Former Globe and Mail staffer Richard Bloom talks with media buyer Hugh Dow about the current state of the newspaper industry.

Some excerpts from the globeandmail.com article:

Q. In what way are newspapers still a good media choice for advertisers?

The key factor is that they provide almost instant reach of over half of the population on a daily basis. According to the latest NADbank numbers, some 51 per cent of adults 18-plus read a newspaper during the average day and that comes, over the course of six or seven days, to close to 80 per cent. So in terms of providing very quick, rapid reach of a very sizable proportion of the population, that is a very important feature for an advertiser who requires something to happen quickly.

Q: What are some of the other things that newspapers do well, that some of the other media do not?

They provide immediacy and they have a high level of credibility with readers. They can provide information very quickly and they can also have the ability to provide a complicated or a lengthy message which, in many cases, other media cannot.

Q: And what is sounding alarm bells?

The newspaper medium is having to face up to some realities in terms of the fact that the younger audience is looking for alternative communication channels for news and entertainment and information. Also, the fact that the business model is changing and the market is being conditioned to either free or minimal-cost newspapers. That is challenging the historical and the conventional dual-revenue system that many newspapers had built their businesses on: an advertising revenue base and a subscription revenue base. ...

Q: Papers are betting lots of money on their websites as a way to keep readers and gain a new source of ad revenue. Is this a good thing?

Yes, because there appears to be, in many cases, an increasing number of success stories. I think particularly the efforts that The Globe and Mail has put into the sports website and the realization that you can use a mass-media vehicle to direct people to websites and to really provide a two-way communication. The website can direct people to the printed page; the printed page can direct people to the website. Using the synergies that are available, both through mass media and through a specialist media, is something that advertisers and media owners are now starting to see the real potential for.

Q: The Economist asserted in August that "newspapers are making progress with the Internet, but most are still too timid, defensive or high-minded." Do you agree?

I think there has been a certain denial of the changing consumer readership and circulation trends. I think most newspapers have come to terms with it. There were various levels of involvement but you'd be hard-pressed to find a daily newspaper in North America that isn't involved to some degree now. Some of them were dragged kicking and screaming into it, others were more forward-thinking. It's now an accepted fact of life in the newspaper industry that you have to be involved and you have to create something that capitalizes on the asset and resources base of the newspapers but at the same time provide readers and consumers with what they're looking for.

Q: Are there other things newspapers need to be doing to stay relevant?

The Toronto Star's experiment with its "PM" edition, which is essentially testing whether readers are prepared to download, print and to accept the paper in that form. If that proves to be viable proposition the implications are enormous in terms of removing two incredible costs out of the newspaper business model - distribution and printing. And if you can get consumers to actually print then you don't have the distribution costs. It's early days here and it may take many subsequent experiments and many years before we see that turning into something that is viable.

Q. "Citizen journalism" is a major buzzword right now in media boardrooms. Do you think advertisers will accept the concept of amateurs presenting the news to readers?

There is a certain level of interest. Certainly there are communities developing with like interests and it's a phenomenon that's affecting all media. Bloggers, podcasts -- all of those things are broadening the spectrum. Content is now being provided by the media moguls all the way down to somebody in a basement in Scarborough, which is a fascinating scenario and spectrum. But I think the credible, trusted source of information will continue to be the champion.