What if newspaper is shredded (preferably into ~1/4 X 2" strips) and used as an initial fig rooting medium?

Has anybody tried this before?

JUST-moistened and AIR-shuffled/fluffed, together with the ink ANTI-fungal
property, it kind of sounds good to me [possibly simulating SM?].

I will experiment using the baggie-method.
Could be another useful/cheap way to re-cycle... 

My thought would be that wet newspaper tends to clump and compact. Might be hard to keep it aerated.

OK,
Maybe add some buffer/pump-up perlite????

Or those small packing styrofoam packing peanuts, hey i just threw it out there !

Some people say sphagnum moss tears off rootlets, imagine what shredded paper will do.

I don't see a problem with this if you root in some plastic container, but this would pose a problem in a bag.  (sorry, not trying to shoot you out of water, just giving constructive opinion)

Gorgi,
I might work, worth a try. I'm always looking for the easy, less work way for me. I don't remember who suggested the SM but I'm sold on it so far. No baggies. Just SM, not mixed with anything else. I had some clear plastic containers from the Surper Mkt that once contained cookies, cake, produce, etc. that I normally had to recycle. Instead, I put in some soaked SM, (squeezed out excess) and the cuttings, closed the lid and waited for roots. No rot, No mold.  I can see thru the re-used Super Mkt plastic containers for progress so no need to open them. I also used some plastic shoe box containers that work well but the lids are not transparent so once in a while I had to take the lid off to look.  So far I have not had one failure. Once they are rooted I move them to clear cups. 

I no longer use MG potting mix. I managed to get a different brand from a local wholesale nursery and so far no knats. That is a big relief too.

This is the lazy woman's method. Good luck to all no matter how you do it as long as it works. And thanks to who ever suggested SM.

Peg zone 6