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April 3, 2014 media notes: U.S. journalism revenue down, Turkey unblocks Twitter, Europe enforces net neutrality

4/3/2014

For Thursday, April 3, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The revenue for U.S. journalism --- that is, the fuel behind its production --- has declined by one-third since 2006. A study by the Pew Research Center quantifies the decline in print, broadcast and online revenue, and it points to a shift toward subscription support of journalism as advertising splinters and finds other places to support. Event hosting and other direct services are growing, but still comprise a very small share of the $63-65 billion in support.
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The Turkish telecommunications regulator is, at last, unblocking Twitter after two weeks in which the country's users had to find clever technical workarounds to stay active on the social network. The service had been banned as elections loomed, but a court found the move was unconstitutional. YouTube, though, remains blocked and there are indications it will stay that way.
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The European parliament has passed a series of measures to entrench net neutrality and create a unified mobile market that will eliminate roaming charges on the continent. GigaOm reports the net neutrality provision had been threatened in recent weeks but was refined closer to the vote. The package will be ratified in May at the next sitting of parliament.
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News industry veteran Alan Mutter, in his latest Reflections of a Newsosaur post, sheds light on the closure of the Thunderdome digital exercise and decision to sell newspapers by Digital First Media. It isn't a failure of the idea, he says, just the wrong backers of the project.

January 6, 2014 media notes: a mobile news do-over, NYT native ads, and a print niche

1/6/2014

Here are some media stories of note for Monday, January 6, 2014:

Alan Mutter's latest Reflections of a Newsosaur post points to the looming mobile news trend. Given the growth spurt of smartphones and the shift to consumption of content from them, Mutter believes this 2014 will be a crossroad year for the news business as it attempts to capitalize.

Mutter, the former editor turned Silicon Valley analyst, notes the advantage that local media have in capturing the mobile market, particularly in their understanding of their markets. It's an important opportunity, a do-over in a sense, and Mutter believes there won't be a third such opportunity.

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The New York Times will later this week roll out a new online design, and part of the ambitious initiative is its entry into so-called native advertising, content that has an editorial appearance and is sponsored directly. It has been part gold mine, part minefield for media, and the Times has said it wants to strike the right balance so consumers are not deceived and advertisers are not underwhelmed.

Digiday today reveals some of the Times' strategies in the space, particularly how it intends to place these ads to be effective for sales and unintrusive for editorial. Some will be within a stripe of headlines, some will be nestled into longer-form stories, and the Times will create a "content studio" to produce some of the ads. It wants an "organic" and not "disruptive" approach. Much is riding on what the organization does and how well it does, because basic online advertising is not proving as lucrative as initially thought and native advertising is considered the hot growth spot.

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David Carr's latest Media Equation column looks at a curious effort by former Wired editor Kevin Kelly to create a vital print media product, in this case a catalogue of reviews of great products, and he concludes that print is settling into some niches.

Carr notes that the catalogue has been selling impressively and that, even though it is plucked from online reviews, it couldn't be presented as an online product with anything approaching the same impact.

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media notes 10.03.13

10/3/2013

For Thursday, October 3, 2013, here are some media notes:

Alan Mutter, in his latest post for Reflections of a Newsosaur, looks at the adventurous effort in Silicon Valley to personalize media, provide more relevant content, and change our digital user experience. Mutter examines the technological work to deliver advertising suited to our interests, based on what we read and buy. He concludes consumers need to brace for this more intimate world.

Vindu Goel and Brian Stelter, writing for The New York Times, examine the rivalry of Facebook and Twitter for their share of the social media conversation about television (most recent example being the concluding episode of Breaking Bad). The ultimate stakes are a larger share of the $171 billion advertising pie. Each service has its own system of determining, and boasting about, how people are interacting with its network as they watch their first screen.

Blake Zeff, writing for Salon, declares that editorial boards of newspapers have lost their relevance and influence. It is clear, he notes, that voters have ignored their endorsements and entreaties in recent times. They no longer affect public support and opposition, he says.

