Consider these a very random collection of thoughts, reactions, observations or ideas which bubbled to the collective Belden consciousness during recent client presentations or as a result of attendance at the Mid-Year Media Review or the NAA Growing Audience conference in early June.

As always, your feedback would add immeasurably, so don't be shy.

Andrew Heyward, the President of CBS News for nearly 10 years was an excellent keynote speaker at the Growing Audience gathering. I believe most of the following come from his remarks:

• The three main trends shaping future media are Broadband, Search and Community.
• Authenticity, distinctiveness and connectedness will be the keys to future media success.
• Hype and spin become less effective in the future, as does convenience, since everything will eventually be convenient.
• Only the television and newspaper industries currently have the resources to make a difference in people's lives(The italics are ours since this is a very important point - making that difference and creating an emotional connection to one's chosen news and information choices is BIG.

The Growing Audience conference was just one of the first times we've heard of newspapers aggressively publishing to the web first, without regard to traditional print sensitivities. Hooray and keep it up - all our research along this dimension suggests that genuinely leveraging newspapers as a breaking news medium (perhaps with an evolving definition of what "News" is?!) is critical to future strategic thinking.

It was Dan Pacheco of Bakersfield who made a point which went something like this - if fragmentation is going to continue to happen (does anyone disagree?) then it is up to us to attempt to control that fragmentation in ways which we can add more value. How can we embrace the fact readers or users are going to more sources for more types of information?

While beyond the scope of the conference content, this sounds like we should be learning MORE about each of our users and ultimately be able to reach each one individually as well as a collection of like users. That would certainly respond to our advertising client pleas! Do the words "data" and "base" come to mind?

A panel consisting of Bob Cauthorn, Barry Parr, Merrill Brown and Lisa Stone and moderated by Howard Finberg provided several "snippets" for your consideration. The intriguing premise of "If I Were a Newspaper Publisher" guided their thinking.

• Should we eliminate Monday and Tuesday distribution and offer to buy computers for those not already online?
• There's a disconnect between the articles people are choosing to read online and those editor's are selecting for our print pages - is that a function of the platform or a misunderstanding of our audience?
• Future journalists should have a "burning desire to change the world!" said Cauthorn. Gotta love that one.
• Echoing a notion from Keynoter Heyward, we must understand ubiquitous, 24/7 connectivity infinitely better.
• All directory type listings - movies, television, clubs, entertainment venues, governmental offices, school lunches and closings, radio frequencies and formats, restaurants, crime blotters, you name it - should be OWNED by newspapers. Get out of here Yahoo or Google! With a meaningful local footprint, the big portals are not hard to beat. Does everyone have a way to quantify AND sell that footprint?
• As difficult as the entire notion of branding is (don't get us started on "engagement"!) this was a breath of fresh air - "focus on the product 1st, 2nd and 3rd and when you truly have it right (according to the marketplace demands) then worry about branding!

As an interesting juxtaposition, the Mid Year Media Review also had an online panel comprised of McClatchy's Chris Hendrix, James Warner of Avenue A, Shawn Reigsecker, CEO of Centro and Michael Zimbalist, formerly of the Online Publisher's Association and now leading R&D at the New York Times.

Perhaps our favorite, but this might be because it echoes what Belden has been saying for 5 years, was the comment, "the value proposition for newspaper's web sites has not been established - especially with national advertisers (There are a host of very understandable and real reasons for this, but we've treated our online components somewhere between "valued added" and a commodity and the fact of the matter is that most web sites ADD REAL VALUE, but we have neglected to charge enough).

The point was made that all "search" is really no more than an electronic Yellow Pages and that Google is really targeting the old Baby Bells. All the more reason newspapers can win in a "local" game.

One of the most interesting common themes running through each of the publicly traded company presentations (all were in attendance with the exception of McClatchy and Knight Ridder) was that each led with or eventually focused on digital. Either the commitment to or percentage of revenues already enjoyed or research against or the return on a digital investment. This was the foundation of every Wall Street presentation. Good!

And, give Dean Singleton credit for saying what was really refreshing and I hope this does him justice - "Don't mistake change for decline!"

Yes, the waters our industry must navigate as we place big digital bets in the coming years are going to be treacherous, indeed. However, what fun it'll be and how exciting a time to be serving in this industry and how GRATIFYING it'll be once we collectively succeed!