“The Printed Blog” Calls it Quits
Six months ago I told you about The Printed Blog, a free glossy paper that would carry content from popular blogs and fine-tuned to what each neighborhood wanted to read. Unfortunately, publisher Joshua Karp announced on the paper’s web site yesterday that “due to a lack of outside investment capital, The Printed Blog is ceasing publication.”
The paper made it through 16 issues, distributing 80,000 print copies and readers downloaded another 100,000.
The Printed Blog may be gone, but Karp still sounds optimistic for the future. In his statement he says; “I’m disappointed, to be sure, but also looking forward to the future. I believe the next few years will be among the most exciting times in the history of journalism. The industry’s landscape is on the verge of major change, and when redefined, it will look a lot different than it does today. It will also function considerably better.”
Although this project is ending, Karp still has the kind of ideas that tradition media needs to embrace.
More Info:
Read the announcement from Joshua Karp here
Read the exit interview with Crain’s Chicago Business here
Hot Off the Press, Blogs in Print
Commuters in three select neighborhoods of Chicago and one in San Francisco had a new offering to consider for their morning read today, The Printed Blog. This new free glossy newspaper will carry content from well know blogs and from its readers.
Starting as a weekly offering this stretched tabloid size paper covers all topics with selections gathered a wide range of writers. Sources ranged from large national blogs, such as Daily Kos, to the music blog CreamTeam.tv and the literary site The Nervous Breakdown. A clean wide layout makes the paper look much like the web pages of the blogs themselves.
The New York Times reports that 300 bloggers have given The Printed Blog permission to publish their work for a share of the ad revenue. Founder and Publisher Joshua Karp also told the Times that he hopes eventually to publish two neighborhood editions a day of the paper in a number of cities around the country.
The Printed Blog website explains that the content of the paper will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. “The selection of content in The Printed Blog is based solely on the votes of readers and their geographic location.”
In an atmosphere where newspaper owners are trying anything to get readers, having a business plan which includes putting commercial printers in the homes of its distributors might just work… if its not picked up by a bigger company first.
More Info:
Read the New York Times Article here
Read the Wired Blog here
Download the first issue of The Printed Blog here
