An Industry In Crisis 

The U.S. newspaper industry, as you may know, is in a deep crisis.  Not too long ago, the New York Times, to keep its operations going, had to borrow a ton of money from a Mexican billionaire at an exorbitant interest rate—over 14%.

As absurd as this may seem, the real problem lies in the industry’s ability to deal with two main problems: first, the problem of staying relevant, and providing proprietary information that both entertains and informs; and, second, a more youth-oriented generation that is already used to getting their news and information from the Internet--for free!

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, (now here’s a paper that is still most relevant, with its unique and proprietary information and presentation), the marketing section highlighted a U.K. newspaper that actually started an ad campaign apologizing to its readers.  The paper in question: the Evening Standard of London.

Some of the ads stated: “Sorry for being complacent,” “We promise to listen,” and, finally, “We promise to surprise you.”

Now owned by a former KGB agent and, now, Russian business tycoon, Alexander Lebedev, the Evening Standard may be on the right track (at least initially).  But, as they say in Britain, the proof is in the pudding, and we shall see how much they truly understand the importance of surprising and delighting the reader.

It would behoove the New York Times to heed this example, to learn how to surprise and delight their readers…before they go under or are acquired by a much larger media conglomerate.

After all, this is the age of "edutainment."