While newspapers throughout North America struggle with declining revenues, a Chicago entrepreneur plans to launch a new newspaper that reprints blogs in print format.

The first issues of The Printed Blog are to go on sale Tuesday in Chicago and San Francisco.

The three-page, full-colour newspaper will consist exclusively of online content from over 300 local and national blogs. The plan is to publish an a.m. and a p.m. edition daily and distribute the papers at high-traffic locations such as subway stations.

The paper is the brainchild of Joshua Karp, a former software entrepreneur and an avowed lover of the printed word, He says he plans to present a mix of national and local blogs, on both news and current affairs and personal topics.

"I think that there is a strong and rich tradition of people who read the newspaper and people enjoy the process of getting it and going through it, and I don’t think it will go away," Karp told CBC's Q cultural affairs show.

"Our primary difference is that we're pulling from a well of content online. We have bloggers that write on every conceivable topic who have offered to move up to the paper," he said in an interview aired Monday.

So while traditional newspapers are rushing to boost their online content, The Printed Blog will take what's online and make it available to the person who likes to have reading material he or she can hold onto.

"It's a different experience getting your information on a printed sheet of paper than it is on a 2x3 inch screen or a 22-inch monitor glowing back at you," Karp said. "Newspapers are tactile. You crumple them on the train or you spread them out on the kitchen table and read them. It's an enjoyable physical experience, and I really hope that paper newspapers don't go away."

Karp believes the "personal filter" on news presented by bloggers is appealing to readers and said he's not particularly worried about the notorious unreliability of blog content.

"I don't know that it's fair to say there isn't journalistic integrity for all bloggers," he said. "You'll recall not long ago, journalistic integrity problems at the most prestigious newspapers in the country."

The free paper can also be tailored to each local neighbourhood, with as many as 100 different editions to be offered in a city the size of Chicago. Readers will be able to vote on the blogs they want to see in their local edition and the topics that interest them, Karp said.

"When we move to a daily version, depending on where you pick up the paper, you will be able to vote on the blogs that are included in it," he said.

Karp said he believes The Printed Blog will be financially viable because it's built on a different model from conventional newspapers.

"We're looking at extraordinarily local editions; we're looking at not being a one-size-fits-all paper; we're looking at advertising sales that occur entirely online. Instead of having one paper where the ads cost $20,000 or more, [we'll have] hundreds of local editions where the ads cost $18," he said.

"So in times of economic difficulty when advertisers still need to get the word out, why should you spend thousands of dollars and advertise for an entire city when you can spend tens of dollars and target the specific people who are most likely to buy your product," he said.

The Printed Blog has had a website up for the past two weeks and launches its print experiment on Tuesday. It will be handed out free in San Francisco and Chicago.