editorsweblog.org

LAT's Wikitorial as "product-development"?

Eliot Bergson at 5W Mignon-Media café has blogged a new theory to the Los Angeles Times' wikitorial experiment. He questions LAT's op-ed page editor, Michael Kinsley's innocence in launching the idea to begin with. After so many years as an editor of a top online news site, wouldn't Kinsley have realized that the site would be immediately vandalized? Bergson thinks that Kinsley's may have pulled one over on us all, implementing the wikitorial project in order to boost LAT op-ed site traffic through "FREE product-development" via all of the coverage the experiment received. How sneaky. He concludes, "The LA Times’ “WikiScandal” is the best thing a newspaper has done this year to try and save this scandalously sclerotic industry from itself. Bravo."

Source: 5W Mignon-Media

Links to the wikitorial debate here

French think tank: "printed daily newspapers will disappear"

A report just released by a French government think tank that analyzes present situations and predicts the future of various public and private organizations paints a bleak picture for the future of the French printed press. The threat from the Internet and foreign news sources will, according to the think tank, transform all French news organizations into multimedia companies, of which only 2 or 3 will be left standing by 2011. Result: " a majority of newspapers will disappear by 2011... if nothing is done".

The report cites the need of French government aid to journals that undergo innovative reforms and that improve their public service. To further involve young readers, French government subsidies should be used to provide free temporary subscriptions for 18 year-olds. For the French media in general, the report calls for improved training for journalists, a radical reform of Agence France Presse, and a reform of news distribution.

Sources: Libération and Le Monde (in French). The 150 page report (in French) can be downloaded here (see at the bottom of the page - "lire le rapport")

Lessons learned from "wikitorials" and the "death of the editorial page"

As editors at the Los Angeles Times rethink their wiki op-ed page that came to a somewhat embarrassing halt less than two days after its launch, several pundits have chimed in with advice for future experiments, other ideas for newspaper websites and bleak prospects for the future of newspapers' editorial staff:

Advice: Having both sides of the political spectrum fight over one article about the war in Iraq got a bit messy. To fix this, Jimmy Wales, founder of the wiki, was working with LAT to split the wiki into two camps. Essentially, right and left wing sympathizers would have their own wiki to work on, avoiding the tug-of war that ensued on the solely posted wiki page.

Although news organizations should be innovative, they may be playing with fire when handing over editorial powers to their readers, some of which are surely out to vandalize. Seeing as the demise of the wikitorial came so quickly due to the posting of "inappropriate" images, Steve Outing at Poynter calls for closer surveillance of citizen photos. A newspaper's brand name can be forever tarnished by a posting of illicit content (especially photos which have a more immediate impact than text), even if that content is only online for a few minutes. To discourage negligent postings, Outing suggests requiring contributors to register, giving a real name and email address, before being allowed to post. Editors should also give a quick once over to photos before putting them up on a site.

Ideas: "Pressure to innovate + media trends that are already happening + a litlle Kinsley-esque journalistic mischief-making" (Michael Kinsley, LAT's op-ed editor is the man behind the "wikitorial") is the formula behind 6 newspaper website "prototypes" that Elizabeth Spears at MediaBistro gathered from some of her colleagues. Highlights include:

- an index or graphic showing the political leanings of an article or the newspaper in general

- improved quality of articles to better the daily lot if stories listed in the Most Emailed List, which usually tend to be "dumbed down"

- include more graphics and visuals in order to attract younger generations, who are too distracted by other media to care about reading the newspaper

Who needs an op-ed page? With the plethora of blogs floating around the Internet, Jeff Jarvis at Buzzmachine asks why newspapers even continue to employ an editorial staff. "The truth is that an editorial is just another blog post written by one person with one viewpoint. Here's a case where you can't argue that it makes a difference having a journalism degree and a newsroom." Jarvis envisions the newspaper of the future as having a larger op-ed section, but one filled with the "highest ranked opinions found on Blogdex.net." Facing the immediacy and video and animation options of the Internet, Jarvis feels that it is very old-fashioned and no longer effective for newspapers to continue printing news.

Although a proponent of newspaper innovation, Jarvis also wonders what LAT was doing creating the wiki page in the first place. Instead of the editors dictating to their readers what they feel should be discussed, wiki topics should be left to the public "to share their knowledge and viewpoints." To do this, Jarvis points out that the public doesn't need a newspaper. There are plenty of Internet forums where these types of discussions can and are already taking place.

Sources: Poynter, MediaBistro and Buzzmachine

Citizen journalism quickie: training, optimism and pessimism

So how's the citizen journalism movement shaping up? Here's a briefing:

- Freelance reporter Amy Gahran is partnering with former senior producer of ABCNews.com, A. Adam Glenn to educate citizen journalists. The initiative dubbed I, Reporter will include a blog, training program, workshops and educational materials among other features. She is currently trying to form a volunteer citizen-reporting team to report on a polemic issue in her Boulder, Colorado community. Steve Outing at Poynter backs the idea, saying that citizen reporters "need to understand why they might benefit from participating in local media. And they need advice on how to do it, and how to do it well."

- Outing praises a short video promotion of a recently launched citizen journalism site noting that it captures the essence of what citizen journalism should be: news "shared with the community by people who witnessed uncovered news events." Outing is generally optimistic about the evolving medium and hypothesizes that it will be the local, independent sites that make it work. Eventually, large media organizations will accept the movement and incorporate it into their own models.

- On the other hand, Sam Whitmore at Forbes is more pessimistic. "It all sounds great--but I predict most citizens media sites will fizzle." He cites poor literacy levels, citizens who would still "rather be pandered to as consumers than fulfill their duties as citizens" and "info-vandals" who barrage sites with illicit material. On the other hand, Whitmore feels that citizen media success will be found in sites that embrace the Ourmedia.org model, which allows free storage and bandwidth for anybody's videos, audio, photos, text or software.

The idea of citizen journalism is generally accepted as being a useful tool for the promotion of democracy and reporting of local events. As we've seen, some experiments succeed (OhmyNews) and some falter (LA Times "wikitorials"). Those looking to launch independent citizen sites have a carte blanche when deciding where they want to go with their project. But media companies looking to include citizens in their news may have to toy around with various business models before they get it right.

Sources: Poynter (I, Reporter and video), Christian Science Monitor and Forbes

Media: from the "Age of Scarcity" to the "Age of Abundance"

"Do you have more media options and outlets at your disposal today than you did 5 to 10 years ago?," asks Tech Central Station. There was a day, about the time that AOL and Time Warner joined forces, when it was predicted that the consolidation of media corporations would result in an Orwellian world where information would be surveyed and controlled by one large company. This is all but true today. "With traditional media operators and industries (books, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, CDs, etc.) experiencing rapidly declining audience share thanks to substitution by new forms of digital media (Internet, blogging, mobile devices, DVDs, video games, i-Pods, satellite radio, etc.), we can be sure that the media environment five years from now will look radically different than it does today." Many larger companies, once thought to threaten democracy, are struggling to find new business models and diversify into new media forms in order to stay alive in today's world of "information overload" in which "the question of who owns what or how much they own is irrelevant." Of course, this contradicts the vision of our last posting on the AP which was predicted to be one of the two news organizations left standing. It also opposes the apocalyptic view that many have of Google, which has overwhelmingly been declared a media company (former posting and New York Times article) and that continues to spew out innovations that make one wonder just how far it will push the media market.

