For Newspapers, Brands Are Key Assets

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Focus on engaging a very specific online audience, but too much segmentation is a bad thing. Aggregate, but be wary of publishers pushing back on the lines of fair use.

For newspaper insiders taking digital advice from rising Internet pureplays, it was hard not to get whiplash.

That advice, presented by the likes of Flipboard, Newser and The Blaze at the Newspaper Association of America's mediaXchange conference on Tuesday, came with an animated streak of internal argument, loudly telegraphing just how cloudy the digital path ahead is — even for the online experts.