Anyone have any ideas for this newspaper publisher? He runs a state-wide newspaper for a religious denomination, and every two weeks they mail about 16,000 32-page newspapers out to subscribers. Paid advertising makes up about 10% to 15% of these pages. They have a modest e-zine as well, and they have all their news on their Web site, too. Every state has a similar church-denomination newspaper, and he has teamed up with the editors in two other states, with whom he shares news tips and stories. There is no central newspaper organization for the whole country, however. A typical story in his newspaper might be one that covers a controversial resignation or organizational dispute occurring in one of the state or national religious organizations, or maybe a report on missionary work, and so forth. But this newspaper editor's question to me was, what more should he be doing, given the dramatic new technologies available?
I told him that social media like Facebook and Twitter might be perfect vehicles for a church-based newspaper, because members of a church are natural connectors; most of them want to reach out to others, share stories, make suggestions, and do good things. So I suggested he arrange a one-hour tutorial for himself with someone familiar with these services, and that he should begin thinking about how to start conversations, generate feedback, and create more active communities of common interest among his readers, as opposed to simply putting out news.
But what else should he do? Anyone have any good ideas? Know any similar situations?