Sources: Tech Central Station and New York Times

France: citizen journalism arrives

As French quality dailies experience serious circulation declines, their former public is being furnished with their own voice. In the spirit of Korea's OhmyNews, Agoravox hit the Internet on May 20. The French daily Libération describes its new competitor as "one of the first completely free European citizen journalism initiatives on a grand scale." The 150 to 200 contributors the site has already registered are essentially "blogueurs," but come from varying backgrounds, from the unemployed to company bosses. Carlo Revelli, the experiment's founder, said "We're counting on growing, finding new authors, new articles, coming from associations, local groups, and simple citizens." Registration is free and each new "journalist" has the chance to post a short biography and photo. They can then write about whatever they feel like, their article eventually being placed in the proper news category which range from politics and economics to culture and sports. Agoravox stems from the experienced French internet consulting company Cybion, of which Revelli is co-founder. He and his Cybion partner Joel de Rosnay, have adapted ideas from other citizen journalism ventures, including OhmyNews and various sites in the United States. De Rosnay declares that citizens are inventing a "true democracy of communication" with such sites. Libération closes its article abruptly, asking if these sites are to be taken seriously. Considering its loss of readership, Libération may want to follow Agoravox's story. If it catches on, it may just be the tool that newspapers can adopt to revive interest in French quality journalism and a learning experience for other countries.

Source: Libération (in French)

Diversifying a newspaper's products for profit

Rising advertising sales despite dwindling circulations has been a common occurrence in the newspaper business as of late. Last week, Paul O'Halloran, general advertising manager of the UK's Manchester Evening News (MEN), outlined his company's approach to making this seemingly backwards trend work. Poynter tells the story of how MEN diversified its product, ultimately gaining sales and advertiser satisfaction. Since November, the paper has split into morning, midday, and evening editions accompanied by a free morning paper, magazine style inserts, and an afternoon commuter focused version. On top of that, the paper's website and deals with TV and radio have made MEN's product attractive to advertisers, the very advertisers that will keep the paper afloat as O'Halloran essentially predicted the end of paid circulations: "There will be (fewer and fewer) people buying the newspapers and there won't be a revenue model there. We have to give the newspaper away for free."

Source: Poynter

Some suggestions on adapting the newsroom to new media

Blogger Jeff Jarvis is at it again, spewing his thoughts on the direction the news business is headed. In a posting on BuzzMachine, he summarizes his "three imperatives for change in newsrooms" -- reworking the way news is gathered; changing the timeframe in which news is disseminated; and adopting the "news as a conversation" technique -- and follows up with some tentative ideas on how to go about these changes, a few of which are highlighted here.

- "Editors should be compensated on total audience and audience satisfaction across all media... and for growth in the new media."

- Blogging is the tool newsrooms need to use to facilitate the conversation. Reporters can post unfinished stories along with interview transcripts for their readers to browse and comment on, ultimately resulting in a well-rounded article complete with reader participation and feedback.

- Reporters should be trained in multimedia and carry all the necessary tools with them at all times.

- Individuals in the newsroom need to work together. Forget the "print vs. online" debate and realize that the two are intertwined and will only become more integrated as new media evolves.

Source: BuzzMachine

The New York Times Company to drop 190 staff

Between it's flagship, the Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette the New York Times Company announced this week that it is to cut 190. The New York Times will feel the brunt of the decision, losing 130 employees about 24 of which will be chopped off of the newsroom staff in a 'voluntary reduction' program. However, the Times has declared that its journalistic quality will not be compromised by the cuts. A memo from the Times said, "We can tolerate a slight contraction in staffing in certain parts of the newsroom, by reorganizing and consolidating duties in a way that will not damage the paper." The Company's last major staff elimination was in 2001 when 1,200 jobs, or about 9% of the workforce were cut. This weeks losses account for under 2% of present employees. Journalism.co.uk highlights that none of the Company's online operations will be affected by the cuts. But we can only speculate that this could change come autumn when the New York Times will raise a paywall in front of some of its 'premium' columnists, predictably causing a loss in traffic and conversely, online advertising dollars.

Sources: The New York Times, journalism.co.uk

UK: local newspapers threatened by Internet

Jemima Kiss at journalism.co.uk sums up her vision of Britain's local newspaper market for Local Newspaper Week with an anecdote from last months National Union of Journalists conference. The editors Ms. Kiss met at the conference saw the Internet as a 'threat' and the medium causing their papers' circulation decline. These are the kind of editors that are inhibiting the evolution of newspapers' Websites, according to Ms. Kiss. Many communities get most of the news traditionally printed in local newspapers at their community websites; job searches, buying a house, etc. She is disappointed at local British newspapers' attempts at transferring their news to the Internet and trumpets the adoption of citizen journalism; "If (newspapers) don't move into the citizen journalism space soon, someone else will." She does admit that it will take sacrifice as advertisers will have to get used to the Internet model, "but if you can produce quality content under a recognised brand name and be really innovative and experimental with your site, eventually you should be rewarded."

Source: journalism.co.uk

News without newspapers

Jeff Jarvis blogs his preferred highlight from this week's Syndicate conference in New York, and it didn't come from a presentation. Chatting about finding the best business model to support quality journalism, media renaissance man, Doc Searls said, "You need to come up with business models that support news without newspapers." Jarvis blogs on describing how the "audience (will go) wherever it wants to go," and that advertisers will follow. Thus, newsrooms need to stop creating news and start gathering news, diffusing it "wherever, however, and whenever the community wants." It's obvious that the printed word isn't going to be able to do that, but, if it finds the right business models, newspapers could definitely play a significant role in this new media landscape.

Source: Buzzmachine

The New York Times to add bloggers to its sales staff

If you're a blogger and our last posting worried you about New York Times' site access because of the paywall planned to start in September, don't worry: the Grey Lady wants to pay you for paying them! ClickZ News has more of Martin Nisenholtz, NYT's senior vice president of digital operations, who scrapped his prepared speech for the Syndicate conference in New York to explain TimesSelect, the USD 50 a year pay model. Obviously worried that the paywall will hinder bloggers from reading certain columnists and spread the Times' brand through their snappy commentary, Nisenholtz is giving bloggers incentive to pay the subscription fee. Essentially, if you, a blogger, pay the subscription, include NYT links in your postings, and are successful at convincing your blog's readers to subscribe to TimesSelect, the Times' will throw a bit back your way. "I don't see why this would be viewed as a negative thing if it creates revenues across the blogosphere," Nisenholtz justified. I suppose come September we'll find out if bloggers are willing to pay for Dowd, Krugman, and Kristof, but we must keep in mind that the blogosphere provides 9 million opinions. Hmmm, 9 million for free versus a staff of eight for 50 dollars? With this ratio, it's rather doubtful that bloggers will be sending subscription checks so that they can then work for the Times on commission.

ps. I'm going to have to retract a statement made yesterday about Nisenholtz claiming that TimesSelect is the only pay model the Times is considering. The ClickZ article also reports that the NYT is looking into paid RSS feeds. Are they deliberately trying to diminish their traffic?

