‘Tis the season for making predictions for the upcoming New  Year.  Where  technology and media are concerned it would appear that Amazon’s Kindle and other devises like it are poised for a major breakout in 2010.

A few telltale signs? For the first time ever, the online retailer’s customers bought more Kindle e-books than physical books on Christmas day. In fact, the technical wonder was the “most gifted product” in the company’s history. Add a more consumer friendly price point (roughly $250 and falling) as of this past October and more and more are making their way into the hands of adults and always tech-savvy teens (and you thought they didn’t read anymore).

Moreover, as news junkies of all generations become more and more accustomed to reading daily newspapers online, including via virtual page-turning e-editions, the user- and price-friendliness offered by the Kindle is sure to move many to also consume their favorite books and magazines in the same way.

Perhaps as telling as anything as to a consumer demand that is about to explode is the soon to be launched tablet device from Apple (rumored to be called the Apple Tablet or iSlate).  Think we should “read” something into Apple’s plans?  Let’s just say a year ago I was still plugging CDs into my car dash.

As I made my way this morning to the mailbox and adjoining newspaper slot, I noticed an extra thickness to my normal bundle of the Sunday Detroit News/Free Press and Oakland Press. Upon further examination, I found a preview copy of what is to be, as they describe it, “Detroit’s newest…and only seven-day home-delivered metropolitan daily newspaper.”  It’s the Detroit Daily Press. For key, core details, check out Crains’ Bill Shea’s story from Friday which provides more information and detail here.

Set to officially begin publishing (and daily delivery) on November 30th, today’s preview edition does a nice job of showcasing the myriad of reporting talent that the new, upstart will bring to bear, most notably: Editors—Bruce McLaughlan (Managing); Cynthia Burton (News); John Smyntek (Features) and Hawke Fracassa (Sports) and Reporters—David Sedgwick (Automotive); Doug Henze (Macomb) and Rob Parker (Sports), to name a few. All bring name recognition and a “trust factor” that will be important for attracting reader interest and, it is hoped, a loyal following.

While 7-day-a-week home delivery is an important selling point, it should not be the end-all, be all. As with any medium, “content is king.”  And, with particular reporters geared to focus on the news of particular counties (ala the one-time Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Bureaus of their competition), it would appear they recognize the void in community news holes that currently exists as smaller, hometown papers  publish less, go online or shutter entirely. That, I would argue, is where the prime opportunities for differentiation and “making a difference” lie.

And, lest naysayers point to a traditional, printed paper as a concept whose time has come and gone, the Detroit Daily Press has also embraced social media right off the bat, including Facebook, where a couple of hundred early followers have already signed on.

As a PR professional, any new news outlet is welcome. As someone in their 40s, I too miss every day home newspaper delivery. It is also nice to see some “old” journalistic friends returning to the limelight and newsroom. Good luck, gang. We’ll be reading.

The media is many things to many people. A “watchdog” working in the public interest; an entity focused on sensationalism and ratings/sales; and, the “root of all evil.”  In recent days, the media has found itself once again publicly “called out” on a number of fronts—and unjustifiably so.

This week during WADL-TV 38’s live Detroit City Council candidate debate, Ron Dzwonkowski of the Detroit Free Press asked the candidates why, in their view, people were leaving the city in droves and what they would do to stem the exodus. Council hopeful Mohamed Okdie, answering first, put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the media—specifically citing Time magazine.  Kwame Kenyatta, up next, said he agreed with Okdie. Subsequent responses (including by Gary Brown and Charles Pugh) cited more likely suspects: crime, schools and public corruption. 

The Detroit Free Press, this week, is also being cited for wrongdoing in the Kilpatrick whisteblower case (you can read today’s story here). And, on a national scale, many are criticizing the early gullibility of the press in covering the “balloon boy” story.

As someone who works hand-in-hand with the media everyday (and worked within it for over a decade early in my career) I am no doubt biased in their endorsement. Yet, hear me out. The argument that the media only covers bad news is false.  While there is no doubt that scandal and heartache often “lead,” any true news consumer knows that, in reality, mainstream media also covers stories on good news and other important issues of the day. And, when it comes to rooting out wrongdoing, one need look no further than the investigative excellence of a 60 Minutes and the Pulitzer Prize winning work of the Freep in exposing Kilpatrick and his corrupt reign. Further, when 6-year old Falcon was reported missing, media immediately sprung into action, to the pleas of his parents and at the direction of police, to locate a child that may well have been in grave danger.

Media can be a convenient scapegoat for the ills of the world.  In reality, we’re fortune to have them and the “checks and balances” they provide.

“City A” is regarded as a Mecca for the educated and a symbol of transformation into the “new economy.”  ”City B” is considered a crime-riddled, Rust Belt relic that leads the nation in unemployment.

So which city’s newspapers are in relatively better shape?  ”City B’s” – by a wide margin.

For those not paying attention, “City B” is Detroit – with two daily newspapers publishing every day with new online products, even without home delivery four days per week.  ”City A” is Boston, with one newspaper, the Boston Globe, hanging off the side of a cliff - it very nearly announced its closure today .  The city’s other a tabloid with just ten reporters.

Irony does make for a fascinating story, doesn’t it?

While the Globe tries to negotiate a business-saving deal with its unions, the Detroit Media Partnership begins, tomorrow morning, to deliver content on a new platform – television.  CBS’ TV stations in Detroit don’t produce their own newscasts. So, starting tomorrow, the Detroit Free Press attempts to seize a niche audience in the competitive morning news race.

Why?  The Detroit Free Press brand is the strongest for credible information in the market.  This article explains how it will all work on TV.  If the Free Press and CBS can even take away one ratings point – about 19,000 households – per hour, it will improve existing ratings and probably make money.  The Free Press brand and a new format will, plus promotion across multiple platforms, will likely lead to sampling, at least.

Too often, Metro Detroiters feel like tough times affect them worse than anywhere. In the case of their newspapers, the Boston example proves the grass is not always greener.  While the Boston Globe remains in cost-slashing mode, along with other outlets across the country, Detroit’s newspapers are trying to reinvent themselves as new kinds of information providers.  

Almost daily I am asked how the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press’ Thursday, Friday, Sunday delivery experiment is going. Are the papers losing readers and subscribers? Are more migrating to the online versions?

Some interesting highlights of the first 30 days:

-Initially, 10,000 people cancelled their subscriptions, roughly half the projected number. Additionally, many of these individuals, after being contacted, are returning—at a rate of 100 a day.

-Some 6,300 have opted to have non-delivery days supplanted by mail delivery; an option that triples the subscription price—again, exceeding expectations.

-The e-editions of the papers are attracting about 30,000 visits per day each (5-6 times the amount before reduced delivery began) and 3 million page views per week.

-Single copy sales via retailer are trending in the 200,000 per week range (down from 500,000, which included home deliveries), the intended goal.

Thus, while the program is still in its infancy, early returns are good. The real key will be ad revenue and whether those projected goals can be met and maintained, along with multi-platform readership. So far, though, so good.