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May 27, 2014 media notes: Times profitable without print; Hachette apologizes to authors; New Yorker on Jill Abramson

5/27/2014

For Tuesday, May 27, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

Much has been written and discussed about the recent innovation report written for The New York Times (available here via the Nieman Journalism Lab). Frédéric Filloux, in his latest Monday Note, parses the data to determine that the Times could actually yield a profit without the printed edition. He looks at the revenue and expenses of the operation, but raises the important question: Would advertisers come along to a digital-only Times?
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Yesterday we caught up to the ugly dispute between Amazon and Hachette over its distribution contract. The upshot is that Amazon is holding back Hachette titles, making pre-orders unavailable, and generally kneecapping the publisher. The New York Times reports that Amazon is also holding up backlisted titles in Germany with the Bonnier publishing house. Bloomberg notes today that Hachette is apologizing, not to Amazon but to its writers about Amazon.
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The firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times remains a riddle due to conflicting accounts of what was the last straw. Ken Auletta, the veteran media writer for The New Yorker, has written four pieces now on the issue and his latest largely throws up its hands and wonders who knows. Still, he digs into whatever he can, notably without Abramson or successor Dean Baquet in the discussion.

media notes 11.18.13

11/18/2013

For Monday, November 18, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

The unnamed NewCo financed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar has been recruiting some significant journalists: Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Dan Froomkin and Jeremy Scahill all have impressive pedigrees.

But arguably the most intriguing addition is the latest: NYU scholar Jay Rosen, one of the most successfully consistent observers of media in recent years, who wrote this weekend that he is leaving the press box for the field.

It isn't clear from his latest PressThink post if the move is a permanent departure from the academic realm. Rosen says he'll advise Omidyar as the company launches. He wants to apply the thinking in his essays to the practical world of business.

Frédéric Filloux looks at how Omidyar could/might/should invest the $250 million he suggests will be in play for the new venture. In his latest Monday Note, Filloux suggests there is money to be made in investigative journalism and that Omidyar's model will be a for-profit entity. He suggests a print version, different languages of publication, a fact-checking operation, user profiling to create verticals, a Web TV operation, newsletters, and an updating mobile service.

Emily Bell, the Tow Center chief writing for The Guardian, writes about the flurry of high-profile journalists on the move: the new Omidyar clan, Nate Silver's departure from The New York Times to ESPN, Brian Stelter from the Times to CNN, David Pogue from the Times to Yahoo, Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg and the AllThingsDigital teaparting ways with the Wall Street Journal, and so on. Far from a statement of concern by them, Bell sees the moves as healthy signs of vitality.

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When cybersecurity is an issue for journalistic organizations, it only makes sense that journalism schools start preparing students for the life ahead. Laura Kirchner, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, examines some of the early initiatives on securing content and operating with a high degree of privacy in a world of heavy surveillance.

media notes 10.21.13

10/21/2013

For Monday, October 21, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

David Carr of The New York Times looks at the arrival of tech money and ideas into journalism with the recent involvements of Pierre Omidyar, Laurene Powell Jobs, Jeff Skoll and Jeff Bezos as new journalism proprietors. Technology and journalism, once antagonists, are giving "bromance" a try, he writes. Carr also interviews Omidyar, and while there are no details of his new enterprise (that includes Glenn Greenwald, among others), there is the sense that it will aim to be general interest in nature and recognize the challenge of getting people to pay for the most serious elements of journalism.

Others have examined the role of the article in digital article --- as a means, not an end --- but Frédéric Filloux in his latest Monday Note has an extensive look at how the story serves as a gateway to knowledge in the newer environments of technological sophistication. Filloux notes the article serves as an audience concentrator, an entry point to the web's depths, and a potential promotional vehicle that will drive (with the proper separation of editorial and marketing) revenue.

This will be a big week in the drive to create a new form of press regulation, or self-regulation, in the U.K. The Guardian notes the results of two recent public opinion polls on which approaches have the most support. It appears the public wants an independent press, but also an independent form of oversight. Draft contracts on a self-regulatory system will be circulated this week, and it is unclear how many newspaper companies will sign on.

media notes 07.02.13

7/2/2013

Some media stories of note for Tuesday, July 2, 2013:

Rachel McAthy, writing for journalism.co.uk, examines the effort by Associated Press to develop safety-conscious guidelines for handling user-generated content emanating from the world's danger zones. They counsel perspective and caution in acquiring and commissioning content and extend the agency's earlier guidelines on social media.

Frédéric Filloux, in his latest Monday Note, looks at the rapid and exciting growth in data journalism. He took in last week's Global Editors Network conference and the awards to data-based projects. He concludes that the field is expanding beyond economic and social topics and that tools are becoming much more accessible for users.

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency employee who has leaked secrets about government surveillance, has issued a statement through WikiLeaks. In it he argues that the Obama administration is attempting to frighten those who demand a constitutional government. Snowden remains stateless and is attempting to identify countries where he can gain asylum.

media notes 05.13.13

5/13/2013

Media stories of note for Monday, May 13, 2013:

Bloomberg has found itself in the middle of a controversy in recent days. Its reporters are able to see some, but not vast, information about a client's use of its vaunted terminals. And a complaint was launched that suggested this access was inappropriate and infringed on privacy --- or worse, that reporters might have benefited from the access. The New York Times reported that Bloomberg journalists were trained in how to use the login activity to advance news coverage. Bloomberg's editor-in-chief today responded. Matthew Winkler indicated that, while the access was limited, it should not have happened. Policies have been changed so reporters have no more access to information than do clients.