Source: ClickZ News

Advertisers continue to move to the Internet

"The couch potato has been replaced by the websurfer." That's how chief marketing officer John Hayes of American Express justifies his company's shift from TV advertising to the Internet to the Los Angeles Times. In the ten years starting in 1994, AmEx's TV ad spending plummeted from 80% of its total advertising budget to 35%. If so many advertising dollars are being pulled from television, the medium advertisers spend the most on, what does this mean for newspapers, whose advertisers have been even more notably going digital? Well, with television advertising expected to peak next year only to give way to the Internet, falling newspaper circulations frightening advertisers, and a 33% Internet ad spending increase last year, a statistic predicted to repeat itself this year, the outlook seems bleak for printed press ad revenue.

Source: Los Angeles Times

US: Papers try podcasting to attract readers/listeners

According to The Wall Street Journal, many US newspapers and magazines have started to add podcasts to their online versions. Through podcasts, amateur broadcasters can read highlights from print versions and create audio files that are then posted on newspapers’ Web sites. Interested users can then use special software to listen to automated podcasts through the musical mp3 player, Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod. Newspapers and magazines including The Denver Post, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Philadelphia Daily News, Washington Post and Forbes have started podcasts with varying degrees of programming. Some podcasts merely summarize the day’s news, while others produce a more radio-style broadcast with interviews from reporters. Podcasts are different from audio and video reports because they are meant to be downloaded and played at a later time and are not streamed over the Internet. Some publications may have jumped on the podcast bandwagon after feeling behind for not embracing weblogs quickly enough. But it is still very unclear as to whether podcasts will help newspapers attract more readers. To date, most of the podcast broadcasters have little broadcasting experience and podcasting audiences remain small.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Incentive to invest in your newspaper's website

A new survey done by Nielsen/NetRatings done for the Newspaper Association of America found on YahooNews shows only increasing numbers for newspapers' websites readerships. From February to March of this year, unique audience grew 9%, page views by 38%, pages per reader 27% ad time per reader 6%. Overall, newspaper website traffic jumped 3.1% year on year, 44 million readers, or 29% of all internet users, consulting newspapers' online versions. President of the NAA's New Media Federation, Eliza Wing, commented that these readers are usually younger, educated, ethnically diverse, and employed. "Not only do newspaper reach a vast audience (online)... these are very loyal users, connected to their local news site and to the information, including advertising that appears there. The newspaper online audience presents an enormous opportunity." The data of the Nielsen survey is not all that surprising, one example being that the number of visitors to the New York Times website exceeds its print circulation.

A separate survey conducted by Burst! Media concluded that over 60% of online users are spending "much more" to "somewhat more time" online, resulting in less time dedicated to other medium. 25% of those interviewed said that their newspaper reading had dropped by almost a third over the past year. Chuck Moran, Burst's market research manager said, "This has made it increasingly difficult for marketers to not only reach their target consumer, but also get their attention. clearly advertisers are going where the audiences are going, as spending on the Internet also continues to grow." What Moran says is true, as seen in our mini-series on advertising, and seems to be a trend that is only going to perpetuate.

Source: YahooNews (Nielsen, Burst!)

An idea for facilitating advertiser relations

In collecting advertisers, newspapers may want to combine their forces. That's the idea behind Local Media Networks and PrintAdvertising.com. Launched on May 9, Local Media Networks is an aggregated online advertising network for television stations around the US to combine their advertising resources in the face of increasing competition from Internet news sites. The nascent organization will focus on national advertising, leaving local stations to their own regional ads, but will share its revenue with these smaller stations. PrintAdvertising.com takes this idea and focuses on newspapers and magazine. A PR release for the site says that "publishers must unite" to "create new products, new ways of operating, new channels of communication," and that the only way to do this is through a "centralized, easily accessible, comprehensive system." There's no doubt that these companies can be helpful in looking for advertisers in competing with the new internet threat. But isn't a bit ironic that both organizations are based online?

Sources: TechWeb, emediawire

Wall Street Journal switch to compact update

Rafat Ali at PaidContent elaborates on the Wall Street Journal's May 8 confirmation about converting its European and Asian editions to compact. Dow Jones projects the Journal's savings at USD 17 million from 2006 but costs in 2005 for the planned October 17th switch will be more than the amount saved. One major feature of the new format is closer integration with the financial daily's website. A page in the printed journal will alert readers to articles that were published online between print editions and the two versions of the Journal will supposedly be marketed together.

A couple of questions to keep in mind:

- Most changes in format are inherently followed by changes in format. How is the Journal going to avoid this seeing as it is one of the most trusted sources for financial news on the planet?

- If this switch recaptures lagging sales outside of the States and its successful website takes more and more readers from the print edition, will we see the American version of the Journal follow in its foreign relatives' footsteps?

Source: PaidContent

Ubiquitous Google angering local papers... and entire countries

Snaking its digital tentacles into every Internet nook and cranny, Google is beginning to peeve a number of organizations. Firstly, the search engine's research on a "web accelerator" described by Poynter essentially portrays Google as the Internet's Big Brother. Already having a good idea of consumer behavior through AdSense and Gmail (previous posting), the "accelerator" would position Google between the web surfer and content, without the reader nor the distributor of the content knowing it, allowing Google to constantly track millions of online users. This alone may be frightening (or beneficial if you hook your business up with Google), but it gets worse.

- Reacting to announcements that GoogleNews will implement a new algorithm to search news sites by quality ratings (previous posting), smaller papers are in an uproar. They're scared that their news will become irrelevant as it appears that Google's definition of quality news will be major outlets. Digital Media Europe (DME) says that local media are "particularly concerned that Google is abandoning its commitment to avoiding bias" because it will begin to use human input, which is inherently biased, along with its computer editors.

- Furthermore, Dan Gillmor posts that Google may soon dominate the local movie search and review market. One of the comments points out that anyone can receive local theaters and showtimes as well as reviews on their mobile phone through Google SMS, essentially rendering local theater websites as well as newspapers' standard movie pages irrelevant.

- Local papers and theaters announcements aren't the only ones that Google could eventually erase. DME reports that in response to founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin's euro 155 million ten-year plan to digitize the libraries at Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford, 19 national European libraries, following the plea of French president Jacques Chirac, who criticized Google for being Anglo-centric, have signed a petition promoting research for a European equivalent. Seeing as Google is already everywhere, it may just be a matter of time before they buy the rights to this project as well.

