Category: Smartphones

February 11, 2014 media notes: the time-shifting digital consumer, Amazon's impact, Facebook's NewsFeed algorithm

2/11/2014

Here are some media stories of note for Tuesday, February 11, 2014:

A new Nielsen report on the digital consumer suggests time-shifting and second-screen use continue to grow in the U.S. In the last year Americans on average time-shifted 13 hours monthly of television, an increase of about two hours, and their live television viewing declined nearly three hours to 134 hours monthly. Americans average four devices per household and 84 per cent said they use their tablets or smartphones while watching television. AP notes an offbeat finding: 40 per cent of those 18 to 24 use social media in the bathroom.
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The New Yorker's George Packer examines the impact of Amazon on the publishing business and on the digital marketplace. Packer chronicles the effort by Amazon to be the retailer of practically everything, including some of its industry tactics, and how its early-stage book business (now a minor element) built the leverage with personal information for Amazon to capitalize in other sectors. Packer, himself a bestselling author, is not bullish on what the company has done for its founding function.
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Journalism evolves, but it has been interesting to watch the evolution of an article in the last day about Facebook's algorithm and its impact on several viral-seeking sites, particularly the impact on Buzzfeed. Business Insider contributor Nicholas Carlson initially said the impact was dramatic on sites like Upworthy but that Buzzfeed was not particularly hurt by Facebook's changes because it regularly bought Facebook ads to support certain content. He changed that (and, to be fair, communicated he had) to give greater credit to Buzzfeed's contributors after Buzzfeed's CEO complained. In all it has been a bit of a backslide from an initial shot, something Gawker has been more than willing to chronicle.
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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 12.13.13

12/13/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Friday, December 13, 2013:

The anniversary of the Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown inevitably draws media coverage, but there are no commemorative events in the town and the media have been told to steer clear of the town. Many are abiding. Two thoughtful pieces on media practices are worth noting: Mallary Jean Tenore, writing for Images and Voices of Hope, spells out how media can improve coverage of these anniversaries, in particular by listening to the community. Tenore has written for Poynter, and Kelly McBride contributes a series of tips on how journalists can best serve the situation through sensitive, sophisticated decisions on how to attend to the issues.

New Australian research suggests a dramatic rise in online news consumption there. The latest data indicate two hours and 39 minutes are spent daily on online news sites, up from an hour and 19 minutes a year ago. The surge has much to do with consumption on tablets and smartphones.

The rampant growth of consumption via smartphones has generated a significant design challenge for news sites. Their phone-friendly looks are not necessarily desktop-friendly. Sam Kirkland, writing for Poynter, tries not to be the curmudgeon but can't help it in arguing for the train to slow down in order to preserve the desktop constituency. He doesn't find much congruence in the two design approaches, and lately the desktop old guard has been losing the tug-of-war.

media notes 11.01.13

11/1/2013

In the days ahead this blog will become more personable. My contractual arrangement in the last year with CBC, and for that matter in the two years preceding as its ombudsman, was respectful of its boundaries around journalist impartiality. At least until my next venture, I will share more of my views as part of the mix of content in the blog.

Meantime, here are some media stories of note for Friday, November 1, 2013:

The phone-hacking trial in England is in the phase of prosecutorial assertion, so in the absence of testimony, the public is hearing the extent of the case that will be waged against top editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, whom court heard yesterday were in a relationship for several years and thus were likely to have known what each other knew about the phone-hacking activities. In today's hearing, court was told that Coulson was told by a reporter he could face criminal charges if they were caught paying police for the royal phone book. Yesterday court heard that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire earned 400,000 pounds in his work to secure information for News of the World.

Governments are often not above putting their media on a short leash, and in Kenya that appears to be an imminent threat. A bill passed today in its Parliament, but which still must receive presidential approval, creates a new oversight committee that can impose fines (up to about $234,000) for violating a restrictive code of conduct and bar some journalists from working. Journalists are calling the measures draconian and an attack on free expression.

