Suburban Papers Get Novel On Digital Sales

Newspapers continue to grow their digital business one experiment at a time. In Augusta, Ga., The Augusta Chronicle recently launched a Web reputation monitoring service for small to medium-sized businesses. At Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star, it’s a combination of QR codes, exclusivity deals on mobile apps and a push to bundling. In Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks rebooted a faltering auction site as an online source for classifieds and charity auctions.

These were the case studies presented Wednesday at the Suburban Newspapers of America’s publishers’ and advertising directors’ conference in Phoenix at a panel session titled “Digital Revenue Growth: Best in Class Practices.” While no one was claiming to have found a digital silver bullet, newspapers reported some promising early results from their forays into uncharted territory.