I think the men in white coats are going to lock me up for the idea that somehow came out of my head and onto Ryan Sholin‘s blog post: The one dollar newspaper.
Here’s the craziness I just conjured up in a comment about ideas for a new variety of newspaper box/newsstand:
UPDATE, 5:53 P.M.: Just to clarify, this wouldn’t be a go-to source for breaking news, merely a way to get updated news in place of reading a newspaper that is X hours old.
Weigh in: What do you think about this idea? Would you give me the money to try it OR would you say I flew the cuckoo’s nest?
“We could all use a little change.â€
-Smashmouth
I like the general concept because I never carry change either and still enjoy holding a paper in my hands.
Going out on this limb even further (and assuming these boxes are powered), why not have a blank below-the-fold? That way, when you purchase the paper, it prints the latest news in brief while you still have your main day’s news/feature above-the-fold and all the inside content.
Or even a news kiosk that prints tab or 8.5×11 papers on-demand with ALL the latest news. This would be the drunken love-child of an old newsstand and El Pais’ 24 horas (elpais.com/24horas).
Stay with me for a minute. You’d have these strategically placed in high-traffic areas, such as metro and bus stations, government centers, shopping malls, business districts, etc.
It may not the most practical idea, but it’s a good marriage of portability and timeliness. I don’t mind reading news on my smartphone, but I think a lot of people would prefer this kind of product on-the-go. You could print it with at what ever size font you want and even customize what you want to read. Don’t read sports? Double your business section. Like pictures? Print photo stories.
How about the ultimate one-stop-shop: It dispenses coffee or tea for another buck. Heck, throw in a muffin.
I’ll stop these mutterings for now. Any thoughts or suggestions for this hair-brained scheme?