Marc Danziger (aka Armed Liberal) and Roger Simon announce a new venture, Pajama Media, to serve advertising and news content to other web sites. Sounds promising.
Pajamas Media was announced at a celebration of the LA Times's pioneering "Outside the Tent" feature where many of those present said lots about the impending death of newspapers. Coverage from: LAVoice.org, Patterico's roundup, Ezra Klein, LA Observed, Jay Rosen, Hugh Hewitt.
My take: newspapers are to computers what news is to data. The first two exist only for the sake of the second. Data processing is why we use computers. News is why people read the newspaper.
For decades, the tech world has been continually updating its data delivery systems, now, the media world needs to do the same with news delivery. As a physical medium, news publications are doomed, as a virtual medium, they have a chance if they adapt. Otherwise, Pajama Media and its successors and rivals will dispose of them.
UPDATE: The Associated Press recently set off many of its members by announcing that it will begin charging for online distribution of its content. Writing at Online Journalism Review, two Scripps Newspapers execs call for a true peer-to-peer replacement for AP. Will there be two noveau news services in the near future?
UPDATE: Jim Pinkerton and Glenn Reynolds write about the videogame and movie industries, two sectors of media I think are destined for collision and eventual merger. One-way news is on the way out. One-way entertainment will be as well.
UPDATE: Josh Marshall gives more details on the group blog project he's been dropping hints about.
