Sturm: be like TiVo

Newspaper Association of America president John Sturm, speaking at the NAA's AGM, said that newspapers must use technology to give readers what they want. "People want to consume their media where, how and when they choose ... Until someone comes up with TiVo for newspapers ... we are the quintessential pull media."
I'm not so sure. The need to give people what they want in ways they want is of course becoming increasingly necessary to retain or gain competitive advantage, but it isn't sufficient. I'm hardly saying anything new (the "My Newspaper" debate has raged for years), but I still believe that one of the distinguishing qualities of the newspaper is its push factor: that I buy a paper precisely because I don't know what has been decided (i.e. edited) for me, not by me.
(From Associated Press)