10 Steps For “Ailing Newspapers”

Blogger Mark Potts has published an updated version of his “10-point prescription for ailing newspapers”.

And here’s a selection of the recommendations from the no-nonsense author of the Recovering Journalist blog.

 Online First, Print Second

“The printed paper should be a snapshot of what's online at 11pm, and that’s about it.”

Newspaper websites should also boast lots of “Web 2.0 goodness” such as RSS feeds and interactive mapping features.

 Keep It Local

“Local news is the last unique franchise that newspapers own, and too many newspapers don’t seem to understand this.”

 Ask The Audience

“Let the readers get involved at every opportunity. It will greatly improve the product and increase readership.”

 Rethink Ads

“Look hard at your classifieds business and make the tough changes to stay competitive … that may include shifting most of the classifieds online and giving them away for free…”

“Get into the Yellow Pages directory business online. Aggressively offer contextual advertising.”

The full post is available at the Recovering Journalist.