If I Ran a Newspaper...

The recent hike in gas prices has made many park their cars and use public transportation to get to work.  This is especially true of the Tri-Rail train service that serves South Florida.  It's been enjoying record ridership.

At the same time, the area's newspapers continue to fight shrinking readership.  Yes, much of the decrease is due to people switching their readership from paper to online.  While I hear a lot of news of layoffs, I haven't heard much of a plan for long term survival from newspaper executives. One I talked to yesterday could say little else than, "We'll see what happens."

How do these two industries match up.  People riding public transportation need something to do to pass the time.  Reading a printed newspaper could fill that void.  It could be a special "riders edition," similar to the tabloids that the papers produce for free neighborhood distribution.  With more people riding the trains, it would assure the paper of being able to tap into a pretty wide demographic.   

Both papers that serve my area are relatively close to Tri-Rail stops.  In one case, the station is right behind one of its facilities.  If I ran a newspaper, I'd look to make a deal with the Tri-Rail folks ASAP.  It's a win-win for both industries.  The paper gets a new distribution source and the train gets an additional perk for its riders.