Oct. 26, 2006

Newspapers are sitting on a gold mine of content – an underutilized gold mine, says Seth Familian, a trend-watcher and analyst who spoke during Thursday afternoon's breakout sessions.

During his presentation "Digital Content: Consumers, Platforms and Implications for Newsprint," the graduate student at University of California Berkley offered strategies for getting that content to digital users.

Who are these consumers? They are mobile, connected and entitled, said Familian, emphasizing that newspapers need to expand their platforms to reach iPods, cell phones and other devices. "You must deliver content that fits in with their lifestyle," he said. These 18- to 34-year-olds are constantly on the move. And they think "I deserve this content for free," he said.

Familian suggests newspapers develop a personalized printer-friendly format. "Everyone has a printer," he said. Having an 8-by-11 sheet with the content you want, that you can print, fold and put in your pocket would be valuable to overwhelmed, frazzled consumers.

"I have enough trouble keeping up with my e-mail," Familian said. He suggests sponsor ads to monetize such newsletter-style versions of the paper.

Familian highlighted more than a dozen Web sites where digital users get their content, including dodgeball.com, pandora.com, and maramushi.com – a visualization of Google News that color-codes content by topic.

He said newspapers should adopt some of what makes these sites appealing to users, including personalization, short-formats, networking, ranking and the opportunity to co-create.

"Think about the great work that's out there and incorporate those things into your business model," he said.

Susan Gilbert, Deputy Managing Editor for Administrative Operations for The San Francisco Chronicle, said Familian's perspective is important because it deals with the business side of journalism.

"Newsroom editors are interested in our future – how we can be a success. We all want to survive," she said.

Learn more at Familian's Web site: web.mac.com/familian or e-mail him at familian@mac.com

Report by Elizabeth Adams, Managing Editor, The Augusta Chronicle