How about a newspaper that doesn't rely on newsprint to reach its readers? That's the idea behind Colorado Springs' High Plains Messenger, which launched last month as a purely internet edition. This community newspaper has no print edition, and doesn't plan one, according to its founders.

Described as "an Internet newspaper and a fiscal experiment", the Messenger hopes to reach many of the city's 360,000 inhabitants with a healthy mix of community, state and national news, arts and entertainments sections, punchy opinion columns, a blog and, er, a sex column.

The team behind the Messenger, which employs a full-time editorial staff, hope to fund the operation with advertising. Certainly, the economic possibilities of websites, which do not require expensive printing and distribution networks, are clear to all. To date, however, very few sites have proved financially viable. However, as barely a day passes without more news on how online advertising is outstripping old media spends, the tipping point where a web-only operation becomes able to wipe its own nose can't be far away.

Source: Cyberjournalist

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