the right things at Knight-Ridder and then life changed with the buyout". Was he really the only one? I like Dow Jones, Wash Post, NYT, and even Miami Herald. Only Editor & Publisher, itself an economic disaster that should soon be for sale, would print "A Manifesto". Lefty journalists and commies are the only ones who believe "if we all hold hands in Switzerland and sing" then we can save our socially important industry. yes, it's a fight, and yes vertical might be part of the solution,,, but spare me these visions of "platorms"..... It is an anti-market idea at every level and the market will give it the just reward it deserves. mark in Hong Kong Re: Newspaper Survival Manifesto
by
Bogdan
on Thu 17 Apr 2008 07:53 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link
A daily newspaper is issued every day, sometimes with the exception of Sundays and some national holidays. Saturday and, where they exist, Sunday editions of daily newspapers tend to be larger, include more specialized sections and advertising inserts, and cost more. restoration
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