Post it and they will come

Just as Publishers Clearing House looks for contestants on Twitter we hear from David Carr of a Newspaper that Shuns Web, and Thrives.

From the story: “Why would I put anything on the Web?” asked Dan Jacobson, the publisher and owner of the newspaper. “I don’t understand how putting content on the Web would do anything but help destroy our paper. Why should we give our readers any incentive whatsoever to not look at our content along with our advertisements, a large number of which are beautiful and cheap full-page ads?”

Stop reading if you heard me say this before, but when I did the business plan for a trade press publisher's web site in 1996 I looked at any online revenue as:

1. A bet on a new future medium,
2. A counter to our competitors, and
3. Gravy beyond what we already were making.

I did not forsee the Web killing print. It was exciting just to be a part of it, of course. I remember the trepedation when I had to make the business case...to suggest to the publisher to put his product on the web for free.

Met a reporter a few weeks ago at a conference and he says, as we discuss this type of stuff: What do you expect? If they give it away? What will happen?

What did happen? What is happening?

Hmmm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/business/media/22carr.html