Further to my post a couple of days ago about the San Jose Mercury publishing print ads online, I am reminded that the Melbourne Observer publishes the whole newspaper online as a PDF file. They have been doing this since September 2002. They tell me: “anecdotal evidence suggests that many Melbourne people who are introduced to the paper via the Internet, convert to becoming newsagency customers to buy the Melbourne Observer ‘hard copy’ each week”. The Observer is a popular title especially among the demographic frequenting my newsagency. What I appreciate is their support in the pages on the newspaper. This builds loyalty from retailers and consumers. Another Observer feature gaining more attention is their free classifieds. With the demise of Trade and Exchange I’d expect this to grow in popularity.