Listen to "The Ben and Joel Podcast" of an interview with me on future of newspapers

Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis recorded a lengthy interview with me following the publication of my series on 10 steps local newspapers should take to survive and thrive.

You'll find "The Ben and Joel Podcast" on the Infinite Monkeys blog.

I was lucky to work with Ben and Joel in early 2008 on the RedBlueAmerica.com Web site Scripps briefly funded. Ben was the red moderator of the site and Joel was the blue moderator . Perhaps the best result of the project was that the two of them continue to work together on their own. Obviously I'm biased, but I think they're two writers worth following.

Here are some of the issues covered in what they describe as a "provocative" interview.

Regarding what belongs in the newspaper: "If you're not adding value you shouldn't do it in print," Temple told us. "Because there's no way you're going to be reporting the news in print, unless you're the one making the news."
Among the other questions they tackle in the interview:
• Is it enough for newspapers to merely be newspapers?
• What shouldn't local newspapers be covering?
• Is the crisis that's affecting media organizations merely the result of dumb business decisions?
• What did the glorious failure of RedBlueAmerica teach us?

Ben and Joel also have an iTunes page where you can listen to their other podcasts. They also write a weekly column for Scripps Howard News Service.