"Howcast, a Video Start-Up, Charges Into the ‘How-to’ Web" - NYTimes.com

As newspapers attempt to manage themselves out of the current crisis, what do good managers do when they see a phenomenon like Howcast? How does a newspaper sort out its own role in explaining how the world works and how each customer do what she or he needs to do in life? Is this merely one of those interesting internet world stories or does this suggest that another pillar of what used to make many newspapers more essential is facing rapid erosion? What, exactly, ought to be the role of a newspaper in helping a customer fix a leaky faucet? Is that somehow "below" what a newspaper thinks its role ought to be?