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In Seattle, where I live, there has been a lot of talk about media lately, following the demise of the city’s “other” newspaper, making Seattle a one-paper town. If you don’t take the weeklies and the nationals into account, that is.

Newspapers had a good run and played a huge part in the shaping of our culture, but as a news outlet, they just can’t compete with the speed of television and the web. It’s called progress, and though it’s not always pretty, there is also no stopping it. Sure, there are those who prefer to get their news offline, but their number will continue to drop, as new generations are bottle fed web savvyness. Magazines and other printed media that focus on background and insight rather than news, will still have a place for a while to come, but for newspapers, this is looking like a one-way ride.

The future of news lies online. Whether we get it through a browser, an RSS-reader, a Kindle, iPhone or what have you. Yet the newspeddlers seem reluctant to truly embrace this, claiming that it’s nigh impossible to make a profit online. Personally, I think they’re just stuck in old ways of thinking. Sure, advertisements are necessary and hard to sell, but they don’t have to finance the entire operation.

Here’s a fictional example, of how micropayments might work:

“The Cyberspace Times” publishes professionally written articles online and gives away, say, the first two paragraphs of every story. This is enough for anyone to get the gist of it. If you want to read the rest, watch the related videos, slideshows or whatever, you have to pay for it. That’s the basic premise. The real kicker lies in structuring the payment system.

Let’s say that readers can sign up as patrons of The Cyberspace Times. There are two ways to go from here. Either patronage is like a subscription, which for a flat fee lets readers access the entire site. This is the old-school way, and one that doesn’t seem to go over very well online. Instead, what if the patron had credits that could be spent on the specific stories, she wants to read.

This structure is similar to that of microstock agencies like iStockphoto, except the product is information, rather than photos and illustrations. Keeping the individual credit at a low price is important. In the case of newspapers, I imagine the price per credit as low as ¢10. Give new readers 10 credits just for signing up, and then let them purchase more as they go. A minimum $10 credit purchase would allow you to read 100 stories of your choice. Sounds fair to me.

At the same time, there is no reason why these credits couldn’t be used for other things too. Maybe the Cyberspace Times offers live, interactive interviews, to which “tickets” can be bought with credits. Or access to real world events, merchandise or exclusives. The credit system can also be used to build community and motivate readers to get involved by offering credit rewards to people who take surveys, refer new patron readers etc.

I am not a financial expert, or even very good at math, but it seems obvious to me, that the micropayment structure is perfectly suited for this purpose. My numbers may not be based on scientific research, but I think the real issue here is a lack of vision. Maybe the traditional media houses are so stuck in their old ways of thinking, that they are blind to the new possibilities. Maybe they’re afraid of explaining new strategies to their share holders. Either way, not doing anything will result in stagnation.

Photo credit: Me!

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