The Internet continues to transform how we communicate, how we do business, how we socialize, and so on. As people have embraced it, it has becomes an incredible tool on many levels. For those that have not, or who have been late adopters, I believe it has impacted their business in ways those companies did not think was possible.
One of the industries that has been hit the hardest is the publishing industry, particularly newspapers. Something that was first produced over 200 years ago. It developed into the way news was delivered before radio, tv, and the Internet, that was synonymous with your morning cup of coffee, is being forced to change, adopt, and evolve.
The Christian Science Monitor, who is celebrating it’s 100th anniversary next month on November 25th, is the first nationally circulated newspaper shifting from print to a web-based strategy. Instead of producing the paper on a daily basis, it will be produced weekly, with enhancing the content on their site, and with daily e-mail editions. Their focus is to become a multi-platform strategy, which ought to take them into the next century.
The decision by The Monitor to make this fundamental transition is very positive. Not just because they are fully embracing the Internet, but because they want to try and keep their staff and international offices in tact, and most importantly decrease waste generated by daily print. Bravo!
