http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com News is not enough. Neither is the Web. Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:39:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you somehow found this site, welcome. It has just one objective: Daring newspapers to brainstorm new directions. I fear many working journalists will hate many of these ideas. But as a friend of mine used to say in high school: "Don't knock it till you try it." http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/03/26/hello-world/ You want to hear it? See it? And you want it now? Who says you have to hit the Web? Right there next to the newspaper story is a phone number to call for instant access to that concert clip, news conference quote, sexy celebrity photo, a joke, latest text-message forecast. ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/03/26/better-cell-phone-idea-instant-extras/ It's a challenge and an exercise, posed by Good, a new magazine "for people who give a damn."  You'll find it in the March/April "Media Issue" on the back page. Couldn't resist, of course. Since I give a damn, I gave it my best, putting together all sorts of my ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/03/14/a-good-magazine-project-alter-a-front-page/ You're relaxing on the couch or in your easy chair, reading a story about ... a politician ranting ... a great new song ... the world's worst snorer. Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to move to see or hear a clip? Just hear or see it on ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/03/14/innovate-more-immediacy-cellphone-extras/ You''ll find many wild ideas here. Ideas to inject new life and energy into newspapers. But here's the most revolutionary, evolutionary idea of all.   In one swell foop, it capitalizes on many points presented here:  Job 1: Be less boring. News is not the answer. It's time to empower the renegades on staff. Dare to brainstorm the blank page. Really find out what ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/02/28/no-1-newspaper-rescue-idea-borrow-a-you-turn-from-the-web/ The mission is to brainstorm ways to make papers as useful, newsy and entertaining as possible, with almost universal appeal. Impossible? Here's an idea that for a single  feature that might manage to do all that.    People mostly live in three worlds these days: Home. Work (or school). And car. So just think of all the high-interest subjects a dedicated ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/02/06/beat-idea-car-life-reporter/ Many readers crave more comic relief from the onslaughter (cq) of scary news. Humor columns and comics are traditional choices. Here's another: Have a dedicated visual and lateral thinker whose mission is to concoct all sorts of amusing or fascinating short forms. Graphics. Lists. Charts. Quizzes. Photos. Mini-essays. For anywhere and everywhere in the paper, from business to sports to ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/01/05/boxes-briefs-1-short-form-thinkers/ If on-the-fly sidebar creativity seems too scary, consider recurring boxes and briefs. Here are some possibilities that are amusing, useful or both: How to Save 50 Bucks (At Least). Your daily reminder that “Hey, this paper is such a bargain!” Advice could be anything from bike maintenance to anger management to websites with free ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/01/04/brevity-levity-and-paydirt/ Steve Lovelady, an ex-Inquirer editor, once made the memorable remark that newspaper's biggest threat wasn't TV news, but TV dramas like L.A. Law. The ability of TV to captivate  is a big reason Americans have less time to read. So meet the challenge by embracing dramatic storytelling. Instead of inching multiple crime stories ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2007/01/01/learn-from-tv-part-1-drama-lessons/ The needed newspaper revolution could learn from one on TV: Faltering ratings were boosted, temporarily at least, with the surge in reality TV. Basically, such shows were (a) cheap to produce, and (b) based on providing contrived vicarious thrills. How do real people behave? In a way, isn't that one reason ... http://newspapers.stealmyideasplease.com/2006/12/30/newspaper-rescue-contd-reality-tv-in-type/