British blogger predicts newspapers will survive

It's ironic that a prediction that newspaper will survive merits a headline, but it does. This blogger, Richard Webb, a former newspaper editor, is British, but I think his optimistic view is worth noting because the reasons he lists work just as well on this side of the Atlantic. Will all newspapers survive? Who knows? But Webb points to some adaptations being made as we watch, and the news is full of stories of changes. Getting newspapers to start shifting their thinking is the start of saving a future.

For example, this morning I was looking at Mark Savage's review of a Ford pickup truck in the Journal Sentinel's business page. It's now presented in print as a snapshot with a picture, truncated bullet points from the critique, and a URL for the full review on the newspaper's web site. Great idea, and I think newspapers should do even more of this style of journalism in which they drive readers to their web sites for longer versions. But then I thought (not for the first time), how are they trying to drive readers viewing only on the web to their print product? Print has some inherent advantages over the Internet, so why aren't they featuring them. The newspaper used to print an interesting column by one of its youthful writers each Friday with a box promoting the two other columns she wrote that ran only online. I thought at the time that it would drive readers to the print product to not including that in the Friday online paper, but to refer readers to the print version. Columns create fans. And fans will buy print products (look at the magazines and books being published). To me, it's worth trying.