I
love the newspaper. I would read it cover to cover every day if I had the
time (and I consider myself a pioneer of the online newspaper). It's not
that the news is necessarily "new", but I love the commentary and
interactive puzzles. That's right--completing the daily crossword and
other puzzles is interactive. But that's another topic for another
day (making the print edition more interactive).
I realize that I am
a focus group of one, but I can't help but point out that there are certain
days of the week when I can't find a newspaper in a rack or local outlet
anywhere. I stopped having it delivered to my home because it was often
wet; besides, my dog Darbey looks forward to the daily jaunts down to the
corner store to buy the paper. Last Friday evening, I came in from a business
trip from Houston and wanted to pick up a copy of the local paper to see how
the pundits and prognosticators were predicting the pigskin match-ups the next
day. I wanted a paper so badly that I went to eight different locations
in search of a local paper and, in the end, went home paperless. I went
online to read.
Not
to pick on just my local town, but I found the same to be true in Richmond,
Virginia. Finding a newspaper in a rack in Richmond past lunchtime seemed
to always be disappointing, as all the racks and stores were completely
depleted of inventory.
I realize that a newspaper has only a limited shelf life and that
overstocks can be an expense independent carriers don't care to deal
with. I also realize that independent distributors consider their day done
once they've supplied the various racks and stores with that day's product.
But,
given the current financial landscape, local newspapers can ill afford to not have product on the shelves when
consumers are hungry for it.
I
have an idea...
The
afternoon paper has come and gone, but there is a market for news in the
afternoons. I propose a "late edition" newspaper that is a
combination of 1) news stories from earlier in the day, but appended to include
some of the better online commentary from readers who are commenting
online. As one of the first (if not the first) to add a section
for local readers to comment and react to stories in the interactive realm, I
quickly learned that a story in print is not the end, but rather, the beginning
of many stories. Once the consuming readers add their opinions, stories
grow and take on a life of their own. Stories are often advanced by the
consuming community. Publishing earlier
stories along with some of the "best of" commentary from readers will
have value to other readers and the consuming community (isn't it time for the
online editions to help feed the offline editions and help make them be more
relevant?). I would also include 2) updated stories from earlier
editions. Often, new information gives us an opportunity to update
stories. New commentary and new quotes, perhaps added information--all
could be included in the late edition. Finally, I would include exclusive
new stories that didn't appear in the early edition but have come in during the
day. I would likely have a different set of comics and puzzles to encourage
overlap in readership between the early and late editions (crossword people
would go plop down another seventy-five cents to get a couple more puzzles;
trust me, I are one).
I
would not only use the early edition to promote the stew out the new edition, I
would also hire an agency to assist in getting the word out. Too often,
newspapers, in their arrogance believe they are great marketers. Trust me
on this: most are poor marketers. Hire pros... please!
I
realize that what I propose is not the usual way that newspapers conduct
business, but frankly, business as usual isn't exactly going that well,
is it? What I propose is a way to restore timeliness, relevance, and
innovation to the newspaper industry. An afternoon edition would provide
new, exclusive content that isn't available anywhere else. Some might say
that my proposal isn't unlike the old days of the "extra".
That's true. I theorize that going to a single morning paper may have
been a good idea in its day, but in order to restore brand relevance a late
afternoon edition that is truly relevant may help the overall brand develop cutting
edge news brand awareness with consumers.
I
know the naysayers will throw up the distribution issue. I acknowledge
the obstacle, but what I would suggest is a model that does not include a home
distribution option--at least not at first. I would only distribute in
racks and retail outlets. That would eliminate the massive issues that
come from having an entirely new set of independent carriers. I would
consider adding a new force of independent hawkers who can strategically
position themselves in way to take advantage of bumper-to-bumper traffic in the
afternoons.
I
would price the late edition just like the morning edition. That
really raises another question: isn't it just plain 'ole Econ 101 to consider
the supply/demand relationship for dailies? If Monday papers aren't selling
at seventy-five cents, would they sell at twenty-five
cents? Now there's a marketing research project for someone to
execute somewhere. I propose that price elasticity for the daily
newspaper varies by the day of the week. But that's another topic for
another day (so many topics, so little time).
I sincerely hope
that some newspaper--somewhere has the intestinal fortitude to try what I am
suggesting. I think they will find that there will be at least a 5%
overlap in readers from the morning edition and will find that there is a whole
new crop of readers out there that prefer to read a paper when they get home,
don't have time to read the paper when they get up in the morning, want access
to stories that have been advanced by the community through their opinions, or
want to read new content.
No
guts, no glory. If a newspaper publisher out there has an itch to try it,
I'd gladly help them develop the model.