Rick Edmonds, writing for Poynter, notes new McKinsey and Company research that indicates people spend 92 per cent of their news consumption time on legacy platforms. The research suggests 41 per cent of the time is spent with television, 35 per cent with newspapers and magazines, and 16 per cent with radio. Laptops and desktops account for four per cent, and tablets and smartphones amount to two per cent of time spent.

Frédéric Filloux, in his weekly Monday Note, examines the different strategies of The New York Times and Washington Post. The former has created a paywall, the latter is moving toward one. But Filoux notes the Times is increasingly able to develop a digital subscription model and other media firms might be able to do so because the approach is common. "It is increasingly clear that readers are more willing than we once thought to pay for content they value and enjoy," he writes.

media notes 23.04.13

4/23/2013

Some media notes for Tuesday, April 23, 2013:

Jack Shafer, writing for Reuters, defends the mistake. He notes that journalism has been making errors big and small forever, although he also observes that corrections and retractions don't happen the way they could. The difference now is the audience's ability to help correct the record and "talk back" to the press, making the second draft of history much better.

Frédéric Filoux, writing for his weekly Monday Note, wonders what the fuss is about with sponsored editorial content, also known as native advertising. He says the controversy is a "festival of fake naivety and misplaced indignation." Editorial content has often been there to flatter the advertising that surrounds it, he says. That being said, he also believes the site's editor, and not its chief revenue officer, should be the one to decide if that advertising crosses the line.

Ombudsmen often determine when the line is crossed, and the Washington Post drew criticism when it recently discontinued the role and replaced it with a readers' representative. Craig Silverman, writing for Poynter, profiles Doug Feaver and how his job will differ. Feaver came out of retirement to take the part-time role, which ostensibly answers readers of the paper and its site. His first column noted the disappearance of the Print button on the site, something that restored once he identified the complaint. But he's not there to serve as an ombudsman, he notes.

A follow-up: An amendment to legislation proposes that smaller blogs (those with fewer than 10 employees and two million pounds in revenue each year) will be exempt from the harsh penalties if they do not join the new press regulator under the royal charter governing media in the country. The Editors Weblog notes this is a welcome relief for organizations that would have been subject to the penalties originally devised for large companies.

media notes 07.03.13

3/7/2013

Three media stories of note for Thursday, March 7, 2013:

The Guardian has an excerpt of a chapter about journalism's challenges following the Leveson inquiry. The chapter's contributor is Richard Sambrook, former BBC News executive and current journalism school director at Cardiff University, He writes that, post-Leveson, journalism needs to apply a premium on transparent standards in order to rebuild trust. Rather than address standards through statute, what's needed is a shift in perspective by newspapers toward their staff and the public.

Frédéric Filloux, in his Monday Note, has a look at last week's massive Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Among what interested him: 3.2 billion mobile subscribers, great machine-to-machine growth and data growth, meaning a large opportunity for media through video streaming. He identifies a challenge in the range of screen sizes, features and operating systems.

Earlier this week freelance writer Nate Thayer took The Atlantic Online to task for asking him to rewrite free an article he'd contributed elsewhere. Matthew Ingram, writing for paidContent, notes that the episode epitomizes the changing landscape for writing --- namely, that there is plenty free writing good enough to meet the audience's expectations. He concludes that a writer's competition isn't the better product but the one that is good enough for others and is free.

media notes 18.02.13

2/18/2013

Some media stories of note for Monday, February 18, 2013:

Frederic Filloux, in his weekly Monday Note, writes about the need for a digital "new journalism" that sheds many traits of the legacy newsroom. He says traditional newspaper writing is aging badly and that new work needs to reflect four developments: readers' time budget, the trust factor with the brand, the speedier competition from within, and magazine writing elegance.

Jay Rosen, the New York University journalism scholar, talks about five shifts in media power in his latest post on Pressthink: writers ascendant on publishers, shifting scarcity of content, the economics of human presence (in conferences run by organizations, for instance), the renewed importance of voice, and the rise of niche journalism.

Andrew Beaujon of Poynter examines the most recent column from Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton, who surmises he may be the last one to hold that job at the news organization. With a newsroom in likely need of further cuts, his job is a "tempting target," Pexton concludes.

media notes 04.02.13

2/4/2013

Media stories Monday:

Google has agreed to help finance a media fund to help develop a wider presence for French media on the Internet. Reuters reports the agreement will see Google contribute 60 million euros (more than $80 million) over three years into the fund. Google was being pressed by French publishers to pay fees to list headlines and snippets in search engine results. While this deal is novel, it avoids what would have been a game-changing arrangement if the search engine were paying link-related fees. The Monday Note reports that the deal will also establish a wider relationship between Google and French publishers, parties that have mutually distrusted one another.

News organizations, ever watchful of ways to monetize online traffic, are bound to be watching Ars Technica as it brings forward a predictive platform Adweek touts can capitalize on stories about to trend aggressively. Many media have found it difficult to monetize a suddenly successful story with distinct related advertising.

The public editor of The New York Times laments the loss of talent at the news organization through its voluntary buyout program. Margaret Sullivan says it's easy to assert that employees can be replaced, harder to argue against the institutional memory and unique contributions people make.

The paid online model might not be dead yet

11/16/2008

The Monday Note suggests looking at a paid online model again in light of media business models under siege. It also suggests that many free services could afford some sort of charge for premium users, but that publishers need to devise strategies to make such models attractive.
At the moment I'm offside on that idea. True, in some cases, offering free services alongside paid ones has stimulated support for the latter by the former. But so much media content is readily available as a commodity, it is hard to gauge where a paid model might enter within the traditional journalism model. Outside that model, with all sorts of functions for a community, it is possible. But I don't see anyone, save WSJ.com, keeping its content behind a firewall --- and even WSJ.com can be found by a reasonably experienced search engine user.