What should newspapers do with the Internet?

The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of the late-20th century, but it can also be one of the greatest points of contention in the publishing world.

Personally, I find it to be a great resource that has revolutionized the dissemination of information in a single lifetime. As a child, I would often grab a volume of our Encyclopedia Britannica and thumb through the pages looking for interesting entries. Today, knowledge isn’t limited by the volumes on the shelf. A few clicks on the Net and you can look up any subject, and get the most current information (no more waiting for the annual supplement).

The same can be said of the news. The Internet should be the source for breaking news, updates to stories in the print edition and the source for nearly anything. If you’re a large metro, you’ve probably got this covered. If you’re a mid-sized to small daily or weekly, that’s another story.

Newsrooms need a plan to tackle news coverage on the Internet. Unless you clearly define a purpose and plan to online coverage, you’re just floundering around. We follow style guides for our stories, we spend a lot of money on designing a paper that looks the same everyday, but few newsrooms spend the time to put the same effort to an online plan.

First, do you want to be on the Internet? I think every publication, regardless of size, should be online. Even if you just post the print stories on the Web, that’s fine. But, a Web presence is necessary. Some people are not going to buy the paper. We all have to accept this fact and move on. But, a portion of those non-newspaper people (they should be ashamed), will read it online.

I’ve given up on some of my friends, even colleagues in other departments in newspapers, that they’re going to buy a single copy, let along a subscription. But, most of these same people will look at each new issue online. I can’t explain this phenomenon, but I know it happens.

Put the content online (it doesn’t have to be all of it) to get the readers you’re missing. And, that includes the advertising. Sell it if you can, but get the advertisers in front of those readers. It’s better to have more readers looking at the newspaper online or in print, that not looking at it at all, in my opinion.

Now, let’s talk about paid archives. I say stop charging for those archives or at least make it free to subscribers.

I read two local dailies, an alternative weekly, a weekly entertainment guide and four regional monthly magazines, all in print. Why should I have to pay to read it again online, too? The large daily in my market charges for its archives. Nothing chaps me more than trying to look up a story I read a few weeks back and being asked to pay for it. I pay a subscription (which recently went up while a lot of the daily content was cut) and I should be able to look up a story free without being charged.

I just never understood the value in charged people a few bucks to read old newspaper articles. I know times are tough, but I also look at it as a community service. I always enjoyed helping customers who would come in to look at old articles. They usually were looking for an old high school photo or wedding announcement or obituary. It was news that meant something to them on a personal level. We never charged for photocopies unless it has quite a few, so why are we charging for the same thing on the Net? I just think it’s a disservice to deny the public that information.

Next, each newsroom needs to decide the scope of their online content. Will it include the obituaries, weddings and local calendar? Will it only be front section stories? Define what the online content will be and make sure everyone understands the plan.

Who will post the content and photos to the Web? If you’re a small publication, many cost-effective programs will allow you to handle this in-house with no long-term costs.

If you’re a larger publication and decide that you’re going to include breaking news in your online coverage, you need to hire someone to do it. Too many newsrooms expect reporters to cover the daily news, and then spend part of their day posting stories online. Do you want a writer or an Internet person (and a photographer and a page designer and a copy editor)? You can’t expect them to do it all, and be good at any of it.

The Internet has created a booming industry that has thrived for many years, but newspapers have had a hard time grasping their piece of the pie. Editorial and advertising have immense value in the online world, but are enough people willing to pay for either? That remains to be seen, especially in these hard economic times. But acting without a plan will get you nowhere, fast.