• by Masha Geller , June 10, 2002

How’s this for a promising cross-media initiative?

As Dow Jones reported late yesterday, the New York Times-owned Boston Globe, in partnership with NewsStand Inc., has launched an electronic edition that lets users download an exact digital replica of the Globe via the Internet.

"With NewsStand's digital publishing solution, we now have the ability to offer our quality content in its original format to readers who may not be able to obtain the printed copies," said Yasmin Namini, Globe's senior vice president of circulation.

According to the announcement, sales of publications through the NewsStand service qualify as paid circulation according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, increasing the potential for advertising revenue while lowering operational costs associated with traditional printing and delivery.

The newspaper said that their advertisers can also take advantage of NewsStand features such as attaching streaming media to their ads and direct click through to a designated web location.

In a prepared statement Monday, the New England 's largest newspaper said that digital copies of the newspaper will be available for purchase for 50 cents for the daily edition and $2 for the Sunday edition. Subscriptions are listed at $3.75 a week for seven days and $1.50 for Sunday only.

I wonder how their advertisers are going to take this.