Aneya Fernando, writing for the 10,000 Words blog, argues that online personal essays are gaining popularity and offer an addition to the journalistic sphere. She notes they garner extensive online comments and traffic, and while they do not necessarily unfurl important content, they deliver content that connects with readers.

media notes 09.26.13

9/26/2013

For Thursday, September 26, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

Rem Rieder, the media columnist (now features editor) of USA Today, examines the need for philanthropic support for non-profit journalism in an age of for-profit cuts. He concludes that many non-profits will not become self-sustaining but that they will be needed (and needed to be supported) in an age of strained journalistic resources.

Alan Mutter, in his latest post for Reflections of a Newsosaur, questions the viability of online paywalls. He looks at the data and concludes precious few are paying and that "publishers counting on an enthusiastic reception for paid digital news may want to recalibrate their expectations." Meantime, the digital chief for The Nation writes on its new experiment with paywalls. Katelyn Belyus notes that the financial viability is essential to furthering its editorial mission and that its readers and not its advertisers count first.

Gerald Baker, the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, describes native advertising as a "Faustian pact" publishers make with advertisers that will not work. He believes sponsored content confuses readers, which ultimately diminishes their trust, which in turn defeats the purpose of the content commingling with journalism. He thinks it's a phase that will run its course.

media notes 07.15.13

7/15/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Monday, July 15, 2013:

Glenn Greenwald, writing in The Guardian, examines the internal debate at Al Jazeera as it approaches its American launch. The news organization has to choose whether it should change its tone to suit a U.S. audience. He reports that within the organization there is considerable concern that its editorial mission is being rearranged to make Al Jazeera friendlier to America.

Rick Edmonds, writing for Poynter, looks at what news organizations are learning as they implement online paywalls. In many instances companies are finding they stimulate revenue without much risking print sales, traffic or advertising.
He asserts that practices are emerging to provide optimism in the industry.

Anthony Loewenstein, writing for The Guardian's Comment is Free, argues everyone is subjective and that personal transparency about voting intentions and practices should be part of the deal for journalists. A commitment to fairness and balance is insufficient, he says. Instead, a fully transparent media would help restore trust in journalism.

Alan Mutter, in his latest Reflections of a Newsosaur post, further explores a recent Reuters Institute study on news consumption. He pursues a different line in his reporting to demonstrate that older people (those over 55) are part of "sweeping" shifts in consumer behaviour. The study indicates all age groups now choose online over print to consume media, and that publishers' beliefs that older audiences were still aligned with them might be misguided.

media notes 10.04.13

4/10/2013

Media stories of note for Wednesday, April 10, 2013:

The veteran news executive, Alan Mutter, argues in his latest post that online paywalls are not the blessing they appear to be. While they are helping to staunch the revenue declines many newspapers are experiencing, their main impact is to extract revenue from loyal readers. In effect, they fail to broaden audience appeal, a necessary condition for media sustainability. Mutter believes a partial solution comes in the form of reinvesting subscription revenue into new technologies in mobile.

Curtis Brainard, writing for Columbia Journalism Review, discusses seven rules to avoid gratuitous descriptions of female scientists. The rules are called the Finkbeiner Test, named after a science blogger, and they suggest no story mention a) that she is a woman, b) her husband's job, c) her child-care arrangements, d) how she nurtures underlings, e) how she was taken aback by the competitiveness in her field, f) how she is a role model for other women, and g) how she is the "first woman to" do something.

The European has published much of a conversation between its deputy executive editor Martin Eiermann and NYU media scholar Clay Shirky on the meaning of journalism in 2013. There are several threads of note, including the assertion that journalism has failed to comprehend the need for collaboration with the audience and some insight on why Shirky resists identifying a business model to help solve the economic challenges of the industry.

media notes 15.03.13

3/15/2013

Media stories of note for Friday, March 15, 2013:

The British government has shut down talks among political parties and determined it wants a vote Monday on its measures to regulate the press. Prime MInister David Cameron called off all-party talks Thursday and today his party's culture secretary urged support for Cameron's press charter. Among other things it would levy up to million-pound fines and publish up-front apologies in cases of intrusion or misreporting. Opposition parties had been calling for stronger moves, including laws, but Cameron has ruled out legislation as excessive and unenforceable. The measures follow the Leveson inquiry into press conduct in response to the phone-hacking scandal.

