Newspapers -- a growth industry

How many times have you read the story about how newspapers are dying? Unfortunately those article focus on large metro dailies, many of which are indeed dying, or on publications that have been mismanaged. But the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) reports that, contrary to conventional wisdom, newspapers are proliferating -- that the number of paid papers worldwide grew by 13 from 2001 to 2005, from 8,930 to 10,109.

The story for free dailies was even brighter. Total free daily circualtion has more than doubled during that period, from 12 million to 28 million -- a 137 percent increase.

"The surge of new, free titles thrust into the paid-for market are the result of many publishers rethinking the cover-price revenue model in place for more than 400 years," WAN says.