The Wall Street Journal pointed out today that newspapers are reaching the end of costs they can cut, and need to see increases in ad revenue. However, ad revenues continue to decline or merely stabilise, and Wachovia analyst told the WSJ that "it's increasingly likely that expense cuts, while significant, won't be enough to drive upside earnings."

So what are newspapers to do? Experts are increasingly recommending newspapers find many smaller revenue streams instead of counting on one large revenue stream to come back. These can include charging for premium content, as the Economist or Wall Street Journal does; developing niche print and online products like the Bakersfield Californian's Bakotopia or getting help from non-profit content providers, like ProPublica or Associated Reporters Abroad.

Another revenue stream newspapers are missing is e-mail, ClickZ reported in May. According to A Borrell Associates report, the e-mail market reached US$12.1 billion, but only a small portion of that, $848 million, is local - prime real estate for the newspaper industry.

"[Local media] could have an upper hand as local e-mail gains prominence because they have massive marketing channels in their traditional media [properties]," said Borrell Associates Vice President Peter Conti, ClickZ reported.

PBS MediaShift's Mark Glaser offered up alternative business models last year, including blog networks, classified networks and customised publications.

SFN will publish a new report next month to discuss new revenue and content models.