The thing that Gannett (and I’ve done some work with them here in Cincinnati) and other organizations are missing is that the underlying architecture of the Web and Internet is based upon data and databases.

Here is a hypothetical. Which of these would you give up for one week on the Web?

Google or your local newspaper?
MovieFone or your local newspaper’s reviews?
Travelocity or your local newspaper’s travel section?

I’m guessing that if you search, see movies or travel — the answer would be your newspaper. (I am assuming, but let’s for a moment). If that’s the case, ask yourself why?

I believe the reason is the three you would keep return relevant data that answers a question you have, while a newspaper may or may not have a corresponding story.

Will microsites save newspapers? Maybe. But they’ll never create the type of nexus that data and database driven sites offer.