Extra! Extra! Publisher holding back news for print

Minneapolis Star Tribune Editor Nancy Barnes says the Strib is going to start holding back its best journalism for its print edition. Saying it's "an experiment," she indicates that some "of the best of our journalism" will be given to print customers first.  This is an idea that makes a lot of sense to me. 

There are some wonderful advantages to the Internet in terms of reporting. I would have loved to have had its capability when I was actively reporting.  But there are some things that are just better in print; for example comic strips are much more enjoyable in print primarily because they're easier to find. Some of us like print newspapers; others don't. So Barnes is suggesting that the Strib online viewers will continue to get all the news, but that some of it will come after the print edition is out. Meanwhile, their news will be online immediately; it's the features and enterprise pieces that will be held back until after print customers get a chance to read it.

Will it work? Who knows. Is it a chance to reverse the breakdown of the newspaper business model? It sure beats just lying down and dying.