hail marriage?

image credit: motherjones.com
Somehow, the time feels right for some fresh/absurd, Hail Mary thinking when it comes to evolution in the troubled Local Media landscape.
When I look at the problems infecting two major sectors of local media – newspapers and yellow pages – an idea springs to mind. Try it on…
Slam them together into one integrated local media business. Collapse redundant distribution and operations, re-align and trim the sales forces. Infuse the newspaper’s strength with promotion and retail into the scalable SEM/search infrastructure of the YP channel. Construct a true local consumer portal and promotion channel that has local search and promotion embedded throughout. Trim out the low-value display ad junk and create real local shopping applications that generate leads and solve consumer problems.
In the off-chance that you’re still reading, perhaps I can explain my thinking a bit more.