This time, as Jeff Jarvis reported yesterday, it’s the Ann Arbor News — but this transition from print to Web is worth watching at least as closely as that of any other paper out there.

I’ve long felt that the future of newspapers online is to provide something that no one else can provide. There are a zillion sites that provide national news and political opinion, but how many sites provide comprehensive analysis and investigative reporting on your local school board meetings and area zoning issues? I mean yeah, there’s coverage now — but I’m talking about kicking it up to the next level … and beyond.

That is where I believe the future of local newspapers lies: Applying top-notch in-depth coverage of local news and issues in the context of a 24/7 news cycle. It’s a shift in style that’s going to require a lot of people to up their games considerably: What Huffington Post does on the national level and it starting to do on the big-city level (check out their Chicago page), local papers will need to do on the county and town levels.

It sounds like the Ann Arbor News may be headed in exactly this sort of direction. As with all newspapers transforming to online-only entities, I wish them nothing but success.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Internet Stuff.