Sources: Poynter, Digital Media Europe (quality news and European libraries, and Dan Gillmor

What blogging is and isn't

Cheers to Doc Searls, blogger and editor of Linux Journal among other things, for enlightening us as to what he feels is the true definition of a blog. At last week's "Les Blogs" conference in Paris, Doc accompanied his closing remarks with a PowerPoint presentation you can find here. Some highlights include, "Blogging is about writing," blogs are journals, not "sites," "content" or "media," "Blogs are by readers and writers for other readers and writers," and "Blogs inform, the don't 'deliver information.'" All in all, Searl's presentation takes a more humble approach in explaining the functions of blogging as opposed to some of the more, shall we say, revolutionary explanations that have been swimming around the Internet. Well worth checking out.

Source: Doc Searl (PowerPoint, his blog)

Advertising V: it's official, marketers are moving online

The fifth in our series of brief advertising summaries (see others here, here, here and here), TechWeb tells of a new report, "U.S. Online Marketing Forecast: 2005 to 2010." Released on May 3 by Forrester Research Inc, the study shows that almost half of U.S. advertisers plan on increasing their online ad spending, sacrificing their traditional media marketing budgets. Of the 99 firms surveyed, 84% claimed that they would spend an average of 25% more on internet advertising. By the end of this year, Internet ad revenues are predicted to hit USD 14.7 billion, a 23% increase on last year, and by 2010, this figure is expected to reach USD 26 billion, or 8% of the entire advertising market. The surveyed marketers also expressed much interest in advertising on blogs, RSS and mobile devices and voiced the common opinion that traditional means of advertising are becoming less effective.

Source: TechWeb

US: The New York Times to test charging for archives

Newspapers have been trying to figure out feasible pay models for their online sites (see previous posting) and there has been much speculation that the New York Times has been especially interested (former posting). The Wall Street Journal announces that the Grey Lady has gotten around to testing a new, two option pay model for its archives; readers can either pay USD 50 a year to access all articles from the previous 365 days or the same price for 100 articles per month from the entire Times archive back to 1851. Currently, the renowned daily charges up to USD 2.95 per archived article, most of which are blocked from free viewing after a week's time. J.P. Morgan analyst, Fred Searby said, "(The Times) know they have to shake the tree up and look at different ways to enhance revenues. It's that much more critical to get your Internet strategy right."

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Even more threats to the commuter newspaper market

Updating yesterday's posting about about waning rush-hour readers, two more portable technological menaces are set to compete with newspaper reading on public transportation, or anywhere for that matter.

Stealing younger male readers: The New York Times describes Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP), a device supposedly used primarily for games, but which also plays music and movies. It's not certain how in demand a full-length feature will be on a subway, but an Internet host of short entertaining clips, Heavy.com, has released PSP compatible clips with the hope that advertisers will eventually follow.

Stealing everybody: There has been much buzz on the Internet about Mobile TV, where consumers can watch their favorite programs on their cell phones anytime, anywhere. One article, found at telecomasia.net, says that the government of Korea is poised to issue Digital Multimedia Broadcasting licenses and that mobile phone producers have already begun to incorporate the technology in their phones. With 61.2% of respondents to a poll answering that they would prefer to watch TV on their cell phone over a PC or screens in transport, the article predicts that mobile TV will be popular, especially during events such as the World Cup or the Olympics, where viewers will be able to constantly watch the excitement instead of reading yesterday's results in the paper. Sources: New York Times, telecomasia.net

Blogging for cash: how will newspapers profit?

When Jason Calcanis, founder of Weblogs Inc., was starting his company, he learned quickly that bloggers wanted some remuneration for their efforts. "When we started last year, we found only 1 in 20 bloggers wanted to work for free for the 6 to 18 months it takes to get a blog to break even. So we started offering folks pay, and 19 out of 20 went for the deal." Now, Business 2.0 describes the next step in profit blogging being undertaken by John Battelle, formerly of Industry Standard. Battelle is working on FM (Federated Media) Publishing, an organization which he hopes will attract bloggers who have created feasible business models for their blogs. If accepted in the company, these bloggers will be helped by Battelle who will sell category-specific advertising, aggregate traffic and deal with the technical and business side of each blog. Searching for funding, Battelle says that he's not out to steal people's ideas. Each blogger will maintain ownership of his/her own site.

In related news, Loic Le Meur, chief of the blogging company Six Apart on South Africa's IOL.co.za says that blogs can bring in revenue. "Several brand names are beginning to seek out those bloggers who are influential in their fields, to pay them and get them to test products. Media see in this an opportunity for this to evolve form a brand that diffuses information, to a brand that gives its readers their say."

The question this leaves us with is how can newspapers, many of which have already begun incorporating blogs on their Websites, collect revenue through the blogosphere? Is there a viable business model? Are blogs and newspapers even compatible, or will they exist to oppose one another. And the worst case scenario, will independent blogs become successful enough to rival newspaper revenues?

Sources: Business 2.0, iol.co.za

Newspaper journalism will survive, but not the print medium

Newspaper journalism is stronger than ever. But the newspaper itself has seen better days. Adam Penenberg, assistant professor in the business and economic reporting program at New York University, writes on Wired News, "People haven't been abandoning newspapers. They have been abandoning the print medium... More people read traditonal news outlets today than ever before. But they are doing it on a screen." Penenberg points out that the many of the most visited web sites around the world are major media organizations and newspapers.

Quoted in Christian Science Monitor in an article entitled "Newspapers struggle to avoid their own obit," Penenberg is quoted also puts faith in younger readers, a demographic that many believe don't read the news, who he says are "voracious" readers. Having accustomed themselves to reading the news online, packaging it in personal ways, skipping from site to site and article to article, Penenberg echoes stats from Poynter that show that 1/3 of the 18 to 24 age group prefer to read their news online, as opposed to 10% who read a newspaper.

Another article in The Australian quotes Mike Game, COO of Fairfax Digital, who says "New media has not replaced the core attribute of newspapers, which is the ability to analyze and to provide much deeper insight." Fairfax Digital, Game explained, is also attracting young readers through its websites that printed news is failing to pick up. Nic Jones, managing director of News Interactive considers newspapers as "content manufacturers" and feels that, being a media company, they should distribute their content through whatever means necessary, including the Internet and mobile phones.

Sources: Wired News, Poynter, Christian Science Monitor, The Australian

Some more advice on Internet advertising

Updating a recent posting, some new developments in online advertising have emerged. Found on Wired News, the most promising, which, for its efficiency in targeting, will probably become the industry standard as the medium evolves, is called behavioral marketing. Already tested by the well-known Internet retailer Amazon, behavioral marketing uses the capabilities of the Internet to track an individual's Internet searches, consequently posting ads related to these searches. If newspaper websites are able to implement this ad strategy, it will more than likely be highly profitable as advertisers will be sure not only that the consumer will see their ad, but that the ad will peak their interest. Personalized ads will theoretically be welcomed by the consumer instead of being seen as a nuisance.

