The Internet may be beating down the newspaper industry -- i.e., the Star Tribune Co. getting pushed into bankruptcy -- but now journalists from Minnesota's largest newspaper are taking it upon themselves to do something and use the Web to attract a buyer for their newspaper.
The employees launched a new site savethestrib.com to help save the struggling daily.
While its not your most conventional way of finding a potential buyer for a newspaper, desperate times sometimes certainly push people to think outside the
box. And if traditional methods of finding a buyer don't work,
alternative ways certainly couldn't hurt as many other major dailies are now just collecting dust sitting on the auction block.
The Star Tribune newsroom has already been cut by a third to 300
staffers since Avista Capital Partners bought the paper in 2007, so the Star Tribune employees felt they couldn't just sit on the sidelines and see their livelihoods disappear.
On a micro-level, people are buying all sorts of things on the Web from Craigslist or eBay. So, why not market a newspaper? At the very least, the site garners more attention to the Star Tribune's search for a buyer.
Savethestrib.com highlights the editorial accomplishments of the paper as well as encourages readers to post comments for their support. The site even includes video from some of Minnesota's most prominent citizens such as mayors R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis and Chris Coleman of St. Paul making a case for the bankrupt newspaper.
"We've launched this web site to enlist your help in convincing a potential owner that the community values our work, even though you may not always agree with us," the Web site states.
If you ask reader Ruth Anne Matthes, she certainly hopes a buyer is found. "I feel newspapers are very important to democracy and absolutely cannot lose them," she wrote on the savethestrib.com. "I live out of state and read your the Star Tribune on line daily. I would miss it terribly, should it be lost. Please keep this wonderful example of the American newspaper functioning." With the proliferation of free Web content, ironically, that sounds more difficult than it sounds.
The heart-felt plea is certainly agonizing, but will it be enough to convince a buyer to invest in a money-losing proposition? What do you think? Can savethestribe.com improve the Star Tribune's chances of finding a buyer, or is it just a last gasp of air for another struggling daily newspaper? - Gerald Magpily
See savethestrib.com
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