And over the long haul, they may be able to trade on their brand-name recognition as people look to those they trust to make sense of the chaos of information. And in an information age, when the quality of content will take on increasing importance, the old newspapers could emerge as the ones who can provide the best information. Also, newspapers are more than just providers of information. At their best, they act as a focal point for a community, a forum for the discussion of important public issues. It's not clear who else could do that.
Advertising is the lifeblood of newspapers.
That 35 cents you stick in the newsstand doesn't even begin to pay for the paper. Without classified and display advertising, newspapers as we know them could not exist. Once an information infrastructure is in place, consumers will have more direct access to advertising, and companies will be able to reach them directly through a digital form of direct mail. People will potentially have less need for the traditional middlemen, like newspapers and broadcast television. Many publishers are making a mad dash into the online world, whether or not they have a good workable model for making money on it.