Alan Mutter, in his latest post for Reflections of a Newsosaur, has a prescription for newspapers that includes specifics on what they should and should not cover. Stop rehashing stories already widely known, use graphics instead of words, and quit writing background-padded articles in long-running stories, the veteran newsand tech executive says. Also: focus on people, not process; be local, not global; look forward, not back; show transparency; discuss, don't dominate; and be diverse.

A Reuters social media manager has been indicted in the United States for alleging assisting the Anonymous hacking group with entering the Tribune Co. computer system and defacing its websites. Matthew Keys, a former Tribune television employee at the time of the episode, has been suspended by Reuters.

The Wall Street Journal examines the emergence of online video advertising as a force in media growth and change. While ad rates are declining due to increased inventory, several major players are entering the space. The result will be a bigger, if less profitable, sector.

media notes 30.01.13

1/30/2013

Media stories for Wednesday:

Scientific American's Bora Zivkovic provides an extensive, exceptionally researched guide to the strengths and weaknesses of online comments and the challenges they pose for media. He has a long list of recommendations, mainly involving increased engagement and moderation, but all pointing to the need for greater effort to enhance dialogue.

Alan Mutter, in his latest post on his Reflections of a Newsosaur, argues that too many newspaper stories are too long. In recent weeks the Columbia Journalism Review surveyed papers and found a decline in longform reporting. Mutter says many stories should be told not necessarily entirely with words, but with charts or other visual data. He concludes that "no one has time for this self-indulgence any more." He kept his column to 722 words.

On the other hand, AdWeek notes the uptick in longform online sports journalism. In a feature on the development, AdWeek observes that some journalists are heading to the web to develop "rambling reads" when their print outlets are backing out of the business of lengthy pieces.

media notes: 18.01.13

1/18/2013

Media stories for Friday:

This week's online/offline sponsored feature on The Atlantic Online from the Church of Scientology reprised questions about the viability of sponsored content in harmony with editorial standards. The Poynter Institute's Jeff Sonderman takes a crack at identifying the sweet spot in a lengthy feature on how the two concepts can coexist. The features need to be honest, serve the reader, be congruent with the editorial style, be independently created and reviewed, and be such that a news organization might very well run it if it weren't sponsored.

The Columbia Journalism Review confirms in an audit what many have suspected: The number of longform stories at major news organizations is in decline. Reporter Dean Starkman acknowledges that length does not equal quality necessarily, but that the decline suggests news organizations are devoting less of their resources to complex stories.

Earlier this week, Alan Mutter wrote that newspaper readers were aging considerably --- that three-quarters of them were over 45. But Tom Rosenstiel, the American Press Institue chief and former news executive who oversaw the study Mutter cited, asserts that the conclusion isn't necessarily accurate. The readership across platforms is considerably more diverse and the data suggest there is a migration to new platforms and not a drift away from legacy media.

media notes: 15.01.13

1/15/2013

Media Notes for Tuesday:

There continues fallout from CNET's move last week to rescind an award at the annual CES convention to The Dish Network at the direction of CNET's parent company, CBS, a competitor and litigant against Dish. BuzzFeed notes that a leading reporter for CNET has resigned, saying he could not tolerate the impact on his independence, and The Hollywood Reporter says that the decision to rescind was approved at the very top of CBS by Les Moonves.

The Atlantic had a busy day in the limelight Monday, first featuring and then dropping an online "paid content" advertorial on the accomplishments of the Church of Scientology. The Hollywood Reporter has a look at the issue. The feature raised concerns about the seemingly thin line for readers at times online between journalism and advertising. The Next Web reports that another element of the issue was The Atlantic's decision to moderate the online public comments, but notes the online/offline fuss may have given the sponsor more attention than it would have otherwise received.

Alan Mutter, in his latest post on his Reflections of a Newsosaur site, analyzes the U.S. newspaper audience changes since 2010 and concludes that three-quarters of the audience is now aged 45 and older. He says that is up from about one-half only three years ago. The difference is the absence of 20- and 30-somethings from the mix. He concludes the newspaper audience wil die off because these younger people won't grow into print readers.

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