Hugo Drayton represents a new wave of newspaper publishers whose background is with online, not newsprint editions. This wave has yet to hit North America; it's mainly a British phenomenon.

Besides Drayton, its member include Stephen Miron, the former chief of Associated Newspapers' New Ventures interactive operations and now managing director of the Mail on Sunday newspaper, and Kevin Beatty, the former chief of Associated Newspapers' new media operations and now managing director of the Northcliffe Newspapers Group.

Drayton joined Telegraph Group Limited in 1994, when as a marketing manager he wrote and implemented the first online publishing plan for The Daily Telegraph. After six years as its online publisher, he was appointed managing director of Hollinger Telegraph New Media and last year was named managing director of Telegraph Group Limited itself. He ranks on the board of directors just below the chairman and deputy chairman.

Rather than see the online and newsprint editions as different but dependent, Drayton sees them as one integral operation.

"At The Telegraph, we have always, right from back in 1994, considered online as an extension, development and enhancement of our core print activities," Drayton said. "Though, of course, we want online to wash its face commercially, which it now does."

"You are correct that the online editions rely heavily on their print counterparts -- but this is evolving, with increased, targeted new content, and is not necessarily bad anyway. Re-purposing expensive and high-quality journalism for use in different media for new audiences is a sensible and economic development."

Drayton said that online publishing should never be examined with a dotcom mentality.

"The trials, tribulations, exaggerated expectations and inevitable crash of dotcom stock darlings was never relevant to the real consumer revolution -- a total change, driven by e-mail and the Web, in the way people, communities companies and interest groups communicate and operate.

"The penetration of access and broadband has continued, unaffected by stock market whims.

"The Web, mobile messaging and online forums are all critical and integral to the way media companies operate with their consumers," Drayton said. "Our in-paper, as well as our online, competitions receive the vast majority of their response and data directly online or via mobile phone. It's all faster, cheaper, more manageable. A win-win scenario."

Drayton said that despite premature and gloomy predictions about online advertising and banners ads, the online advertising market has matured and continues to thrive. "For newspapers as well as other businesses, the Web is a valid, profitable and effective advertising and sponsorship medium," he said.

"So, online revenues will continue to rise and be increasingly important for print publishers. Online will assist newspapers in reaching valuable -- especially younger -- audiences for their brands. And the relative costs of online publishing will continue to fall, with increased revenues and more efficient open platforms and software."

Drayton said online editions don't need to achieve the readers per copy of the newsprint editions to make online publishing a worthwhile endeavor. "The fact is that we can be very targeted; the lower cost to market allows us to appeal to niche/narrowcast as well as broadcast audiences."

Drayton said it is today unthinkable for a serious news organization not to publish online.

"It provides global 24-hour access, a complete, searchable archive, news updates, and can reach into markets not easily served by our print editions: 40 percent of our page views are from outside the UK. The U.S. being the single biggest audience, of course!

"This is very important for several reasons. The most important is that by being online we are a great boost to our broadsheet. We can be global. We're very influential because the people at The Washington Post and elsewhere can now read today's Telegraph before writing their editorials."

Drayton also said the increased size of combined online and newsprint circulation lets his newspaper sell its general print advertising more attractively.