Then there's Google. Poynter references Robert McLaw's Longhorn Blogs which includes advertsing in RSS feeds, a feasibly profitable venture that Internet barons have been trying to work out for some time. Google has jumped on the opportunity, testing its AdSense ads in RSS feeds. If the tests are a success, RSS ads will be an extra source of income for bloggers and newspapers, and of course, Google.

As for the classified market that has been feared to be lost to the Internet, Poynter also notes that the time a classified stays on Craigslist, 30 to 45 days, is a positive thing. Some pessimistically see this as an annoyance because occasionally the classified browser will click on a product that has already been sold. But Poynter notes that this is also a positive feature because sometimes products aren't bought immediately; the longer it's posted, the longer people will see it. Anyway, it's easy to delete a classified from a Craiglist page once the product has been sold. And, let's not forget that the service is free.

Sources: Wired News, Poynter (Google, Classifieds)

How Google is affecting newspapers

A phenomenon that is becoming impossible to live without, Google has facilitated the rapid expansion of the Internet in ways no other digital entity could ever dream. It may even be safe to say that practically no one goes online without consulting the simply designed page, giggling at whatever witty costume the famous logo might be wearing depending on the day. With features such as AdWords and GoogleNews, its Internet penetration, already profound, looks only to be growing deeper. So what does Google's Internet universality mean for your newspaper?

Advertising: With news this week that Google's AdSense plans to incorporate graphics and animated features, their share of the online advertising market, already at the point of overtaking all traditional media ad revenues, is sure to increase. Another highlight of Google's ads is that they shun traditional packaged one-price ad models by charging per click and/or impression. Poynter predicts that although publishers (most of which have adopted Google's simple ad plan), may not want to include such ads on their sites, the fear of losing revenue will ultimately convince them that such ads are necessary. Invoking the Trojan Horse comparison, Poynter wonders what Google's next move is, seeing as "Publishers have let AdSense inside the gates."

Readership: Although GoogleNews still lags behind competing news sources and aggregators, its links to newspapers' online articles is good publicity for papers. Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine media pundit points out that "Without GoogleNews, (all media) would get less traffic." Others have gone so far to say that refusing GoogleNews to post your articles is suicide.

Search: What about your journalists? According to an article on U-DailyBulletin, it's safe to say that much of their research is fueled by Google. "It's difficult to imagine how journalists, students, or anyone functioned pre-search enginges." The amount of "googlers" worldwide may eventually replace the verb "to search" in every language with the verb "to Google."

Your business: Watch out! An article in the Los Angeles Times predicts that soon Google will be interested in buying your newspaper "in order to differentiate itself by offering high-quality, proprietary news." Somewhat humorously, the Times notes that the market value of Dow Jones is a steal at under USd 3 billion, a number by which "Google's value often fluctuates... in one day of trading." But that's just humor. Isn't it?

Sources: Poynter, BuzzMachine, U-Daily Bulletin, Los Angeles Times

The Content Generation's media coup d'etat

The Media Center has posted a PDF briefing about the future of news. And guess what... it predicts that large national newspapers will peter out, giving way to papers considerably reduced in size and pitched to niche interests. Other highlights include what the news business should really be asking itself about its future, a summary of how technology is going to change the news process, and the rise of citizen storytellers. Certainly this is an essential document for understanding where the Content Generation, fueled by ever evolving technology is going to take the news business.

Source: The Media Center through PaidContent

A quick summary of what's happenin' in newspaper advertising

Losing ad revenue? Where are your advertisers going? More advertisers signing up? Why are they coming to you? Here's a brief view of current trends in advertising, trends which quite possibly will become permanent characteristics of the market.

1. Large papers losing/local papers gaining: "It's not just that untargeted advertising looks old-fashioned. It's that there are increasingly viable, more finely targeted and cost-effective ways to advertise." Quoted on the New York Times (NYT), ad exec Mark DiMassimo recently saw one of his major clients pull out of the national newspaper market claiming they wanted to try a more local approach, possibly through the internet. Local advertising is targeted in a way that advertisers can more efficiently track the response, unlike the broad scope resulting from an ad in a large national paper. The numbers show that this is a trend not to be ignored. For example, Dow Jones lost 10.8% of its first quarter ad revenue from its domestic and international papers. But it's local group, Ottaway Newspapers division crept up 1.9%. The NYT Company's ad income rose a mere 0.8% but it's local divisions increased their ad share by 7.2%.

Classified market may be lost: AdAge writes that during last weeks annual conference of the Newspaper Association of America, delegates discovered that their newspapers could lose 9%, or USD 4billion, of their ad revenues by 2007 simply from the migration of classifieds to the Internet. Websites like Craigslist who have localized and provide free ads have been gradually nipping away at newspapers' classifieds. Furthermore, Luis Ubinas, an executive at a major consulting firm pointed out that, "Online is capturing all the growth," and another delegate was overheard fearing that the newspaper classified business "(will) never come back."

General Internet ad growth: A recently published report from Zenith Optimedia cited at MediaGuardian concludes that over time, the Web's share of world advertising revenue could "easily double" and that it will consistently show double-digit growth over the next three years. Next year's predicted Internet ad revenue growth was even reanalyzed, raising it to 6.5%. But newspaper advertising is still healthy according to Zenith's Adam Smith. "You have got to keep a sense of proportion - the internet is nowhere near the size of newspaper ad spend anywhere."

Google: Recently claiming it's first quarter profits shot up six times (USD 369m profit on 1.26bn in revenue) and already topping major papers' ad revenue, Google plans to expand on its share of Internet advertising. The search engine is looking to diversify from its small text-based GoogleAds by attracting bigger names with different pricing methods and animated technology.

Sources: The New York Times, AdAge, and The Guardian (Internet and Google)

Major newspapers experimenting with e-paper

As predictions of the end of the printed word run rampant, it seems that a few major dailies have been investigating into future possibilities of distributing their news. Having already been displayed at March's electronic expo in Tokyo, e-paper (electronic paper) is the latest technology of interest for newspapers, according to the French technology Website EETimes. The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun joined with the tech firm E Ink to create an electronic screen 240 by 240 centimeters designed to diffuse the paper's news. And Nicholas Sheridon, researcher at Xerox which has invented one of the three principle methods of placing an image on electronic paper, confirmed that "(The New York Times and Chicago Tribune) are looking into something about 45 to 50 centimeters long, with the possibility of download from a satellite, cellular phone, or a decoder." E-paper allows users to download various texts, from books to your daily newspaper, onto a portable, rechargeable and flexible electronic screen which diffuses images at approximately the same resolution as reading a newspaper. Russell Wilcox, president and co-founder of E Ink, said that e-paper will soon be released to the American consumer. "In my humble opinion, this technology will witness exponential growth." Newspapers may want to learn how to converge their content with this new technology for the sake of their survival. For some more information on e-paper, check out these former postings here and here.

