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 ideas on a single page. Especially, the one about teasing stories … Make people buy it, open it and read! (Sure it’s tacky, but so are people who’ll read that Page One story and not fork over 50 cents.) Since you probably can’t read the thumbnail image posted here, click here to see a full-blown .pdf of my “New Paper” front page.
Useful information
A (Driving) Beat Idea: Car Life Columnist
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.  Â
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 Car Life Columnist might explore:
Traffic miseries and mysteries … Road conditions & construction news … Gas prices and mileage  … New gizmos and gadgets for commuters and families (from TVs for kids to navigational systems) … Car repair and maintenance … Beating traffic tickets … The confusing world of maps, directions and signs … Alternative fuels … The drive-through world (this year: The Drive-Through Nativity) … Health (stay awake!) and safety (teens, alcohol, drugs) … Regular and satellite radio  … Psychology (road rage, sexual politics of asking/giving directions, keeping kids amused) … Where to park …  the list is endless.
Who wouldn’t be interested in such a column? (OK, readers of a Mass Transit Columnist.) Car Life would lend itself to a team approach, too, switching to different writers who explore different routes, use different vehicles, drive at different times, etc.
Using cellphone-to-blog technology, such a columnist could even file live reports online. Bottom line: Readers would love us for making driving less of a pain in the ass!
Boxes & Briefs 1: Short-Form Thinkers
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 the front page. Could be factual and informative (Team’s Top Felonious Draft Picks) or purely imaginative (5 ideas for sequels to Snakes on a Plane). Fun could be contagious, inspiring other staffers and readers to get in on the act. Works well online, too. The rewards are worth the risk.Â
Boxes & Briefs 2: Brevity, Levity & Paydirt
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 stuff.
Offbeat / Oddball News. Websites like fark.com and hits on philly.com and nbc10.com prove oddball news is extremely popular. Revive to liven up the A section. Include fun art.
Highlights and Lowlifes. A daily attitude-laced gossipy column about the private lives of sports stars. Have fun sidebar boxes like “Who Am I?†or “Who Said it?†or a trivia quiz. (At least, a weekly look back.)
Quips and Rips. A daily freewheeling Internet-style message board. Shares all sorts of anonymous reader remarks. Page 2 of features. A second one in sports?
To Your Health. Daily dose of practical news and advice.
Biz Quiz. Picture or multiple-choice quiz about mind-boggling business trivia.
Everybody’s a Comedian. Funny bits from late-night monologues, local comedians, staff guest-shots and amusing readers.
My Room … My Fridge … My Shopping Cart … My Handbag. Take your pick from these ideas for informative voyeurism. Satisfy curiosity about local notables, regular people and all sorts of recommended products.
Another Side of … Local notables talk about their lesser known sides, such as hobbies, charities, families, unknown parts of their histories. Or: 3 Questions. You ask celebs 5 questions and print only the 3 best.
Parallel Universes. An offbeat chart that compares coincidentally similar people or popular things.Â
What’s Up With That? Regular short reaction piece to anything dubious in the culture. By different staffers every day.Â
Games, polls and tests. The more readers get up and do something because of us, the more we’re a part of their lives. Go beyond puzzles and crosswords to social activities, like board games, group quizzes and tests, like the SAT Word of the Day, which preps college-bound kid while challenging the rest of us.
Reader Challenge. Or do a TV-style in-newspaper quiz show, We pick contests, run their pics & factoids, string out eliminations day by day to build suspense.
‘Know News’: So That Explains It!
Imagine every day your newspaper had on its front page a little box labeled “Know News.” In that box, you’d find a single timely word, term or name with a simple definition. Could be old: Arraignment. Concerto. Insurgency. Or relatively new: Stem cells. Keylogging. Podcast.
Finish with a quick teaser or page number to a story that uses the term. The aim is to create a more educated audience — clue more readers in on more kinds of stories. When feasible, add an intriguing fact so everybody could learn something. The “definition” could also be a picture, chart or map. Scoffers (it’s “dumb” or “insulting”) might be surprised how often they’ll find themselves thinking, “Oh, I assumed it meant …”