But will there really be newspapers when the Chicago Cubs win the World Series?
What happened with print editions yesterday (Wednesday) was unique because the circumstances were unique. If the Chicago Cubs (ever) win the World Series, you'll likely see a similar run on the Chicago papers. It doesn't mean they're going to see a growth spurt in subscriptions.That's Bryan Murley on the fact that many newspapers sold out of Wednesday editions featuring the election of Barack Obama. It's not because people wanted to read them, but as keepsakes.
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The long lines to buy the paper are not buying the information in it, which is known already and free to all in digital form. They're buying the paper as an object --not the synecdoche.
In this case, the costly, hard-to-reproduce paper provided something valuable that the free and easy-to-copy digits in a Web page, rss feed or text message could not.
Can the paper (talking about the newsroom or company now) make a business out of selling paper souvenirs? Not if it has to depend on the Cubs winning the World Series.
But what if everyone has small triumphs in life that deserve an artifact? Let's say the newsroom is online during the week and produces a classic, golden-age Sunday paper that becomes the "I saw you in the paper" souvenir of regular people's lives? And it gears up for a special edition on big occasions? Can a Facebook app ever do that justice?
Technological advances might control costs by creating customizable sections. But what good is getting your name in the paper if you're the only one who sees it?
Perhaps one of the most important values of the paper is that of a community scrapbook.
Brian Cubbison
Or to ask your question another way: Is there a way to increase the "refrigerator factor" of a digital product?
But will there really be newspapers when the Chicago Cubs win the World Series?
Ouch, Jack. Just ouch! :-)
I was wondering when I'd hear from a Cubbies fan. :)