Revolution, not evolution and “Print on Demand”

Mark Potts in his “Recovering Journalist” blog charts changes in the news industry and recently blogged about changes at Gazette Communications in Iowa. His post Inventing the Future In Iowa lays out some interesting ideas taken from the Gazette’s “multipart blueprint” for change. I particularly liked a piece Potts quotes stating:

Our industry seems to be clinging to Darwin’s theory of evolution, hoping that gradual adaptation to changing environment will be enough to help us survive. That works in biology, but in today’s disruptive business world, survival of the fittest is a matter of revolution, not evolution.

I had a brainstorm while reading this. I will preface this brainstorm with the disclaimer that I really do not know enough about the costs involved in printing and the cost to waste ratios with newspapers to make a really scientific claim, however, I am thinking about a “print on demand” model! You select the days you want to receive the print version of the paper, put your request in 24 hours in advance and VIOLA, you get your paper the days you want it. Or even further…you request the SECTIONS you want. I realize this would drastically change the way advertisements work or don’t work, but it’s a thought anyway. I am sure someone else has put the idea out there as well. But that’s my two cents. Everyone else can throw their new model in the ring, why can’t I?