Newspaper execs meet to mull online options

About 2 dz. newspaper industry execs huddled in Chicago to explore how they might be able to boost profits from their online operations as revenue from print editions collapses. The meeting at a Chicago hotel is the latest indication many papers intend to become more aggressive about protecting Internet content & in some cases, charging Web surfers to read the material. By changing the way they do business online, newspaper publishers are hoping they can stop the financial hemorrhaging that already resulted in massive layoffs, huge losses & at least 7 filings for bankruptcy protection since Dec. The meeting was called "Models to Lawfully Monetize Content," according to an agenda. James Warren, a former managing editor for the Chicago Tribune, reported about the meeting early The Atlantic's Web site. The meeting was held to discuss how best to support & preserve traditions of newsgathering that serves the American public, according to the Newspaper Assn. of America, trade group organizing the gathering. An antitrust lawyer attended the meeting to caution participants about laws prohibiting collusion or other anticompetitive measures. The session included presentation by Attributor, Silicon Valley company specializing in ID online copyright violation & Journalism Online, a startup that hopes to collect Internet fees on behalf of participating papers. Other topics included a possible industrywide solution to classified adv. Newspapers' print editions have been particularly hard hit by the loss of $7B, or 40%, of annual classified ad revenue since '06, with most of it shifting to free or less costly options on the Internet. Overall, the newspaper industry's annual sales from print ad plunged nearly $12B, or 25%, since '06. Annual revenue from ads on newspaper Web sites climbed $445M in that time -- not nearly enough to make up for the losses on the print side. Execs from most of the major newspaper publishers attended Thurs.'s meeting, according to the Newspaper Assn. of America.