popular thinking

Three different, though by no means conflicting, views of the current state of the newspaper business.

Dean Singleton, head of MediaNews Group, told Wall Street analysts that all is not as doom and gloom as they'd make it out to be. "There are those who think our industry is in decline. It's really not. It's in change," said Singleton, who's bullish on the ability to marry newspapers with the Internet. "We're changing from an old business model very gradually to a different business model and sometimes some of the seed corn falls out of the wagon when you're getting it over the other side."So we're having a choppy year, we may have a choppy year next year and we may have a choppy year the following year. But the business we're developing is an outstanding business. ... The market doesn't like things that aren't going up every quarter, so we're having a tough time explaining that this isn't decline. It's change and change sometimes is painful, but sometimes it's very rewarding."

Brant Houston says we need more Investigative Reporters and Editors, and not just because he's the executive director for IRE. In his words: Media owners also have seen investigative reporting as a "niche" kind of reporting: nice for the sake of public service and awards-gathering, but not really a daily concern. But it's becoming increasingly clear that investigative reporting may be the beleaguered newspaper industry's best franchise for the future. Investigative reporting distinguishes journalists from agenda-pushing bloggers, from advocacy talk shows that parade as fair and balanced, and from the shallow reporting that happens when Wall Street pressures newsrooms to cut staffs. The worth of investigative reporting is not measured in constant bean-counting, but in how well it serves the public interest. Solid investigative reporting demonstrates the credibility of a vigilant press, as well as the need for one – a need that's greater than ever. With the advent of the Web and the blogosphere, rumors and misinformation have run rampant. Simultaneously, officialdom has grown more secretive, public relations and media manipulation have become more sophisticated, and the free press has suffered ever more relentless attacks by governments and corporations that don't want the public to know what they've been up to.

And this wire report from Reuters at the Mid-Year Media Review in New York suggests that newspapers may finally be getting the hang of this online thing.

They're all right, of course. Circulation may be declining, but profit margins at most newspapers have remained steady -- and more likely are rising due to bottom-line concerns. It's not a coincidence. For at least the past 15 years, corporations that view newspapers as businesses have decided to make more money by cutting the resources and the people that were giving you a reason to read the newspaper. Make more money. Newspapers aren't losing money. Sure, some advertisers have gone online or elsewhere, while other longtime advertisers disappeared in corporate mergers. And fewer people of my generation subscribe to a daily paper. But everyone still wants to read good stories. And businesses still want readers to know about their services. News organizations that figure this out quickly will stay alive and even thrive in the 21st century.

It's really oh-so simple. Deliver great stories. Take advantage of all the technological goodies that you'd want to see in your own daily lives. And let everyone know you've got these great stories and technological goodies.

Great stories, made greater with audio, video and online extras, and promoted to the fullest.