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Those main points are consistentwith what readers of all ages have beentelling us. Again, we can take thesesteps recommended by and for youngerpeople without fearing an exodus byolder ones. This younger age grouphas the capacity and capability of enhancingour coverage, and it is in thestaff and readers’ best interest for editorsto tap this expertise.Can News Be Free?Content ideas that are purely newsroom-basedare easiest for editors tonurture or implement. Grander ideascome to fruition through collaborationwith other newspaper departments.One idea that would requirenewspaperwide—orindustrywide—exploration is ananalysis of papers’ pricing structures:Can we give readers thepaper for free? Should we returnto that newspaper financialmodel with which we began inthe 1700’s?I heard this expectation loudestand clearest from those 18-to 24-year-old focus group participants,but it was consistent with the informalreporting by the Sentinel’s Young ReadersTask Force. I wonder if it’s an expectationthat will take hold in otherage groups or if it will spread, overtime, as these younger readers age.The Tribune Company’s new paperaimed at young commuters in NewYork City, amNewYork, is free, as isThe Washington Post’s Express [seeExpress article on page 17], called apaper for “local residents on the go.”RedEye [see RedEye article on page27]. published in Chicago by the ChicagoTribune and designed for youngeradult readers, costs 25 cents, as doesthe competing Red Streak, publishedby the Chicago Sun-Times.People in this age group most frequentlyget their news and informationfrom electronic media. They tunein radio while they’re driving or gettingready in the morning, or they watch TVwhile they’re folding wash or catchingdinner. They consider this news to befree—they don’t factor in monthly cablebills or the cost of a new TV. They alsoget their news and information online,at home or at work, and they alsoconsider that free, without countingthe cost of Internet service providersor a computer. Then there’s the Sentinel,which costs 50 cents daily or $1.50on Sunday. This feels like real money,particularly to people ages 18 to 24.That’s the cost of a few beers a week.This group is happy to read thepaper when they can find one sittingaround, and they like feeling informed.As one focus group participant said: “Itgives you something to talk about. Thenthings that are related to it, you starttalking about. You start talking aboutone thing and then it changes.”Can we give readers the paperfor free? Should we return tothat newspaper financialmodel with which we beganin the 1700’s?But they don’t want to buy the paper,so they read pass-along copies atwork, at school, or at the coffee shop.“I’ve never bought the Orlando Sentinelor any other paper,” a focus groupparticipant said, “unless I needed it fora school project.”The cost isn’t that high, they acknowledge,but if they can get it free,why bother paying for it? “You cangenerally hear information from somebodyelse. If it’s really important, youwill find out,” a woman in an 18 to 24focus group said. The paper’s Web site,www.orlandosentinel.com, now requiresregistration, but is free and offersnearly all the newspaper’s coverage.Use of the Internet site is growingrapidly.Newspapers, I suspect, will have tofigure out how to deliver a newspaperfor free but also will have to get a lotbetter with other delivery channels asthey become more portable and affordable.First, people want to multitask. Oneman between 25 and 34 said he likesYoung Readerslistening to news on the radio. “I can’tlay sod and read the newspaper whileI’m laying sod.” A younger woman said,“A daily Sentinel TV show would begood.” Guess she hasn’t seen the 24-hour local news station the paper coowns.Second, people are really irritatedabout all the paper going into the trash.Of course they recycle, but the wholeidea of papers piling up bugs them.They feel particularly bad if they paidfor the newspaper, didn’t have muchtime and then had to toss it away,unread. “Every day would just be toomuch,” a young male reader said. “Itwould just be piling up.”This sense of overload and waste issomething we’ve heard fromreaders of other ages as well,particularly from the groups whohave children, aging parents, twojobs, and a house. Once again,what the younger readers aresaying is in sync with what wehave heard from their older compatriots.But the younger readersdon’t have the habit of newspaperreadership and will need alot of targeted content to attract them.The additional news and informationdesigned for the niche interests ofdiverse readers is the first step and insome ways will be the easy part, particularlyif we successfully tap the thinkingof younger reporters and editors.The harder parts will be new deliverymethods that fit into readers’ lives anda cost structure these readers can accept.But it all starts with reliable, credible,engaging stories, photographs andgraphics. Without the content, the restwon’t matter. ■Elaine Kramer is managing editor ofthe Orlando Sentinel. During 2003,she headed up the paper’s YoungReaders Task Force, whose missionwas to make recommendations tohelp improve the Sentinel’s readershipamong young adults.ekramer@orlandosentinel.comNieman Reports / Winter 2003 31