More and more newspapers are experimenting with different business and newsgathering strategies in the hopes of reviving their business as the media industry struggles.
But many are straying from journalistic principles in order to do so.
Deborah Howell, the ombudsman for The Washington Post, offered advice for newspapers during these hard times; much of it was common in newspaper circles -- be local, have in-depth and wise commentary, be a watchdog, and so on. But there was one tip that may prove useful to many publishers and editors.
"When newsprint is at a premium -- the two biggest expenses are people and paper -- reporters should learn to engage readers quickly and tell a story faster," Howell wrote. "If long leads or long stories don't hold a reader through every paragraph, editors should make them shorter."
Many papers are cutting stories from their pages, but the trend of forcing reporters to get to the point rather than expound through lengthy anecdotal leads has yet to take hold. To combat high newsprint costs, many newspapers have also shrunk the physical size of their paper as well as folded sections into one another.
Read Howell's top 10 newspaper tips here.
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