USA Today is touting significant circulation growth arising from the latest Alliance for Audited Media data. While it is clear that its audience level is high, what isn't so clear is how that compares to earlier times. That's because certain data on tablet and smartphone audiences were being tabulated but not counted toward the total, until now. Poynter's Sam Kirkland interviews USA Today publisher Larry Kramer on this, while the typically illuminating Alan Mutter examines the throttling of newspaper metrics and the decision by the Alliance to stop reporting one key data point: the revenue streams for the industry. Mutter also notes that, in some cases, newspapers are reporting those who view the content on several platforms as different readers and not as one reader across different platforms.

media notes 09.30.13

9/30/2013

For Monday, September 30, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

Margaret Sullivan, the public editor of The New York Times, examines the organization's efforts to diversify its revenues through such measures as conferences, cruises, video and experiments in advertising. She doesn't find particular fault in any of the efforts, but she does find challenges in accomplishing their goals without compromising the integrity of the operation. To that end, she simply says it's "imperative" that the Times not tarnish itself as it seeks new streams of support.

David Carr, in his latest Media Equation column for The New York Times, takes a decisively optimistic view of a proposed media shield law and new U.S. Justice Department guidelines on how it treats news organizations and journalists through investigations. Carr reports on the journalistic divide about the measures, but believes that perfection is the enemy of the good. He supports anything that puts speed bumps in the way of officials roaming around news organizations.

One of The Economist's main digital strategists says his organization is moving past the "lean forward, lean back" model of production that employs a dual focus on web and print. Instead, says Neelay Patel, it is time to think about a "touch first, mobile second" strategy that focuses on tablets and smartphones.

media notes 09.09.13

9/9/2013

For Monday, September 9, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

A major study published Sunday by the Nieman Journalism Lab examines the digital disruption of legacy media. Three Shorenstein Fellows oversaw the oral study, title Riptide, and they note the effort by established media to break through in digital with only middling successes. They interviewed 60 industry executives who acknowledge they saw the digital rise ahead but could not easily contend with it. It examines business model breakdown and the confusion about the next economic steps for journalism. Rick Edmonds, in a lengthy treatment on the study for Poynter, notes the lack of a conclusion or a sense of the near future from the study.

Facebook is introducing two new features that permit journalists a better reading on social conversations. The New York Times' Bits blog suggests this will be particularly helpful around large events, television shows and sports. It will also be helpful to marketers. The features will permit aggregation of public posts and anonymous aggregation of demographic data on private posts.

The New York Times examines the plight of AM radio. Not only has it long since lost its advantage as a platform to unveil new music (a move that forced it into talk formats mainly) but in recent years it has witnessed a diminution of its technical signal from smartphone and electronic interference. The Times looks at the quest by the lone Republican on the Federal Communications Commission to revive the signal.

media notes 08.12.13

8/12/2013

Good Monday, here are some media notes for August 12, 2013:

The ombudsman for National Public Radio has published the results of his investigation into a series on the South Dakota foster care system for native children. Edward Schumacher-Matos found serious deficiencies in the series, which had been awarded a Peabody Prize for journalistic excellence. He determined the series, which alleged that South Dakota was removing children from native homes in order to collect federal funds, did not offer proof, was inaccurate and incomplete, did not offer the state adequate opportunity to respond, and was unfair in tone. His investigation took 22 months to complete and he has produced six reports on what he concluded was a series that should not have run in its current form. NPR has, in turn, rejected the thrust of his criticism and stood by its stories.

Jay Rosen, the New York University media scholar, wonders in his latest Pressthink post whether new Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos will have the courage to challenge power and win. The Post has a history of doing so, he notes, and Bezos' moment will eventually come to test similar determination. He wonders if Bezos can do that, given that Amazon is already "enmeshed in the surveillance state" with a $600-million deal with the CIA on cloud computing. He writes: "It’s not enough to defy the government and reveal what it wants to keep secret. When you go up against the most powerful and secretive forces on the planet, you have to try to win."