Source: EETimes (in French)

US: two Websites for one paper? Picking washingtonpost.com's brain

Mark Glaser at Online Journalism Review recently interviewed CEO and publisher of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Caroline Little and washingtonpost.com's executive editor Jim Brady to find out where the heralded paper's web strategy is going. Here are some of the main ideas:

Splitting the website: Since the Washington Post juggles local and international news, Little and Brady are contemplating separating these domains into two separate sites pandering to their two distinct readerships. Site registration and location will determine which page is opened on the reader's computer.

No paid content: Both execs are hesitant about charging for their online material. With various search engines and blogs constantly connecting to their content, they figure that building a paywall will only be detrimental to traffic as so many other free news sites still remain.

Blogs: Although the paper has been launching a number of blogs on its site and would like to continue to do so, Brady sees a kind of contradiction in their use. He questions putting all of their blogs on one site seeing as they are so varied in subject matter.

Advertising: Both Brady and Little prioritize content. Quality content attracts readers, and readers attract advertisers.

Human vs. computer editors: For Brady, the human editor adds more value to the content. Referring to the popularity of its columns White House Briefing, Media Notes, and Today's Papers on the recently purchased Slate, "human aggregators" that WaPo employs are more valuable than their computer equivalents at Google or Yahoo.

Citizen's journalism: Although they're not ready to open their website to citizen publisher's quite yet, Brady is keeping an eye on the new medium and toying with ideas on how to implement it. If ever adopted, he says that it will be used where it makes the most sense; in hyper-local news.

Multimedia: WaPo.com has been showered with awards for its use of online images and video, but readers don't seem to know so. Presently, they are working on ways to make it more visible and easier to use, taking full advantage of the opportunities the Internet adds to journalism.

Mobile: Like most papers, WaPo is figuring out the best and most profitable way of integrating its content into mobile devices. Brady says that it's possible that news organizations will have to adapt to this evolving means of diffusing news.

Source: Online Journalism Review

Spain: El Mundo sues over "intellectual property" infringements

Following in the footsteps of Agence France Presse suing for the removal of its content from Google, the major Spanish daily El Mundo has demanded that Periodista Digital cease using its material. Periodista Digital, whose slogan is "The newspaper of newspapers," has its own staff of journalists, but also uses articles and photos from many other Spanish publications and media. El Mundo complains that without any effort, the Website has been benefiting financially through advertising by posting the work of others in a similar format to that of a daily newspaper and identical to elmundo.es. It does not simply publish fractions of other publications' work, but the entire copy, editorials, and photos. El Mundo would like to see periodistadigital.com suspended with no possibility of restarting as well as the erasure of the many issues it has published. Monetarily, El Mundo is asking for over Euro 3m in damages.

With this news, it appears that the verdict is still out: as newspaper websites and aggregators evolve together, will a paper profit more from prohibiting the use of its content by digital news collectors, or do aggregators help to spread their brand name?

Source: El Mundo (in Spanish)

OhmyNews International : "We update 24/7."

The Editors Weblog had the chance to have a question and answer session with Jean K. Min, Director of OhmyNews International which has recently opened up its citizen journalism site to the world (see previous posting). Below, Mr. Kim describes how Korea's citizen journalism sensation works, how its newsroom functions differ from those of newspapers, and where the future of the phenomenon may be headed.

1. How is it possible to edit and fact-check stories from 37,000 citizen reporters, a number that's going to continue to grow? Are your editors taught a specific strategy in order to deal with this huge amount?

The number of articles submitted from 37,000 OhmyNews citizen reporters is between 150 and 200 per day, which is barely manageable amount for our 12 dedicated copyeditors to handle with. As you see, not every citizen reporter writes story everyday though some do. However since we are receiving an increasing number of stories recently, OhmyNews plans to hire more copyeditors to cope with this increase. There is multi-step screening process until the articles appear on the main page. During the first screening stage, about 30% is rejected. Remaining 70% is given an 'Ingul' status in the first place. Among the 70% that we accepted, copy editors will select 5 to 10 stories that will appear on the upper section of the main page. They are given more extensive copyediting treatment including thumbnail pictures, eye-catching headline and layout design. Accordingly, we allocate stratified resources on the articles depending on the status each of them will be given.

2. How do you decide what is front-page material and what is "Saengnamu" (secondary news) material? Do items that are more internationally focused receive priority over more local news? Do people often access articles that are not placed on the front page? We have a clear editorial policy, which is "open progressivism." It is the overriding yardstick with which OhmyNews copyeditors will judge every story. However, even if a story fits into this principle, copyeditors will sift them according to their news value, story construction, sentences and typos. If a story does not live up to a certain quality even if it fits into our editorial principle, we still reject them or ask citizen reporters to rewrite them. We encourage citizen reporters to write stories other than usual news you will see in any news media. We ask them to be themselves and not to copy the usual formula they find in the traditional news media. That is why our readers can enjoy a variety of colorful stories from all walks of life in OhmyNews.

3. How does the OhmyNews International newsroom differ in function from that of a traditional newspaper? Did you have to invent positions to compensate for the distinct functions of citizen journalism?

Since we are an internet, OhmyNews has no deadline. We update 24/7. Sometimes, we follow a single event for as long as our readers please. That might be the most significant difference between OhmyNews and traditional media.

And unlike traditional media, we communicate with our readers and citizen reporters on a daily basis. Our editors monitor readers' comments they leave at the bottom of each article and give them instant feedback if necessary. Sometimes we make major editorial changes we deem necessary to comply with their demands. That attitude tells the fundamental difference between OhmyNews and the traditional media.

We have a separate editorial team we call "news guerilla desk" that is dedicated to handling the articles from citizen reporters, which is another major difference. One copyeditor is spending her entire work hours communicating and liaising with our top citizen reporters.

4. How has the English site launched last year been accepted around the world thus far? What is the percentage of repeat contributors to new reporters that are successful enough to have their articles published on the front page?

OhmyNews International, our English language edition, opened itself to the world last year in part as a showcase of the inner working of OhmyNews' citizen participatory journalism. I believe media pundits, industry insiders and Netizens interested in OhmyNews were able to gain a deeper understanding over our citizen participatory model.

However, with OhmyNews International, we hoped to replicate OhmyNews' success home among the global audience. Even before opening of the citizen reporter log on system two weeks ago, OhmyNews International has attracted more than 300 global citizen reporters worldwide. We aim to build a global network of up to 1000 citizen reporters by this year end.

As explained earlier, about 10 out of 150 to 200 submitted articles appear on the front page as top stories. According to our estimate, about 5,000 out of 37,000 citizen reporters are believed to be frequent contributors who write at least once a month.

