An impractical suggestion for newspapers made in a letter to the Mansfield News Journal:

“Why can’t newspapers have this practice [online publishing] discontinued, and then they can go back to the old-fashioned way of publishing their paper and regain their subscribers and advertisers?”

Followed by a more legitimate concern about the relationship between online newspapers and democracy:

“If newspapers are forced to stop publishing, there won’t be any information to be placed on the internet.”

While there would still be information from a range of sources if newspapers were taken out of the picture, how would the quality of this information be perceived by the reader, such as the writer of this letter?

Full letter at this link…

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Jason Preston compares online and print publishing models and concludes that the only way the old model will work online is if the cost structure of online publishing is changed, so that technology no longer allows free or cheap means for publishing to all.

“There are two ways to adapt to the situation: you can accept the new economics, or you can try to re-work the technology so that it conforms to the old rules of economics: scarcity… Fighting progress is a fool’s game,” Preston writes. Full story…

See also NiemanJournalismLab: “Why it’s so hard to move print revenue online: The loss of scarcity“

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Inspired by three online news items (David Carr on NYTimes.com; Gawker’s Nick Denton / Jonah Bloom of AdAge), John Duncan argues on Garcia International that the ‘recession is (ultimately) good for online publishing.’

“There comes a time for most orthodoxies when they just plain run out of doxy,” he writes…”The biggest mistake newspapers made in the internet era was to devalue content by dishing it out for free.”

His point is perhaps clearest in his final paragraph:

“What we are learning now is that a user of a free product does not have remotely the same value as a customer of a paying one.”

Full story…

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Online publishing: Do you know what people are searching for on your website? Check the logs for the most common search terms and see if what you are writing about matches what users want – you could be surprised. Tipster: Oliver Luft

Got a tip? Submit it here – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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Online publishing: Is your web framework hampering your storytelling? Then set up a blog alongside your existing site and add your videos/audio/slideshows/interactive maps to that. You can link from your existing news site and, if it’s a success, your bosses will take note. Tipster: Oliver Luft

Got a tip? Submit it here – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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In case you hadn’t noticed, Journalism.co.uk was in Sweden last week covering the World Association of Newspapers annual conference and the World Editors Forum.

So no one misses out, here’s a round-up of what went down while we were away:

Guardian: BBC ends ‘licence fee’ plans for international news website
The Beeb has dropped proposals for subscription-based access to BBC.com

WSJ.com: Analysis of hyperlocal news site LoudounExtra.com
Following the departure of Rob Curley, chief architect behind the Washington Post spin-off site, WSJ asks if the site has found its audience a year into the project.

Editor&Publisher: 94 newspapers join Yahoo partnership
A total of 779 newspapers now have access to the search engine’s advertising technology and HotJobs ads.

Daily Mail: Sir Ian Blair advocates use of celebrity news videos as evidence in drug trials
Footage, such as the Sun’s infamous Amy Winehouse video and of Kate Moss snorting a white substance, should be presented to the jury in such cases, Blair has said.

Guardian: BBC’s new plans for personalisation of website
Plans to create a new rating, recommendation and personalisation system across bbc.co.uk will be put to the BBC Trust, according to the corporation’s latest programme policy statement.

Editor’s Weblog: Washington Post launches online publishing company
The Slate Group will feature a host of digital titles including Slate and The Root, with additional launches planned.

Telegraph.co.uk: Update on revamp of community blogging platform MyTelegraph
Communities editor Shane Richmond says a relaunch date will be announced by the end of next week.

Matthew Ingram: Globe and Mail removes pay wall
Number of subscribers was not enough to maintain the wall, says Ingram, who works for the paper. Some readers remain unconvinced, he says, pointing out one comment: “You can’t shut us out for a few years and then expect us to come back just because it’s free.”

MediaShift: Everyblock releases first special report
The hyperlocal data and news site has mapped information from a recent Chicago police bribery investigation as part of its first special report.

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The Financial Times and the BBC have reason to celebrate after they both won Webby Awards – considered by many as the Oscars of online publishing.

With nominations in over 70 categories FT.com’s Alphaville blog and the BBC News site were amongst a crowded field of winners as they picked up gongs earlier this week.

The Webbys are selected by a group made up of web, business and celebrity figures selected by the awarding body, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, with the people’s voice awards voted on by web-using members of the public.

Alphaville won the best business blog category, also picking up the people’s voice award in that category.

BBC News was the people’s voice winner in the news category (it also won the main award in the radio category) with the main prize going to NYTimes.com – one of a total of six awards for the publication.

Two of those successes came in the online newspaper section where NYTimes.com won both the main award and the people’s voice award, in the process beating of competition from Guardian.co.uk, Independent.co.uk, the Wall Street Journal Online and Variety.com.

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