Struggling U.S. newspapers look for "online" ways

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. publishers are mulling survival tactics
at a time when readers increasingly favor web based news.

Given the fact that readers now trust the information they get online than
news from old-line newspapers, publishers are playing with the idea of charging
readers for news on the Web. Some newspapers are even looking for chances to
extract money from powerful aggregators such as Google News, which link to their
articles.

According to a survey conducted by the London-based TNS marketing group
recently, readers prefer online news because it is more up-to-date than print.
More sources of news are available at the click of a mouse. And almost always
there are deeper dives that can be done into subject areas that are briefed
online.

Online advertising is seen as a potential savior in some newsrooms although
it currently accounts for less than 15 percent of revenue at most U.S. dailies.

Another proposal gaining currency is selling digital subscriptions through
electronic readers similar to Amazon's popular Kindle -- which is designed for
electronic books.

(Agencies)