In the U.S., old media players have linked up with new online brands, or banded together for Web initiatives to stave off competition. Classifiedwarehouse.com, for instance, is a unified database that combines classifieds content of hundreds of newspapers to keep readers from diverting to free cyber classifieds or eBay-styled auction sites.
Already local startups such as online job database company Jobstreet.com and auction site Lelong.com.my are eating into the classifieds market long dominated by newspapers.
A centralized online news archive may work the same way, retaining individual branding by hyperlinking it back to the originating newspaper for every archived story.
But a skeptical Davin believes political and corporate differences are too divisive for such cooperation to be replicated in Malaysia. Both Utusan and Star are pursuing individual fee-based archival systems.
Star Online has also been modest in shelling out exclusive content at its Web site, posting movie reviews, recipes, education material, and restaurant locators for its Metro KL and Penang sections.
"More exclusive content never hurts but I prefer to concentrate on timeliness rather than frills like audio and video. Local bandwidth is still not at the stage where such multimedia capabilities can be appreciated on the Web, and I don't see it getting that way for at least two years," says Davin.
Internet readers have also come to demand fast-breaking news, real-time stock quotes, updates on sports events, and community content closer to home.
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