Are Newspapers Really Dead? The Boston Globe Thinks Not
And I don’t think so, either. I love sitting down with the Boston Globe and finding out what’s going on in the world and locally. (I am totally at odds with the editorial slant of the Globe, but that’s part of what I enjoy!) Even better if I can read the Globe lying in the hammock on a beautiful summer day!
Today there was an insert in my Boston Globe promoting a new online option for the Globe: the GlobeReader Preview Edition. Available to current subscribers for free (at the moment) and built with Adobe Air, it lets you download and take offline a full digital version of the newspaper.
The download and install was painless (not all are) and gosh darn it, the app gives you the paper pretty much as it looks in print. Of course because it’s on the computer it’s fully navigable, you can adjust font sizes, you can peruse only the pictures, etc. Of course, you can also print anything you want. You can also store up to seven days of the paper locally.
Maybe this type of thing will be what saves newspapers. What do you think?
I too thoroughly enjoy taking my time reading the Globe, and all the recent developments with the state of the industry definitely have me worried. This is a very interesting development, I will have to download and try that out.
Can you use it on your Kindle?
Bryan:
I think this offering is separate from the Kindle one. They are clearly trying the available channels, which to me is a good idea. Who knows how the Globe will come through this whole restucturing / management change thing, but it looks like their technology people are thinking, at least.
M.
For some reason newspapers have been afraid to charge for online editions or content. Heck, I’d buy a couple of major daily online editions if they were in the right format, which this may be, at the right price. I’m anxious for that day to arrive! (And I live in central Missouri, for crying out loud — the heart of fly-over territory!)
A good daily newspaper is the best entertainment value there is.
Kent:
I guess the question is how the papers can effectively find folks like you, get you wired up, and get some money out of you. This format looks to be a winner to me: it’s simple, clean, and looks enough like the real paper to keep you feeling like it really is one. If only they could get the smell of fresh newsprint to come out of the screen!
I’ve spent a lot of time in Missouri and grew up in Ohio. Don’t diss your spot! Lovely except for the humidity this time of year, as I remember.
M.