I've got to disagree. First off with the statement...

2009-07-10T09:43:22.839-05:00

I've got to disagree. First off with the statement that newspapers are moving online "for survival." Newspapers moved editorial content online because other newspapers moved online -- newspapers are like teenage boys in that regard: if the cool guy in school (i.e. The NYT) does something, all the pipsqueaks want to do it, too. Online ad sales, robust for about a year about two years ago, are diminishing faster than print ad sales are.

The Black press has to their credit largely resisted this approach. Whereas it might be in the Chicago Tribune's interest to have a strong online presence so they can beat their chests about how people in Boise are reading the Trib, black papers are hyper-local. The less accessible you make your newspaper to people beyond your borders, the more incentive locals have to pick it up and gaze at those sweet, sweet print ads that still represent the bulk of newspaper revenue. As a result, black newspapers around the country -- they also tend to have lower overhead, smaller offices, fewer paid staff, etc -- are doing quite well compared to their mainstream counterparts.

Comments on The Retort - It's Time to Talk Back: "The Black Press" Needs to Be More Accessible To U...

I've got to disagree. First off with the statement...