One of the ways to do this, of course, is to play the integrity card. While the online retailers attempt to be content publishers, they're unlikely to gain the credibility for their content that a major newspaper gets for its book reviews, for instance. As I've written in previous columns, I believe that publishers need to use the Web to facilitate online sales tied to book reviews. Integrity remains the key word here. As I've stated in previous recent columns about e-commerce strategies for publishers, news sites need to establish policy walls between advertising and editorial and clearly state that to their users.
News sites can benefit from e-commerce by facilitating the meeting of buyer and seller.
But they cannot allow the wall between editorial and advertising functions to be compromised. The content has to be plentiful, expert and very deep. If you don't have a lot of staff to throw at these things, then you are dependent on real expertise from the individuals involved. The site does provide updated wire stories through the day, plus breaking news from reporters on big local stories. But the bulk of the original content comes in the form of exclusive online sections.