An article in The Wall Street Journal today talks of all the free items available on the Internet today -- from music to video games to operating software, to sites like YouTube and Facebook. It discusses how that the standard online business plan until last year was to create a new site, get zillions of hits and lots of buzz, then sell. But that doesn't work today because investors aren't investing.
So the new plan is to actually develop cash flow from your online site, through advertising or paid customers for premium services (while keeping the basics free or other developing models.
It didn't mention online news sources specifically, but it seems to me some of the ideas that were discussed could be transferred to the news world, such as payment for premium services. (I know. The New York Times tried it unsuccessfully with its columnists, but that doesn't mean it couldn't work in a different format. I'm just not sure what.)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A messy divorce
The ongoing feud between The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post over their joint operating agreement and the perilous financial situations of both newspapers became far more public last week when details of a letter accusing the Post's management of inappropriately using money in the JOA fund to meet its own payroll costs was published in the Rocky. Subsequently, Post officials said they would not print the Rocky if new owners take over.
The dispute appears to be getting more bitter as the economic situation for both papers declines.
For many years now, Denver has been one of the few major metro areas still supporting two dailies. And people have long expected that one of them would become extinct -- or at least online only -- by now.
The Rocky is for sale and, as publisher John Temple wrote today, "If no buyer is found, the paper very well may close soon, almost 150 years after it was founded."
I'd hate to see the Rocky fold. I've enjoyed reading it for more than 30 years. But the market will determine whether that happens or not.
The dispute appears to be getting more bitter as the economic situation for both papers declines.
For many years now, Denver has been one of the few major metro areas still supporting two dailies. And people have long expected that one of them would become extinct -- or at least online only -- by now.
The Rocky is for sale and, as publisher John Temple wrote today, "If no buyer is found, the paper very well may close soon, almost 150 years after it was founded."
I'd hate to see the Rocky fold. I've enjoyed reading it for more than 30 years. But the market will determine whether that happens or not.
Well endowed?
The op ed piece in The New York Times this week called "News You Can Endow" has raised new/old questions about the future of journalism.
They're relatively new in the ongoing discussion about how newspapers will work online, but the solution proposed has actually been around for some time.
The two Yale financial experts who wrote the piece suggest that conventional newspapers could survive if we "Turn them into nonprofit, endowed institutions — like colleges and universities. Endowments would enhance newspapers’ autonomy while shielding them from the economic forces that are now tearing them down."
As some of the reader who responded through letters to the editor to the piece have noted, becoming nonprofit entities wouldn't necessarily enhance newspapers autonomy. In fact, because of tax laws on how nonprofits may be involved in politics, it could significantly reduce the ability of a newspaper to make candidate or issue endorsements.
I have seen several specialty publications -- focusing on a narrow range of issues -- that operate as nonprofits. I think that can work if you're readership is a relatively small group of like-minded individuals, but it becomes much harder to sustain as a model for a general readership news source.
But I'm not a Yale financial expert.
They're relatively new in the ongoing discussion about how newspapers will work online, but the solution proposed has actually been around for some time.
The two Yale financial experts who wrote the piece suggest that conventional newspapers could survive if we "Turn them into nonprofit, endowed institutions — like colleges and universities. Endowments would enhance newspapers’ autonomy while shielding them from the economic forces that are now tearing them down."
As some of the reader who responded through letters to the editor to the piece have noted, becoming nonprofit entities wouldn't necessarily enhance newspapers autonomy. In fact, because of tax laws on how nonprofits may be involved in politics, it could significantly reduce the ability of a newspaper to make candidate or issue endorsements.
I have seen several specialty publications -- focusing on a narrow range of issues -- that operate as nonprofits. I think that can work if you're readership is a relatively small group of like-minded individuals, but it becomes much harder to sustain as a model for a general readership news source.
But I'm not a Yale financial expert.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
New Year, same problems
As the new year began, the litany of problems in the newspaper industry seemed only to accelerate. Familiar media chains facing mountains of debts and nearing bankruptcy. Others cutting back on staff of benefits like contributions to 401(k)s for their employees. Still more migrating toward the Web and away from print.
But it doesn't point to the death of an industry, just some very rapid and jarring changes.
This paragraph from Adam Reilly's Dec. 30 blog in the Boston Phoenix puts it pretty well:
"But the term "newspaper" has another meaning, too: it's an organization staffed with men and women who report and analyze the news for the public. Newspapers in this sense aren't about to go extinct. They are being reinvented, however. And judging from the almost unthinkable changes that transpired on the media landscape this past year — particularly over the past few months — this reinvention will reach unprecedented heights in 2009, with once-sacrosanct forms and practices being abruptly jettisoned and new models and methods assuming starring roles. As with biological evolution, some of this change will be beautiful, some of it will be ugly, and some of it will just . . . be."
The midsize daily I work for is for sale, and all indications are that a sale will be completed early this year. We don't know who the purchaser may be, but I certainly expect some changes.
One media expert quoted in Reilly's column said the first thing he would do if he took the reins of a midsize daily would be to cut staff severely, then hire people back or hire new people as additional revenue made that possible. That certainly makes sense from a business standpoint, but it emphasizes the cringe factor for those of us awaiting a sale.
Bottom line for 2009: The industry will continue to evolve rapidly this year, but most newspapers will survive in some form. I'm not sure whether my job will.
But it doesn't point to the death of an industry, just some very rapid and jarring changes.
