Monday 16 February 2009

Saving the press: flavoured inks, edible pages, page one girls and boys...and hats

Inspired by US comedian Jon Stewart's idea of saving newspapers from the dustbin of history by impregnating newsprint with addictive drugs, Editor & Publisher columnist Bill Shein has come up with more imaginative ways of saving the press.
These include: Flavored Inks — "What newspaper reader would mind a bit of ink rubbing off on their fingers if it tasted like bubble gum, or fresh mango, or tender filet mignon?" - Bill asks.
Edible Pages — "It wouldn’t be much of a leap to go from flavored inks to fully edible pages."
Page One Girls — "Not particularly classy, of course, but could help juice newsstand sales. And printing half of each day’s papers with 'Page One Guys' would cover all bases."
Even More Consolidation — "With this bold and counterintuitive strategy, the rapid consolidation of newspapers and media properties would be accelerated until we’re left with just one giant corporo-media-government entity. Then, where else could people turn for news and information? Check AND mate!"
When I was at Press Gazette we did a story about an entrepreneur who came up with the idea of a newspaper that could be folded into a hat. Like the hat, it folded after a couple of issues.

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