Are 'paperless papers' the future of newspapers?

Yes, says John Paton, right, chief executive of the Journal Register Co., MediaNews and parent company Digital First. Paton reinvented two struggling newspaper chains, making them the second-largest newspaper chain in America, with more than 800 print and digital products in 18 states, David Carr of The New York Times reports. The companies' annual revenue is over $1.4 billion and they employ 10,000. Paton attributes their success to his push for "paperless papers." (Times photo by Matthew Staver)

In Paton's new model of newspapering, content sources should be local content by professional journalists; readers and community input, and aggregated services, roughly one-third each. At the Journal Register, Paton gave reporters Flip pocket video cameras, created a community newsroom cafe in Torrington, Conn., and moved to free, Web-based publishing tools, Carr writes.

"Choosing digital revenue over print revenue is like choosing dimes over dollars," Paton told Carr. Over the last five years print dollars have dropped by over half, so it's time to start "stacking the dimes." The move to digital is not entirely smooth. The Journal Register staff is down 16.5 percent with layoffs and outsourcing, and MediaNews revenue is down 2 percent, but that is still less than the newspaper industry average, over 6 percent, Carr reports.