API Releases "Newspaper Next 2.0: Making the Leap Beyond 'Newspaper Companies'"

New report provides industry with new vision and resources for innovation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 19, 2008
PRESS CONTACT: Vicki Govro, 703-715-3322, vgovro@americanpressinstitute.org

RESTON, Va. - The American Press Institute today released its report Newspaper Next 2.0: Making the Leap Beyond 'Newspaper Companies'--a follow-up to the project's 2006 report, Blueprint for Transformation.

The report, released through a webcast, details a new vision of what newspapers can and must become. Of this new vision, Newspaper Next (N2) Managing Director Steve Gray, said, "If newspaper companies stay on their present path, the future is clear - the core business model will keep shrinking, along with circulation, advertising and profit margins. It's time to make the leap - a mental leap, a leap of vision and leadership - beyond newspaper companies, to a larger, more diverse kind of company."

The report describes this new company as a "local information and connection utility."

The second section of the report includes case studies of 24 new products launched since the release of the first report, all by companies using the N2 method. It also highlights how seven innovative companies organized, staffed, funded and oversaw their innovation efforts. These examples are intended to answer questions commonly asked in the industry: "Who's doing innovative things successfully? How did they do it? How can others emulate them?"

The third and last section of the report, developed by Borrell and Associates, provides practical guidance for what may be the most urgent question on the minds of newspaper executives today: How can we monetize the Web?

"Describing the fantastic digital future can be alluring, finding a way to make a business out of it is another thing altogether. The fuel for this online transformation is ad sales," said Borrell.

Included in this third section is information on the fastest-growing online opportunities, as well as research from Borrell Associates on how best-practices newspapers are maximizing their online revenues. Adopting these best practices, says Borrell Associates' CEO Gordon Borrell, can lead any newspaper to what he calls "exponentially more online revenue."

Also included with the report are sample job descriptions for online positions in both the newsroom and the revenue department; a listing of technology solutions vendors for various digital functionalities; and Borrell Associates' research data intended to enable any newspaper to estimate local online revenue potential in its market.

The American Press Institute offers the report at no charge and it can be downloaded at www.NewspaperNext.org . The archived webcast-- which includes video footage of two of the case studies-- can also be viewed at this address.

The American Press Institute, which is based in Reston, Virginia, is an independent educational center for providing skills-training and leadership development in the news industry, offering seminars and onsite programs for newspaper professionals.