theblogpaper
Very interested to see the announcement, in the same week as thelondonpaper’s demise, of a web-to-print newspaper for london based on crowdsourced articles: theblogpaper.
The premise is that anyone can write an article, and then the community votes on which articles make it to the actual paper.
The main site seems a little light on detail, and while the FAQ offers a neat explanation of the mechanics, it doesn’t explain the history of the idea, who is running it, or how it could make money.
The latter of those concerns is particularly crucial: how will advertisers react to a newspaper whose editorial stance can’t be predicted until the paper goes to print? If it is a truly democratic organ, the placement and choice of ads could cause a problem if they end up appearing next to a massive article attacking the brand.
I can see some young, local brands making use of the opportunity, and it could be a very cool option for advertising entertainment events / unusual sponsorships etc. But I’d love to know more about their plans.
For my part, I’m torn over the idea. A democratic free paper is a nice idea, and it makes sense to take advantage of the massive blogging community. On the other hand, it may end up with none of the benefits of online media (flexibility, frequency of updates, open fora for discussion, freshness), and retain the downsides (variable quality, lack of consistency, superficial observation by unpaid writers)…
