Horne said he hopes the new approach will help both readers and advertisers. The subscription-based print version will include premium content mostly for the paper's older readership base, while the free community weeklies will be distributed to a broader readership base with more of a hyper-local focus. The newspaper's Web site, OCregister.com, will feature free content aimed at a younger audience. The three ways for content to reach different reader bases will hopefully net more advertisers, who will be able to choose to advertise on just one, two or all three platforms, the Register reported.

In the six months ending Sept. 30, the Register's advertising revenue is down 14 percent and paid circulation has continued its decline by 3 percent. Meanwhile, newsprint price increases have added US$5 million to yearly costs, and more price increases are expected.

Last month, 25 jobs at the newspaper were cut, along with consolidation and trimming of news coverage.

Although the changes have upset readers (nearly 500 calls, letters, e-mails and online comments came in after changes to local and business news were made), Horne told the Register that “we're trying to create a newspaper to serve Orange County given the economic challenges that we face today.”

Newspaper consultant John Morton told the Register that newspapers need to be careful to not eliminate so much in their print versions that they alienate and lose loyal paid readers before a profitable presence on the Web can be built.

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