Newspapers’ new selling point… coupons?

I went to the zoo today and received a pretty aggressive sales pitch from two guys selling subscriptions to the Dispatch. What I found surprising was that their main selling point (which they had obviously been told to push) was the coupons that could only be found in the paper. Is this what it has come to? Does the Dispatch think that it’s main value is in it’s coupons section? How long before this once-mighty hometown newspaper becomes a thin packet of coupons hanging from a plastic bag on my mailbox?

This is just another example of how newspapers still have not figured out how to monetize their product in this digital information age. They are clinging to old revenue strategies instead of adopting new ones. As long as they continue this thinking, they will continue to fail.

More to come on this subject…