Seth Godin has some good advice for the news business in his blog today, even though he does not use the word “news” or “newspaper” at all:

A business model is the architecture of a business or project. It has four elements:

1. What compelling reason exists for people to give you money? (or votes or donations)
2. How do you acquire what you’re selling for less than it costs to sell it?
3. What structural insulation do you have from relentless commoditization and a price war?
4. How will strangers find out about the business and decide to become customers?

He calls it a “business model revolution.”