Billy Thieme, president and chief executive officer of ThieMedia Consulting LLC, a newspaper advisory firm, talks about why smaller and alternative newspapers are thriving and what metros can do in response.

Billy Thieme

What are some of the online issues newspapers are facing today compared to two or three years ago?

I think we can say that while the “Craigslist effect” has probably settled, papers are well aware that their longtime revenue stream from print classifieds has essentially dried up. The time it takes for any story to be posted and read online, from the time the author pens it, keeps shrinking, and newspapers continue to bleed readership to the Web. Even those newspapers with a highly developed and intelligent Web presence are having trouble maintaining any consistent readership in the face of the growing popularity of social networking, blogging and Web self-publishing.

These issues tend to be less strenuous on the alternative, community weekly newspaper and shopper market — but are still felt.