From The International Herald Tribune:
French publishers plan digital newsstandPARIS — With sales of newspapers and magazines flagging at the ornate kiosks that adorn the boulevards of Paris, French publishers hope that a planned ''digital kiosk'' can help revive their fortunes.
The publishers, representing eight of the leading dailies and weeklies in France, said last week that they had formed a consortium to manage the project, which aims to create a single online portal to sell the publications' contents via the Web, mobile phones and tablet computers like the iPad. Consumers could buy articles or subscriptions with a single click of a mouse once they had created an account.
''The idea is to put a value on online content,'' said Frédéric Filloux, a former newspaper editor who is heading the project. ''It's a matter of survival for us.''
The plan is being introduced as newspapers everywhere are rethinking their digital business models, which until now have mostly been built on advertising-supported Web sites that were free to users. With online ad revenue falling short of hopes, some publishers are putting up pay walls, and others are considering plans to charge users for access to their sites.
The need for new sources of income is particularly great in France, where newspaper readership is low and many publications survive only because of government support.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/business/media/06pay.html
Will not time reveal the lasting importance of friends and mutual respect? Be kind to those who think well of you and those you know and try to add positive elements to your world. Promote peace in your heart and sunshine in the minds of those around you by your own good works. Elevate the level of discussion by thinking less of the issues and more of how you can reduce the tension of stress that arises with honest disagreement. Relax by breathing more deeply and consciously.
