In the old days, just a few years ago, a newspaper publisher wanting to impress advertisers was wont to take them on a tour of the paper's new printing presses.

These days smart publishers would be wise to ditch the tour and talk up the things they are doing to build up their web sites as stand-alone destinations and integrate those sites with their print publications.

Certainly that's the best way to impress media planners and buyers who have a say in where their clients' ad dollars are spent, or so they tell Media Life in a recent poll on newspapers.

In that poll, almost half of survey respondents ranked online as the most interesting trend in newspapers, well ahead of any other issue, including circulation. The poll was conducted to learn the sorts of newspaper stories readers think Media Life should be reporting as it expands its newspaper coverage.

Media Life asked readers: What is the most interesting issue or trend in newspapers right now?

Almost half, 48.1 percent, agreed with the statement: "Online development. I’m fascinated by how newspapers’ sites will evolve and what role the web will play in papers’ future."

Circulation, though still a huge issue with media planners and buyers, got 26.4 of the vote, with respondents agreeing with the statement: "The most recent numbers were down more drastically than I’d anticipated. If this trend isn’t reversed, it could be huge trouble."

No. 3 was the emergence of free, independent dailies like the Examiner chain, at 16 percent, with respondents agreeing with the statement: "It’s a direct challenge to the longstanding business model of the American newspaper, and I'm fascinated by how it will all play out."

As noted, circulation remains a huge issue in the minds of media planners and buyers. The two worries, as ever, are the declines and continuing doubts as to the credibility of circulation data following the circ-puffing scandals of several years ago.

Media Life asked readers: How big of a concern is the declining circulation of newspapers?

Over a third, 35.8 percent, agreed with the statement: "A big concern. It makes it more difficult to target a particular audience with circulation shrinking." Almost as many, 30.2 percent, agreed with the statement: "A tremendous concern. This will get worse and worse because newspapers so long refused to acknowledge that the web could help them. Add to that the circulation-pumping scandals, and newspapers are a very unattractive medium these days."

More than a quarter, 27.4 percent, agreed circulation was a medium concern but something publishers have come to see as a problem, while just 6.6 percent thought it was a small problem.

On the matter of the new Examiner chain, which has free dailies in San Francisco, Washington and Baltimore, and the Metro group of subway papers in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, readers are not yet persuaded that they will revolutionize the newspaper business.

Media Life asked readers: What do you think the prospects are for papers like Metro and Examiner? Are they going to revolutionize newspapers?

More than three fourths, 78.6 percent, have yet to be persuaded, agreeing with the statement: "I’m not sure. I’ve seen both promising and distressing results from these papers, and it will take a few more years to figure out what whether this is a trend or a temporary tremor." 

Just 9.7 percent agree with the statement: "Totally. I think the business and editorial model for these papers is brilliant. The traditional dailies could learn a lot from them," while a slightly larger group thinks  the new papers are going nowhere, agreeing with the statement: "Absolutely not. They are just another trend that will wear itself out over the next five years."

Interestingly, the survey revealed that media planners and buyers place a high value on the editorial quality of newspapers in making ad buys, contrary to popular perception. And many think quality has declined in recent years.

Media Life asked readers to rank the importance of editorial quality an a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest in importance. About 80 percent ranked quality between 5 and 10 on the scale of importance, with 7 and 8 alone accounting for 45 percent.

Yet almost half think editorial quality has gone down.

Media Life asked the question: Has editorial content of newspapers in general improved or declined over the past five years?

Some 48.6 percent agreed with the statement: "Declined. Though some of the investigative work is interesting, I am distressed by newspapers increasingly getting sucked into the same sort of celebrity trash stories as cable news."

Yet 29.5 percent thought newspaper quality has improved, agreeing with the statement: "Many papers seem to be moving toward stories that relate to readers’ real lives, which is smart."

The remaining 21.9 percent believe quality is about the same as five years ago.