They face fierce competition for eyeballs, much of it online. Circulation and penetration numbers continue to drop. And despite strong earnings, thanks to a vibrant economy and those dotcom ads, their stock prices continue to lag. And while the superhighway has been lauded for bringing the global community to our desktop, researchers believe that local content will be the content of choice on wireless devices. People on the go who want to find a restaurant quickly, check a sports score or see what hours a museum is open will want to find that on their handheld, whether it's a Palm, Visor or cell phone.
Newspapers are one of the largest aggregators of local content.
Just this week, the newspaper industry moved a step closer to agreeing on a single standard for formatting electronic content. Why it makes sense From the start of the new media frenzy, newspapers have seen their staff jump ship for dotcom opportunities, and pundits have claimed the immediacy of the Web would wipe out demand for newspaper content. Now newspaper companies believe they have a strong future in wireless devices and cells phones and this time they are grabbing the opportunity with both hands. Perry is not alone. P.R. Panigrah, senior vice president and analyst covering Internet infrastructure at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson , says content will be king of the wireless world.