@Arun – isn’t the key to success in a news (/ any!) environment finding the content contact points that work for *users* (#6: “Take content to users, not users to content”)?

So RSS as a prime example: I probably have no intention / likelihood of visiting your site for news, but might well add your feed to my feed reader, or have it as part of my desktop news ticker or personalised homepage. Content is delivered to me in a way that suits my way of reading it.

How you monetise this, and whether it is first-line monetisation (ad clicks on the RSS feed; click throughs and then ad clicks; premium content faster / better to subscribers) or second-line monetisation (better Google juice; more click-through to your site; more visibility; brand awareness building etc) depends on the particular scenario.

Clay Shirky’s now infamous post has a lot more to say about newspapers and delivery of news online. I don’t subscribe to all of his views, but they’re interesting nontheless…

re. particular sectors – well, yes, I think everyone should be aware of these approaches, particularly people who look after content rather than those who just do geekery. Whether the approaches work for particular sectors / sites / niche markets is a secondary question. The most important thing IMO is awareness that this is the way things seem to be heading in many areas where rich content is being delivered.