With the Evening Standard promising to be different, it is interesting to read the debates taking place on BuzzMachine (www.buzzmachine.com) about the future of newspapers.
Here is the key message: In the old way of thinking, the newspaper was a product. In the new way, news organisations provide a service. In the old way of thinking readers sat still to observe a performance.Now readers are participatory. In the old way of thinking newspapers marketed themselves to a population. In the new way, they converse, engage and collaborate with the communities they serve. The population markets the news organisation among itself. In the old way of thinking, editors were in charge, choosing which stories to provide to readers based on what they thought the readers wanted to know. In the new way, readers are in charge. They read what they want, when they want.
If the Evening Standard really wants to be relevant to London, then Buzzmachine would suggest it puts these principles into action.