This paragraph from Adam Reilly's Dec. 30 blog in the Boston Phoenix puts it pretty well:
"But the term "newspaper" has another meaning, too: it's an organization staffed with men and women who report and analyze the news for the public. Newspapers in this sense aren't about to go extinct. They are being reinvented, however. And judging from the almost unthinkable changes that transpired on the media landscape this past year — particularly over the past few months — this reinvention will reach unprecedented heights in 2009, with once-sacrosanct forms and practices being abruptly jettisoned and new models and methods assuming starring roles. As with biological evolution, some of this change will be beautiful, some of it will be ugly, and some of it will just . . . be."
The midsize daily I work for is for sale, and all indications are that a sale will be completed early this year. We don't know who the purchaser may be, but I certainly expect some changes.
One media expert quoted in Reilly's column said the first thing he would do if he took the reins of a midsize daily would be to cut staff severely, then hire people back or hire new people as additional revenue made that possible. That certainly makes sense from a business standpoint, but it emphasizes the cringe factor for those of us awaiting a sale.
Bottom line for 2009: The industry will continue to evolve rapidly this year, but most newspapers will survive in some form. I'm not sure whether my job will.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Print phase-out?
From Jim Romenesko's site at Poynter Online:
Oregon paper will halt Monday delivery
"Klamath Falls Herald and News
Beginning Jan. 5, the Herald and News will put many of its Monday features into the Sunday paper. Publisher Heidi Wright says the Monday edition is being killed to avoid staff cuts and rate increases"
Hard to fault a paper for doing this as newsprint and other costs increase. But how will the readers take it. The start of a new work week for many newspaper readers -- including my wife -- requires reading the latest news in print. Reading it in Sunday's edition won't be quite the same.
But it is one step that may begin to gradually move readers to online editions. That's a good thing.
Oregon paper will halt Monday delivery
"Klamath Falls Herald and News
Beginning Jan. 5, the Herald and News will put many of its Monday features into the Sunday paper. Publisher Heidi Wright says the Monday edition is being killed to avoid staff cuts and rate increases"
Hard to fault a paper for doing this as newsprint and other costs increase. But how will the readers take it. The start of a new work week for many newspaper readers -- including my wife -- requires reading the latest news in print. Reading it in Sunday's edition won't be quite the same.
But it is one step that may begin to gradually move readers to online editions. That's a good thing.
Monday, December 15, 2008
A glimpse of the future?
I'm not really sure this is what news organizations will look like in the future, or whether this is just a temporary arrangement until something more permanent comes along. But it does show that there is creative thinking taking place and new templates are developing.
From The New York Times Dec. 14:
"Politico, the upstart news source from Washington, and Reuters, the venerable wire service, have joined forces to offer articles to newspapers and sell advertising on the papers’ Web sites, the latest step in the rising competition among electronic news media to fill the void left by the shrinking print business.
Politico recently began offering papers a limited number of free articles, and beginning this week the papers that sign onto that service, the Politico Network, will also see the stream of daily output from Reuters, and choose up to 10 articles and 10 photographs each day to use in print or on the Web.
Politico would gain the right to sell ads on the newspapers’ Web pages containing the Politico and Reuters articles — though not the printed pages — and would share the revenue with the papers.
At the same time, Reuters will begin carrying most of Politico’s work on its news wires."
From The New York Times Dec. 14:
"Politico, the upstart news source from Washington, and Reuters, the venerable wire service, have joined forces to offer articles to newspapers and sell advertising on the papers’ Web sites, the latest step in the rising competition among electronic news media to fill the void left by the shrinking print business.
Politico recently began offering papers a limited number of free articles, and beginning this week the papers that sign onto that service, the Politico Network, will also see the stream of daily output from Reuters, and choose up to 10 articles and 10 photographs each day to use in print or on the Web.
Politico would gain the right to sell ads on the newspapers’ Web pages containing the Politico and Reuters articles — though not the printed pages — and would share the revenue with the papers.
At the same time, Reuters will begin carrying most of Politico’s work on its news wires."
Home delivery on the way out?
From the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 13:
"Detroit Media Partnership L.P., which operates the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, is expected to announce next week that it will cease home delivery of the papers' print editions on most days of the week, according to people familiar with the company's thinking.
Detroit Media has not made a final decision, these people said. But the leading scenario set to be unveiled Tuesday calls for the Free Press, the 20th largest U.S. newspaper by weekday circulation, and the News to end home delivery on all but the most lucrative days -- Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On the other days, the company would sell single copies of abbreviated print editions at newsstands and direct readers to the papers' expanded digital editions.
The Free Press, owned by Gannett Co., and the News, owned by MediaNews Group, are operated by Detroit Media under a so-called joint operating agreement."
There's no better way to save newsprint costs than to stop printing altogether.
"Detroit Media Partnership L.P., which operates the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, is expected to announce next week that it will cease home delivery of the papers' print editions on most days of the week, according to people familiar with the company's thinking.
Detroit Media has not made a final decision, these people said. But the leading scenario set to be unveiled Tuesday calls for the Free Press, the 20th largest U.S. newspaper by weekday circulation, and the News to end home delivery on all but the most lucrative days -- Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On the other days, the company would sell single copies of abbreviated print editions at newsstands and direct readers to the papers' expanded digital editions.
The Free Press, owned by Gannett Co., and the News, owned by MediaNews Group, are operated by Detroit Media under a so-called joint operating agreement."
There's no better way to save newsprint costs than to stop printing altogether.
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