A recent MediaWeek article entitled "Buyers Want Newspaper to Reinvent Model" discusses new methods newspapers have been using to meet the needs of buyers, and echoes some of the same sentiments we've heard from our advertisers here at MediaBids. For example, many of our advertisers typically request value-adds like online exposure with their buys. In response to this, publications are now posting print offers on our site with online space included as an integrated online/offline buy. Many newspapers have focused on presenting these integrated buys more frequently to their advertisers. Additionally, as the article outlines, some newspapers have started publishing e-newsletters on single topics and other newspapers are utilizing mobile opportunities to try and improve the overall success of their publication.

Here at MediaBids, we're presenting another option for newspapers and magazines in the print ad sales arena, in the form of our Per-Inquiry Advertising Program.We are currently working with  a small number of national advertisers who are paying for their print ads based on response. Newspapers, magazines and more can simply request an ad for these advertisers and we'll send them creative within 2-3 business days. Publications get paid based on the response their ads generate. Some advertisers participating include Vonage, Dish Network and DirecTV. Details of the program and forms to request ads can be found here: http://marketing.mediabids.com/ppi/index.html

A recent MediaWeek article outlined the Top 30 Newspaper Websites in April, 2008 - noting that only seven of the websites showed a decrease in traffic from last year. Here's a list of the top 30, as provided by Nielson Online to MediaPost:

NYTimes.com
USATODAY.com
Washingtonpost.com
Los Angeles Times
Wall Street Journal Online
Boston.com
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle
New York Post
Chicago Tribune
Daily News Online Edition
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chicago Sun-Times
Newsday
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News
The Houston Chronicle
International Herald Tribune
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Politico
MercuryNews.com
The Seattle Times
The Sun, Baltimore
Azcentral.com
The Washington Times
Village Voice Media
Philly.com
Star Tribune
NJ.com
St. Louis Post Dispatch
The San Diego Union-Tribune
OregonLive.com

A recent article from MediaPost provides an interesting opinion from a top researcher in the digital field regarding the future of newspapers. Jeffrey Cole - director of the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future - believes that " Newspapers...have the greatest opportunity they've ever faced," in light of the rapid growth of internet usage. To read the full article, Click Here.