Provide solutions to the problems that your stories create

Summary: In today’s information environment, making and selling a product is not a sustainable business. A product is not an end, but a beginning, and a gateway to the real business: providing services around that product.

Inspiration: A CNN story about Riversimple, a company from the U.K. that has come up with a hydrogen-powered, less-poluting city car. Sebastien Piëch, a partner in the company, said this:

We don’t believe that making money on IP (intellectual property) is really what’s actually happening even now. We believe that service and providing the solution for customers will be where we make money.”

Does this mean news organizations need to understand customers’ problems that are created when they interact with stories? And provide solutions to those problems?

I’ve written previously about possible journalistic services.