the new economics of news
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The New Economics of News. Journalism Principles and Practices. Economic and Editorial Models. Impermeable paywall Leaky paywall Metered system Free, ad supported via lots of page views Free, curated network Free, value added Highly specialized, team with existing media. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Economic and Editorial Models
● Impermeable paywall● Leaky paywall● Metered system● Free, ad supported via lots of page views● Free, curated network● Free, value added● Highly specialized, team with existing media
Economic and Editorial Models, Continued
● De-facto ad agency● Hyperlocal● Social-media oriented● Community funded● One-person operation● Subscription
Impermeable Paywall
● Newsday http://www.newsday.com/● $5 week, $260 a year. Rolled out after $4
million re-design. Subscribers during first three months” 35.
● Not reached by search….at least in part the problem faced by Times Select
Leaky Paywall
● About $150 per year. ● Some is available online, and pretty much
anything can be searched for. By making available for search engines, more page views.
● WJS has seen steady growth.
Metered System
● Financial Times, read a certain amount, then pay. http://www.ft.com/home/uk
● Pretty much same in NYT. Apparently in response to 19% who said they would pay more. Easier to go after those that try to extract from other sources.
● Note that Times Select was not total failure – did generate 227K subscribers and made about $10 million, but Times recognized future was in search
Free, Rely on Revenue from Page Views
● ChicagoNow. http://www.chicagonow.com/● Big collection of bloggers. About 100.● Theory, more pages, more page views. ● Here is mix of new and old media. Brand
name? ● Curated
Two Approaches to Free Curated
Free, Curated network:
Glam http://www.glam.com/
Free, but value added:
Footballoutsiders.comhttp://footballoutsiders.com/link to paid articles, own products
Highly Specialized, Sometimes Nonprofit, Teamed with Existing Media
CircleofBlue.org
● Parallel with magazines in 1950s and 60s● Editorial mission of WSJ when founded in 1889
viewed as crazy – bring market information to people
● Nonprofit, foundations● Says it adheres to NPR, SPJ code of ethics
Highly Specialized, Sometimes Nonprofit, Teamed with Existing Media, Continued...
Propublica.org
● Stories with “moral force”● Teams with other organizations
Highly Specialized, Sometimes Nonprofit, Teamed with Existing Media, Continued...
Minnpost.com
● Political reporters● Some grant money
GlobalPost
● Phil Balboni raised $8 million, ● 70 journalists● In response to increasingly global world where global coverage
is cut● Offers membership deals
Become De-Facto Ad Agency
● Palm Beach Post. ● 40 million page views per month, profits up
with advertising partners across multiple platforms.
● Seminars
Hyperlocal
Everyblock.com
● Many cities● News within a few hundred feet● Aggregates data, including Craigslist, filters to location● Raw information, not edited
Social-Media Oriented
Fwix
● Aggregates blog postings● When cursor is over, automatically provides
options to send to friends on social media networks
One-Person Operation
http://garyvaynerchuk.com/http://tv.winelibrary.com/2011/02/08/loire-valley-malbec-tasting-episode-982/
I.F. Stone
Subscription
Thedaily.com
● 39.99 year● Apps – tactile● Hot spots – pull up what want● Integrate twitter feeds into stories● News can break into app
Possible Ideas for Future
● Government subsidy, perhaps from tax on ISPs, cable
● Not entirely new idea: remember tax subsidies, anti-trust exemptions…Ben Franklin
● Micropayments
But Will People Pay for It?
● Buy apps● Buy cable TV● Eduardo Porter – The Price of
Everythingo What we pay makes little sense – $3
for bitter coffeeo Less likely to give blood if pay for it
than give for free● Distorted prices steer value wrong way
What is the Value of News?
● Not going to denigrate blogs, but do remember that blogs have to feed on something
● News, the way we’ve come to know it, affects way we think
o Accept serendipity and learn from ito Get out of our high-volume echo chambers, which
not only feed us one view but magnify it
This is the Value of News
● Certainly opinion has its place● Some celebrate the impending death of “elitist” or
“institutional” news● Maybe some relevance, but also some value
o Attributiono Forced to seek out other views – maybe learned that
people who held them weren’t demonso Let’s not marinate in nostalgia, but recognize
considerable valueo Orchestra at full volume