"What is wrong with newspapers?"

Journalist Jon Talton blogs his opinion of what is wrong with newspapers. He is right on with his analysis. Start by reading his third point: Newspapers adopted a defensive strategy. Newspapers have played defense against non-print competitors ever since they came into existence. However, they always emerged with some degree of victory. Current trends indicate trouble, though. “Total audience” is a fine metric and definitely more appropriate for newspapers, but it can’t erase the fact that fewer people are reading and fewer advertisers are buying print. Newspapers have reacted with more defensive posturing.

I reiterate the importance of innovation—truly revolutionary thinking. Not just minor tweaks such as redesigns and special sections. Newspapers need to identify and fulfill critical information needs for people. And these are probably not going to be fulfilled with paper products. Innovation combined with high-quality content production will pull newspapers out of this mess. A good place to start is Newspaper Next.