Will the Daily Newspaper's "Rebirth" Come in Detroit?

(MoneyWatch) 

Confirming rumors that we'd been hearing for a while now, today the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News became the first U.S. newspapers to announce that, starting next year, they are cutting back home delivery of their print products to just three days a week -- Thursday, Friday and Sunday. (The newspapers will still publish a more compact version on the other four days, for now, and will be available for purchase at stores, newsstands and coin-boxes around the state.)

Free Press publisher Dave Hunke stated on the company website that the arrangement will "allow both papers to maintain their news-gathering forces, shift resources to their Web sites, develop new ways to deliver information digitally, (and) enhance multimedia offerings."

What is intriguing about the Detroit experiment, which I expect to be copied by other papers soon all across the nation, is that it stands in contrast with the conventional wisdom inside newsrooms, which have been slashing staff to save costs. At least for now, the Detroit papers are maintaining their entire news staffs, which despite their business Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), have always been independent of each other.

Another unusual aspect of this announcement is that Hunke specifically exempted declining ad revenue and circulation as the main drivers behind the decision. Instead, he said, "we're going to reset the business model and how much money we spend on paper, ink, and fuel. No question some of those have to offset the economic stress of the business in Michigan, but it also allows us to preserve our news organizations and our marketing organizations."

The innovative California-based global design giant, IDEO, helped the Detroit companies develop their new strategy. The shift of resources to the online operations, particularly the Freep.com, is justified, given that it is reportedly one of the fastest-growing news web sites in the country.

We intend to monitor the Detroit experiment closely over the coming months. I think it may represent the emergence of a new model that could spread rapidly across the industry.