The ever readable Philip Stone passes on a few hoary but worthwhile tips, care of Wall Street analyst Lauren Rich Fine (does she have to include the Rich bit?):

Editorially…newspapers have gone astray by using the front page for stories that readers don’t really want there – they’ve seen or heard most of that breaking news elsewhere. What readers expect from their newspapers is context, analysis and stories they just won’t find anywhere else.

She believes newspapers are making a big mistake by trying to become more youth friendly to recapture those readers. “Here’s a news flash,” she said, “You don’t want to change your newspaper to be a youth rag because they will never read it.”

And so her recommendations for the industry:

• Accept that circulation is in decline. Raising circulation rates isn’t going to be the solution. It’s a minority revenue stream, anyway at 15%-20%.
• Put up the “work in progress” sign and don’t pay attention to Wall Street or anyone else. Figure out what’s wrong, take the time and money to fix it, even if it takes five years
• Keep the shareholders happy by returning some of that cash flow in the form of share repurchases or higher dividends, but don’t worry about the share price. Let it drop. It will buy you time to try things out.
• Try many things but if you see they don’t work then cut to the next new thing. Don’t burn up precious cash.

Always supposing you have everything but time!