5. Do you foresee a print edition at any point? Possibly a newspaper or magazine sent to subscribers with selected stories?

We've been publishing weekly print edition already since early 2002. OhmyNews weekly edition are delivered by mail to paid subscribers but available free on the street as free papers. Anyone can pick them up in one of major subway stations.

With the print edition, we believe we can expand our audience reach to include the elder group from the usual young on-line readers. And there is a unique merit of print offering as well, like pictures and liberal layout. Currently the last single page of OhmyNews weekly is dedicated to carrying an English language articles selected from OhmyNews International

6. Do you think that as OhmyNews grows and becomes more of a threat to traditional journals that one may buy out OMNI?

Internet news media in general including OhmyNews is becoming an even bigger threat to Korea's print media. Even the industry leader is undergoing a severe hardship as the bigger part of news audience do not turn to dailies at all in the morning. It is only natural that the old media has been and will try to diversify its media ownership structure to cope with this treat.

However that does not necessarily mean that they will try to acquire OhmyNews. Rather they will try to enhance multimedia offering by venturing out to internet and mobile media on their own. Currently Korean media industry-including OhmyNews- is keen to launch DMB (Digital Media Broadcasting) service via subscribers' next generation mobile handsets. Apparently the old media is also bent on picking its own piece of DMB pie.

Rupert Murdoch insists on newspaper website development

"I'm a digital immigrant. I wasn't weaned on the web, nor coddled on a computer...My two young daughters, on the other hand, will be digital natives. They'll never know a world without ubiquitous broadband internet access." Speaking at the American Society of Newspaper Editors, media baron Rupert Murdoch pushed delegates to get over their fears of the Internet and invest in their digital wings. Since Murdoch has been in the business quite a while and been, shall we say, successful, his words should not be taken lightly. Here are some of the major points of his speech.

Young people's changing habits of news consumption: Taking his cue from Merrill Brown's recent essay, Mr. Murdoch said that youth "have a different set of expectations about the kind of news they will get, including when and how they will get it, where they will get it from, and who they will get it from." Elaborating on this statement, he gave statistics demonstrating younger generations exodus from newspapers and rapid immigration to the Internet. With the expansion of broadband, Murdoch predicts this shift to the Internet to proliferate.

Involve the reader: "Too often, the question we ask is "Do we have the story?" rather than "Does anyone want the story." Murdoch feels that editors and reporters are out of touch with their readers and that the Web provides innovative tools to include them in the news process that should be taken advantage of, notably blogs and now podcasting. This can work for print as well, as Murdoch points out in one of his paper's, The Times of London, switch to compact and elimination of its broadsheet after very positive reader response to the compact.

Advertising online: "The threat of losing print advertising dollars to online media is very real." Quoting Bill Gates, Murdoch said that in five years, the Internet will attract USD 30 billion in advertising revenue. That's equals the current advertising revenue currently collected by the entire newspaper industry. The most immediate challenge, according to the News Corp CEO, is "transforming (newspapers') offline classified business into online marketplaces."

Optimism (even for print!): "Success in the online world will, I think, beget greater success in the printed medium." "By meeting the challenges I've raised, I'm confident we will not only improve our chances for success in the online world but, as importantly, improve our actual printed newspapers."

Source: News Corp

South Korea/World: OhmyNews goes completely global

"Welcome to the revolution in the culture of news production, distribution, and consumption. Say bye bye to the backwards newspaper culture of the 20th century." So opens your invitation to the world of citizen journalism gone global, courtesy of Korea's OhmyNews. Barely past its fifth birthday, OhmyNews boasts more than 37,000 citizen reporters who are paid according to the relevance of the stories they write. Continuing its expansion from last years launching of its English version, the virtual newspaper where "Every citizen is a reporter," has started a citizen reporter login system where anyone around the world with an internet connection can participate. By logging in, every reporter will open his/her own account, will be able to read comments to their stories in real time, and will also be able to see how much money their stories have earned. Stories will be edited, however, and the invitation apologizes in advance for not being able to include everyone's story all of the time. The OhmyNews team is especially searching citizen reporters from Africa and the Middle East and plans on establishing a system of payment where readers can send money to reporters if they are impressed by their stories. If you're interested to learn more, the invitation from OhmyNews International's Director, Jean K. Min includes an FAQ and a PowerPoint slide show. Happy reporting!

Source: dotJournalism

US: Visuals becoming more important in the tabloid era

Online Journalism Review recently interviewed Robb Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times news design editor and founder of the website Visual Editors. "As more newspapers convert from broadsheet to tabloid, journalists are going to have to talk more often about visuals too," said Montgomery, who began his website last year as a forum for discussions about newspaper design as well as numerous other topics in journalism. In its short existence, 1,500 members have signed on to Visual Editors and have posted more than 10,000 articles. Members post graphics and receive criticism and feedback from other members. "We're bringing to the forefront in a very public way the kind of conversations you might have just a couple of times a year in your own newsroom, or once a year at a conference." Montgomery feels that demand for visual content in print is rising, especially when trying to attract young readers and encourages reporters to use visuals when selling their articles. Join the discussion and add your own graphic at Visual Editors.

Source: Online Journalism Review

US & France: further circulation woes vs. online importance

Editor and Publisher reports that financial firms Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs have released their expectations for this spring's American newspaper circulations. Conclusion: not good. Referring to the State's Audit Bureau of Circulation, Merrill's latest report declared "March ABC figures likely to be ugly," more than likely surpassing the 1% loss margin. Goldman went even further, predicting a more that 2% decline. Although advertising revenue is still growing, expected at 4% in 2005, circulation is showing no signs of a reversal. Online advertising is predicted to see double-digit increases, but, "Unfortunately, this only represents 3-5% of revenues."

Across the pond, it's safe to say that French daily circulation is facing a similar if not worse crisis than their American counterparts. An article on Liberation.fr tells of how some papers are trying to save some revenue online. A few French papers, notably les Echos and le Parisien, charge for their websites, but have not been too successful. Jean-Paul Mulot, director of Figaro.fr, a French daily's website, feels that "If (readers) have to pay, everyone will go to Google." Monsieur Mulot also feels that it is important for young people to be able to consult a newspapers website and that if they had to pay for online information, they would never buy the paper. Bruno Patino, director of lemonde.fr says that if his paper got rid of its website in an attempt to increase circulation, people wouldn't buy Le Monde; they'd simply go visit other dailies‚ websites. However, the French have discovered that people will pay for specialized news, such as financial info or sports statistics. Although no French paper has even come close to approaching the Internet readership of the Wall Street Journal, it has been used as a model when French dailies have transformed certain aspects of their website into paid pages.

