How to Save A Newspaper
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
I had a conversation with a friend about the possiblity of the L.A. Times eliminating their printed editions and becoming an exclusively online newspaper.
I visit the L.A. Times web site every day but I still find that there are articles in the printed edition that I somehow miss online. I also find that reading on the computer is difficult for my eyes and I tend to skim more than I do when reading the physical edition. If given a choice between reading the printed edition or reading online, I would choose to read the actual newspaper.
However, here’s what the L.A. Times (and other papers) could do to improve the online experience of reading and I would be willing to pay for it.
1. Allow more customization.
I’d like to be able to have their web site show me sections of the newspaper that are of most interest to me. When baseball season is over, I don’t really read the sports section. I always read the business section and I like to read it first. Please let me arrange the web site like I can arrange my own newspaper.
2. I’m more interested in some stories than others. Similar to the way Netflix lets me find movies I’d like based on my ratings, can you intuitively figure out which articles are of most interest to me and show me those first?
3. Don’t put everything on the front page and make it easier to find other articles if I click away from your front page.
4. Show more videos. They’re interesting. The pairing between TV News and printed information is perhaps the most informative and and most user friendly format possible in this multimedia age.
Do you have any ideas?
