Lance Turner seems to think so. Over at his blog, Turner highlights a very interesting article in the Washington Post on the challenges facing newspapers.

Notes Turner,

“Pearlstein takes three lessons from all this: 1) Gone are the days of the 20 percent profit margins, and publisher should not expect to see them again, 2) Consolidation “is not only necessary but desirable,” and 3) Any gains in efficiency from consolidation must be invested “into new technology, top talent and product improvement.””

Pearlstein closes with this gem,

“I’m aware of no evidence that time-stressed readers would not value having a single, convenient and trusted source for most of their news. It hardly seems like a winning strategy to drive customers to other news sources when, with a little imagination and a modest investment, newspapers and their Web sites can acquire most of what readers want in the way of national and international news and features from quality news organizations eager to expand their reach.”

Here’s to newspapers that are pushing the envelope when it comes to new media. They may suffer fewer profits in the short term, but high quality content - available in an array of forms - will bring readers. It’s a lesson for newspaper editors everywhere to learn now, and to embrace. I’ll keep talking about this issue here. I hope Mr. Turner keeps talking about it too.