The news seems everywhere that newspapers are dying a slow death. But I like to play the contrarian and say that there is life in them bendable, hand-held communication devices that operate without batteries or browsers…

This CNN poll, shows the weakness of newspapers in the news departement. 87% of people polled said they get their news from the Net. But what about ‘insights’ and non-earth shattering information? You know, movie reviews, food sections, ‘news’ about the latest mobile device or service, travel? Nothing beats a good read in a daily paper landing on your doorstep. I say this, in spite of subscribing to Nyt.com, and glancing at sfgate.com for great new tidbits (that don’t show up on my Yahoo home page)

Speaking of which, The San Francisco Chronicle is a great example of how the online product could impact the newspaper: Morning Edition moderator/deputy business editor recently spoke how the paper could benefit from the blog. Tech Chronicles, the blog, appears in the newspaper the next day. Talk about reverse re-purposing of content. This kind of experiment could add new life to print. I truly believe it could work. Good luck, Chronicle.