I love news. Straight, hard, sad story news. So it pains me to see so many newspapers struggling to survive in this digital age.This week, The Dallas Morning News announced that it’s dismantling its paywall, and instead starting a premium site. While there are definitely some news sites who have made metered paywalls work (and not just The New York Times), this might actually be a smart move by the Texan daily.As I’ve said many times before, news organizations have to learn that you can’t adopt a new medium and keep using another medium’s tactics. Lengthy articles don’t belong on the second screen (although they do enjoy some popularity on the tablet, a lean-back device).In fact, The Economist just published an article on what newspapers can learn from television, and a smart news site (like The Washington Post) would learn to play to the visual and interactivity of websites, while focusing on the up-to-the-minute immediacy of smartphones and the relaxed nature of tablet reading. Cross-platform publishing doesn’t mean you publish the same thing across all platforms; it means you tailor the delivery and experience of your content to optimize various platforms (and various ways of consumption and learning by consumers).An article on NetNewsCheck calls this tactic “screen-parting,” and feedback from Dallas Morning News subscribers supports this tactic: “..research the newspaper did with print subscribers showed that what readers were willing to pay for wasn’t the actual content itself, but the method of delivery – that is, the printed newspaper,” says paidContent.So once again, if you’re trying to maximize subscription sales for a news site, here are your priorities:1. The digital experience: Make sure you have a site that goes beyond re-creating the print experience. That can include online tools and annotated libraries, video, games, and membership perks. If, however, you are targeting an audience that prefers reading to viewing and interaction, then jump from print to tablet apps like The Week did.2. Delivery mechanisms: Delivery is a better conversion factor for paying subscribers than content. People want their news in formats that fit their lifestyle. That means delivering at the right time of day, as World Politics Review does with its subscriber-only emails that aggregate news from around the Web.3. Content: Assuming you’re already putting out quality content, you can afford to prioritize an editorial re-vamp after your tweak your experience and delivery mechanisms. However, it is worth examining, as some newspapers, like The Christian Science Monitor and Politico found more revenues from smaller audiences when they decided to go niche.