Newspapers open your archives and become an authority!
Amen! Newspapers open your archives! You have nothing to lose and you will gain credibility and authority simply by having something people link to with confidence!
From Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.: Newspapers: Open Your Archives.:
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One of these days, a newspaper currently charging a premium for access to its article archives will do something bold: It will open the archives to the public -- free of charge but with keyword-based advertising at the margins.
I predict that the result will pleasantly surprise the bean-counters. There'll be a huge increase in traffic at first, once people realize they can read their local history without paying a fee. Eventually, though not instantly, the revenues will greatly exceed what the paper had been earning under the old system. Meanwhile, the expenses to run it will drop.
And, perhaps most important, the newspaper will have boosted its long-term place in the community. It will be seen, more than ever, as the authoritative place to go for some kinds of news and information -- because it will have become an information bedrock in this too-transient culture.
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