The good news for the news business is that people are reading more news than ever on their tablets and smartphones. The less-good news is that people are spending less time on each visit. That's the conclusion of a new study by Localytics, a web analytics firm, which studied 100 million mobile devices and 500 applications over the last year. PandoDaily reports the data indicate people open the news apps 25 times monthly, up 39 per cent from 18 times a year earlier. But the duration of the visits decreased by 26 per cent to about 4.2 minutes daily. The study also indicates that tablets are the main device for news reading. They are used 50 times more than smartphones.

media notes 06.26.13

6/26/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, June 26, 2013:

A new study points to "news snacking," frequent but short consumption of information online. The 10000 Words site reports that the mobile syndication company , Mobiles Republic, asked more than 8,000 of its users to describe their patterns of reading. Some 75% of smartphone users and 70% of tablet users said they were checking news more than once a day. They said they are primarily (82%) looking for accuracy, but fresh and free (each at 57%) were also important. Almost all (95%) used aggregators for their news, social media is on the rise as a source, and a large number that varied by continent continued to use traditional media.

In the last week a significant dispute has developed between the South African government and the country's press ombudsman. A complaint by the government against the Sunday Times newspaper (that the paper had demonstrated bias in sharing information about an investigation with an opposition politician and a committee) was dismissed by the ombudsman, who found no bias in the newsgathering approach and no violation of the country's press code. The government is appealing the decision.

A report from the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) has found that publishers are necessarily going to have to development new products in order to increase revenue. In other words, what they have will not grow sufficiently. The INMA report identifies four key priorities: rethinking product development, taking a portfolio approach, ensuring each part of the development pipeline is attended, and reworking organizational structure.

media notes 06.07.13

6/7/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Friday, June 7, 2013:

The New York Times writes about the sudden prominence of security/surveillance of journalism blogger Glenn Greenwald, whose report late Wednesday on the secretive court order to compile Verizon phone data has sent substantial shock waves through the communities interested in privacy, journalism and politics. Greenwald himself, writing for The Guardian, followed that report Thursday with a co-written one on Prism, an NSA program that involved six large digital companies. Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, a University of Nebraska communications professor, writes for Huffington Post that it is very hard for the Obama Administration to profess a respect for freedom when it is spying on its citizens.

Last week, digital analyst Mary Meeker's annual report drew attention for a surprising statistic: smartphone owners use their phones on average 150 times a day. The reference has made it across the Web widely (half a million references to it in Google search, for instance). SFGate reports that the claim can't be supported by any data. Jeff Elder, the social media director for the San Francisco Chronicle, says Meeker's firm defends the claim but that the original source she cites has distanced itself from the claim, too.

Stuart Watson, an investigative report for a Charlotte TV station and a former Nieman fellow, debunks the myth that investigative reporting is for lone wolves. He writes in Nieman Reports that it's a collaborative, iterative process that is "inherently social and almost always derivative." Watchdogs need to work together, he says.

media notes 06.05.13

6/5/2013

A few media stories of note for Wednesday, June 5, 2013:

The World Press Trends annual report indicates newspaper circulation worldwide declined 0.9 per cent in 2012, largely due to advances (1.2%) in Asia that offset most of the losses in North America (6.6%), western Europe (5.3%) and eastern Europe (8.2%). Still, it meant more than 2.5 billion newspapers in print and half the world reading a daily newspaper, with more than $200 bilion in revenue. Moreover, when digital extensions of the paper are tallied, the content is reaching more people than ever, the report says. Advertising revenue declined 2% in the year (but 22% since 2008) and the report notes that 80% of classified advertising is now digital. The report indicates audience engagement is a key to future success.

Worldwide entertainment and media spending will continue to grow over the next five years to $2.2 trillion from $1.7 trillion, with digital and its associated consumption accounting for the most of the increases. The annual media and entertainment report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers says the rise of tablets and smartphones and the rapid growth in India, China and Brazil as vibrant media markets will lead the growth. The Los Angeles Times reports digital media will account for 43% of all media spending in the U.S. will be in digital by 2017, up from 31% in 2012.

The future of news is necessarily small. That's the view of Harvard Business School's Nicco Mele. Writing for the Nieman Reports, he says scale is elusive in the new business models and it isn't clear yet how investigative journalism will be financed in the new era. He suggests new players --- academia, entertainment firms, even industry associations --- might be keys to the financial puzzle.

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