Innovation strikes at odd times, particularly when one isn’t near a computer (for me, inspiration seems to happen most when driving, showering, walking the dogs, or staring down at the impossibly mystical blackness of a Guinness).

But ideas are always fueled, and backed up, by good research. Here are a few of the sources I have used as the basis for my ideas, articles, and business solutions. Feel free to use the comment box below to send me suggestions on valuable resources and I’ll add them to the list.

The State of the News Media 2012
http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/overview-4/
Amy Mitchell  and Tom Rosenstiel, Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism

The State of the News Media 2011 / Why U.S. Newspapers Suffer More than Others
http://stateofthemedia.org/2011/mobile-survey/international-newspaper-economics/
The Project For Excellence In Journalism, the World Association of Newspapers 2010 World Press Trends annual report, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s 2010 ‘The Evolution of News and the Internet’ report, the (United Kingdom) Office of Communications ICMR 2009 Statistical Release, Center for International Media Assistance’s 2011 ‘Caught in the Middle: Central and Eastern European Journalism at a Crossroads’ report, National Book Trust-National Council of Applied Economic Research’s National Youth Readership Survey, as well as popular press reports from The New York Times, Agence France Presse, The Japan Times, The Hindustan Times and the Columbia Journalism Review. Finally, interviews with David Levy, Robert Picard and Rasmus Nielsen, all of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford

British newspaper sales plummet in new ABC figures (January 2012)
http://www.businesspost.ie/#!story/Home/Media+And+Marketing/British+newspaper+sales+plummet+in+new+ABC+figures/19410615-5218-4f10-6d60-cbed55918080
Adrian Weckler, Daily Business Post

Ensuring a happy Post script: Interview with Elgin Loane of the Irish Post (6 January 2012)
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0106/1224309886717.html
The Irish Times

100 Italian newspapers facing closure (3 January 2012)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2012/jan/03/italy-newspapers?INTCMP=SRCH
The Guardian, Greenslade Blog

This week in news reading: the aggregator space is heating up (12 December 2011)
http://thenextweb.com/media/2011/12/12/this-week-in-news-reading-the-aggregator-space-is-heating-up/
TNW: The Next Web

Newspaper websites post consecutive quarterly traffic increase(12 July 2011)
http://www.naa.org/News-and-Media/Press-Center/Archives/2011/Newspaper-Websites-Post-Consecutive-Quarterly-Traffic-Increase.aspx
Cheryl Sadowsky, Newspaper Association of America
(Newspaper websites attract 110 million unique visitors in Q2 as consumers seek out trusted news sources amid world events)

Site Matters: The Value of Local Newspaper Web sites (Fielded in Nov 2009 and published in 2010)
http://www.naa.org/docs/NewspaperMedia/data/site_matters_study.pdf
Newspaper Association of America
(Study citing how newspaper web sites are trusted as sources for advertising.)

Newspaper ad spending down 7% in 2Q (September 2011)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/newspaper-ad-spending-down-7-in-2q-2011-09-01?link=MW_home_latest_news
David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch
(CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Newspaper advertising spending fell 7% in the second quarter to $6 billion, the Newspaper Association of America said Thursday. Spending on print ads declined for the 20th straight quarter dating back to 2006, dipping almost 9% to $5.19 billion. Meanwhile, online ad spending advanced for the sixth straight quarter, rising 8% to $803.4 million.)

News Leaders and the Future (12 April 2010)
http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/news_leaders_and_future
Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism in association with the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)

14-Page Special Report: The Future of News (15 July 2011)
The Economist (multiple authors)

The State of the News Media 2010 Special Reports–Economic Attitudes (15 March 2010)
http://stateofthemedia.org/2010/special-reports-economic-attitudes/
The Project For Excellence In Journalism and the Pew Internet & American Life Project

The State of the News Media 2010 Special Reports–Economic Attitudes: Nielsen Analysis (15 March 2010)
http://stateofthemedia.org/2010/special-reports-economic-attitudes/nielsen-analysis/
The Project For Excellence In Journalism and the Pew Internet & American Life Project