Paper, not news, is the most important part of the word newspaper. The business needs to go back to square one and ask: We have these blank pages … what interesting things can we do with them?
I’m sensing disbelief. Excellent! Instead of suspending it, let your sarcasm speak: “How about origami? Or paper airplanes? Or how about even leaving it blank, so people can doodle on it?” Go on. What else sounds ridiculous? A 20-page maze? A deck of cards? Dress patterns? A contest putting mustaches on celebrity photos? A novel? A reality show? A matchmaking service? A satellite photo-map of every town around?
You’re making the very point I hope to prove. Paper is a medium with infinite possibilities. Just like the Web.
So don’t surrender yet. Instead, fasten your seatbelts, as we explore all sorts of possibly compelling content, as well as strategies for testing what’s working and what’s not.
A few of the basic themes you’ll see:
Learn from other media.
Short graphics are welcome relief from rivers of paragraphs.
Humor is sorely neglected.