steve outing

Steve Outing cautions that style-over-substance print newspaper redesigns miss the best chance to retain loyal readers from older audiences:

"The key ... is to retain older readers by making the thinner print edition emphasize serious, quality journalism, retaining or expanding your paper's watchdog role in the community. Forget the stuff that's solely geared toward attracting young readers; they're for the most part gone from print.

"Then use the print edition to guide your paper readers to the extra stuff and the goodies that are on the digital side of the business."

The Philadelphia Inquirer will hold back much of its content from the Web until it has appeared in print, says Mike Leary, managing editor, in a memo to staff picked up by Romenesko.

Jeff Jarvis, already on a roll on the subject of curmudgeons, declares Leary's decree "suicide." To Steve Outing, it is simply a "discouraging" step backward.

My friend Steve Outing wrote about attending the Global Individuated Newspaper Conference in Denver yesterday.

In sum, the conference title muddles the theme: personal news. (Really, isn't "Global Individuated" somewhat like "Jumbo Shrimp"? Hat tip to the late George Carlin.)

Steve saw the event as full of messages and rally cries for the news business; in effect, "get off our cans and start offering personalized news services on our sites."