It’s becoming increasingly obvious that something has to give if newspapers are going to stick around.

The most obvious problem is the availability of free content that doesn’t attract enough advertising to provide newspapers and magazines with enough of a financial return. As a result, a few things have to happen:

1. Business models need to be overhauled so newspapers are leaner and more cost-efficient. This will see smaller newsrooms staffed with tech-savvy reporters capable of writing, blogging, podcasting and video. It will also see fewer paper-based newspapers in an effort to chop away at a huge expense.

2. The amount of free content will have to shrink. If there isn’t going to be enough advertising to completely support the online operations of newspapers, then all free, all the time is a recipe for financial suicide.

Instead, newspapers will have to take another hack at a free/premium offering. Sure, it’s been tried before but the flaw has been that if someone charged for content, someone else would offer the same kind of content at no cost. Sooner or lat