Online editors at Poynter Institute ask: “Can we give readers what they want without it being all Britney and police-chasing videos?”

Given their level of experience, the online journalists who found this to be a challenging question this week at the Poynter journalism school are either slow learners or have not been doing their homework. Perhaps their assignment desks should assign them the following. Assignment #1: Study their readers. They will learn that virtually none of their readers want all-Britney-all-of-the-time, and virtually none want no-Britney-none-of-the-time. Assignment #2: Study the success of Joseph Pulitzer. They will learn that at least one formula for keeping a diverse readership happy is telling the stories that the “respectable” public wants to hear in ways that are also interesting to those with more downscale tastes. And for Extra Credit: In the emerging Internet age, will it even be possible to keep all of their diverse readers happy with a one-size-fits-all product? Or, is it time to start thinking about fragmenting their news offerings so they can be tailored to the tastes of different readers?