We link out in our blogs and other online content at The Vancouver Sun, and while we don't yet view the measure as any sort of rescue manoeuvre, it's clear that building audience loyalty means being that kind of resource for them --- meaning (as the New York Times will often say) we edit the Web.
The age is over of pretending one's organization produced all of the germane information on an issue. In essence, media were long ago caught out by the consumer when the Internet arrived and it was clear that significant content was out there if you just knew how to search. Once the search engines improved and became routine tools for the audience, it found things on rival sites that many media organizations had pretended didn't exist --- they even knew who came first, who was deepest, and therefore who was best. With the semantic Web it doesn't even feel like you have to search --- to use an increasingly cliche phrase, news finds you.
The key now is to aggregate and prove your value as exceptional curators of content. In Jeff Jarvis' words, do what you do best and link to the rest (at least, I hope they're Jarvis' words --- he hasn't linked out to the source if not).
Another essayish piece from SitePoint's Josh Catone argues that the link economy is generating user engagement and trust, crucial ingredients in the drive to secure a strong business model in the digital sphere.
