The CEO of Google was the keynote speaker Sunday to the American Society of News Editors. Not surprisingly, Eric Schmidt had laudatory things to say to the crowd. By his estimation, more than half of the news content Google carries emanates from newspapers.
That said, Schmidt acknowledged the economics of abundance have created a problem --- not a news problem, but a business model problem. On that score, he suggests the answer will come in time, that the new devices with their mixture of subscription and advertising models, will eventually find a working model.
Schmidt said mobile is where the action is at, where the landscape is open, and where the development needs to take hold. As for customized news readers, he had an interesting point: He wants things he doesn't want or like in the mix, things that will challenge him. In other words, he wants an experience much closer to that of conventional media. Having said that, he also wants a site or a device to know much about him.
That said, Schmidt acknowledged the economics of abundance have created a problem --- not a news problem, but a business model problem. On that score, he suggests the answer will come in time, that the new devices with their mixture of subscription and advertising models, will eventually find a working model.
Schmidt said mobile is where the action is at, where the landscape is open, and where the development needs to take hold. As for customized news readers, he had an interesting point: He wants things he doesn't want or like in the mix, things that will challenge him. In other words, he wants an experience much closer to that of conventional media. Having said that, he also wants a site or a device to know much about him.
