By: Wayne Robins Several Companies Offer Solutions
Newsstand and Cold North Wind aren't the only players in the
digital periodical publishing business.
The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal is planning a
digital edition this fall using its own proprietary software. But
it has already begun sales of the paper on a CD-ROM version for
25 cents. The CD contains the newspaper, plus what used to be
known in the music industry as "bonus tracks." In this case, for
example, while the newspaper may only have room for one photo
from last night's Cleveland Indians game, the CD might contain
half a dozen or more pictures of the same game.
Israel-born Olive Software Inc., which is digitizing the archives
of the British Museum, is talking to numerous papers worldwide
about its ActivePaper Daily and ActivePaper Archive Web-based
software. Qiosk.com's qMags, meanwhile, is focusing on electronic
editions of printed magazines, using a customized version of
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Also up and running is The Philadelphia Inquirer's new
Internet-delivered print version, produced by NewspaperDirect. A
hotel or cruise ship, for example, equipped with
NewspaperDirect's software, can print copies of newspapers for
travelers (or locals) on demand, using 11-by-17-inch paper.
Launching the service last month, the Inquirer joins
dozens of other papers, including the Atlanta Constitution,
The Boston Globe, and The Washington Times in
NewspaperDirect availability.
According to Inquirer spokeswoman Pamela Browner Crawley,
sales of the NewspaperDirect edition are accepted by the Audit
Bureau of Circulations, but the newspaper isn't about to double
its ad rates just yet: A quick look at sales for one day a few
weeks ago showed 43 purchases in Los Angeles (where the Lakers
were hosting the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA championship
finals); seven in St. Petersburg, Russia; and one in the Baltic
nation of Estonia. Perhaps it was a 76ers scout, seeking a tall
man on the playgrounds of Tallinn.
Wayne Robins (wrobins@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor covering new media for E&P.
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.
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