Exec: Wireless Technology Fits Newspapers

"Newspapers could soon begin reaching readers through wireless technology such as cell phones and personal digital assistants, a newspaper executive told a conference of news technology managers.

Wireless technology could eventually become the third leg of the newspaper industry, joining printed paper and the Internet as outlets for disseminating news and advertising, said William Dean Singleton, chairman of the Newspaper Association of America, sponsor of the three-day Nexpo 2002 conference....

Finding new outlets to attract readers is a priority for the $59 billion newspaper industry. Daily newspaper circulation slipped from 58 million in 1995 to 55.7 million in 2000. Sunday circulation fell from 61.5 million in 1995 to 59.4 million in 2000.

The Newspaper Association of America conducted a nationwide study last year on a test run in which 13 newspapers provided information to wireless users. The study found that consumers wanted information that is easy to get to and quick to download.

They disliked unsolicited wireless advertising since that burns up expensive cell phone minutes, said John Iobst, vice president of research at the association." [USA Today]

Newspapers can easily be part of the wireless future, but I don't think any one paper will be the answer. My local paper has different content from a national paper, which has different content from an international paper. Plus, I may like the arts section of one and the sports section of another.

Which is why RSS news aggregators are such a great idea. I can pick and choose the sections I want from each paper and pay for them based on a tiered structure. The aggregator runs on my smartphone, and it updates on a schedule I set. I can get stock quotes every 15 minutes, the traffic report during rush hour, sports scores every few hours, breaking news as it happens, etc.

The key will be if I can prioritize my subscriptions, especially when one costs more than another. We'll also need to be able to choose between a truncated feed versus a full feed (that should be the user's choice - truncated on mobile device, full on the desktop), and authentication will be an essential component. I should also be able to run a scan of lower priority channels at whim for times when I'm at the doctor's office or otherwise lacking entertainment.