"If you have a separate digital team, great, but how dare they go out and not sell the core product?" he says.

"What's wrong with print? Does print suck? Print works, there is nothing wrong with print."

Mr Blinder, President of the advertising sales training Blinder Group, advocates an advertising sales department that makes use of what he calls a "digital evangelist" who "evangelizes the new world to the sales team and to the advertiser." This person ideally works half time with the traditional team, and half time on their own, prospecting for new business.

Newspaper companies should lead with digital advertising to sell print, he says. The reason is simple: digital is the "shiny new toy" that can attract new advertisers, who can then be convinced to also advertise in print.

These new advertisers are small and medium sized businesses who "are craving information. They perceive the web as their saviours," says Mr Blinder.

He advocates organising events for local businesses to provide them with this information. "We've organised sessions where advertisers craving information can come," he says. "We can show them what we've got and bring in the new business."

More on Mr Blinder's ideas and techniques can be found at http://www.blindergroup.com/