Sources: Editor and Publisher and Libération

Spain: newspaper circulation up from last year

Gaceta de Prensa reports that the organization, Informacion y Control de Publicaciones, which surveys 840 publications and 151 news websites, has concluded that average Spanish daily circulation grew by 20,000 copies distributing over two billion papers. Revenues also increased by 5%. The rise of Spanish free papers caused a division of the organization, Publicaciones Gratuitas Ejemplares Distribuibles, to announce that they are now surveying more than 150 publications plus 25 others that aren't yet members of the organization including the popular free dailies, Metro, 20 Minutos and Que!. The 151 news websites received more than 31 billion page hits from 217 million unique readers.

Source: Gaceta de Prensa

Some info on "Factory-style reporting," adept bloggers, and the survival of "old media"

We all know that "New Media," as the digital whirlwind of blogs, Wikis, podcasts and other such technologies is generalized under, is having significant effects on traditional journalism. But what do current events mean for the future of journalism as these media evolve? Will they grow to further rival "old media" or will the two become inseparably intertwined? Here are some predictions about what's to come:

Not intending to sound pessimist, but let's start with some less than stellar news about "old media." In the UK‚s Press Gazette (print version), Nick Davies, former British Press Awards Reporter of the Year and weathered Guardian journalist, warns of the death of skilled reporting due to "Factory-style news." Instead of digging deep, knocking on doors, and asking the right questions (building a story from scratch), Davies says that most of today's reporters are skipping the interview and investigative processes entirely and simply re-writing press releases ("writing" pre-fabricated news, similar to a product that comes from a factory). This results in what Davies sees a suffering newsroom: "There are some national newspapers that are quite scary in that they've got reporters working for them who have been taught how to do their jobs in the wrong way. There are also now middle-ranking executives who don't really know what reporting is about."

If the quality of reporters continues to wither, it could spur a further rise in the popularity of bloggers. An article from Knowledge@Wharton discusses the current theory that blogging could one day replace traditional journalism. Legal Studies professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Dan Hunter, after studying the Apple vs. Bloggers case, concluded that this will depend on how skillful the bloggers become. As of now, Hunter feels that some blogs are just as good as well-respected op-ed pages. But he doubts that blogs will become a legitimate substitute for investigative journalism seeing a future balance between breaking news and
watchdogging bloggers and professional investigative journalists taking leads from bloggers.

This m?lange of "New" and "Old" media could help to further define the difference between the two, according to Australian novelist and blogger Sophie Masson on On Line Opinion. Ms. Masson sees "New Media" as opening a niche for traditional journalism, a niche which at one time it filled: objective reporting. The current trend towards opinionated journalism only blurs the line between old and new and is something with which, in the face of millions of opinionated blogs, traditional journalism will not be able to compete for long. Remarking that many people have lost trust in traditional media due to their opinionated tinge, Masson says "Good feature writing and investigative reporting as well as straight reporting are the huge advantages the 'old' media still have over 'new' media; and before it's too late, those ideals should be restored."

Sources: Press Gazette (print edition), Knowledge@Wharton (registration required), On Line Opinion

Google News creator at the 12th World Editors Forum

Is Google News a threat to newspapers? It is a question that editors from around the world can ask the creator of Google News, Krishna Bharat, when he takes the podium at the 12th World Editors Forum in Seoul, Korea, on 30 May 2005. Mr Bharat, a Principal Scientist at Google Inc. and head of Google's Research & Development Centre in Bangalore, India, will be a keynote speaker in a session on "New frontiers for journalism" at the Forum, the global meeting of senior news executives to be held from 29 May to 1 June concurrently with the World Newspaper Congress.

Mr Bharat describes Google News as "a computer-generated newspaper that unifies news from online newspapers worldwide with an emphasis on diversity and balance." It is a continuously updated news site that allows users to search and browse 4,500 news sources. Mr Bharat says people use Google News in addition to their usual news sources.

"Google News' focus is on diversity, and that's where the real added value is," he said in a recent interview. "It's a bit like a bookstore that takes content on a single subject and puts it all on the same shelf. People use Google News to complement their favourite source, like CNN. You come to Google News when you want a wide range of articles -- in both opinions and style -- on that subject."

Mr Bharat will share the stage with Dan Gillmor, author of "We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People", who is developing a citizen-generated, grassroots journalism project.

Mr Gillmor, a noted technology columnist and "blogger", has frequently commented on the rise of Google News, and takes exception to the contention that the automated nature of Google News makes it free of bias. "Since humans programmed the computers, human biases -- or at least mistakes -- inevitably creep into the results," he says.

The debate begins.

The 12th World Editors Forum, 58th World Newspaper Congress and Info Services Expo 2005 are the global meetings of the world's press, drawing more than 1,000 newspaper executives to a unique annual gathering organised by the World Association of Newspapers.

For the evolving conference programme, a participants list and other information, consult the WAN web site at http://www.wan-press.org/seoul2005

Other highlights of the WEF conference include:

- An examination of "Tabloid Fever: Is the temperature going down?" with Jan-Eric Peters, Editor of Germany's Die Welt, Welt Kompakt and Berliner Morgenpost, newspaper designer Mario Garcia, Didier Pillet, the Editor of Ouest France, Robb Montgomery, Visual Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, and George Brock, Saturday Editor of The Times of London.

- A session entitled "What makes Asian newspapers different?", featuring Asian success stories from Vir Sanghvi, Editorial Director of The Hindustan Times in India; Keiko Chino, Senior Editorial Writer for the Sankei Shimbun in Japan; and Sang-Seok Lee, Executive Director of The Korea Times. The session will be chaired by Andrew Lynch, Editorial Director of the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project for the World Association of Newspapers and founder of the pan-Asian newspaper trade magazine, Asian Newspaper Focus.

- A session on infographics and visual journalism featuring Alberto Cairo, the Infographics editor at El Mundo in Spain, Jeff Goertzen, the Infographics Editor at the St. Petersburg Times in the United States, Peter Espina, the Infographics Editor of the China Daily, and Katie Ratcliffe, the Asia Pacific Manager for Graphics for Agence France-Presse.

- A session on using editorial networks to expand news coverage efficiently, with Miguel Angel Basteiner, International Affairs Director of El Pais, Spain, and Director of the Le Monde/El Pais/La Repubblica network, Risto Uimonen, Editor of Kaleva in Finland, and Imtiaz Alam, General Secretary of the South Asian Free Media Association.

- A discussion of the "citizen journalist" movement, with panelists Barry Sussman, Director of the Nieman Watchdog Project, Joichi Ito, CEO of Japan's Neoteny, and Andrew Nachison, Director of the US-based Media Center.

- A look at "new legal dangers: privacy issues and sports rights" with Kai Diekmann, Editor of Bild in Germany, Ko Yamaguchi, Advisor for International Affairs for Japan's Kyodo News Service, Monique Villa, Senior Vice President for Reuters, and Ari Valjakka, Editor of Finland's Turun Sanomat.

- And many others.

The Paris-based WEF is the organisation of the World Association of Newspapers that represents senior news executives. WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 101 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communication. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr

Citizens journalism: "The editing is the fun part"

Want to know who's running for mayor? Where to buy a house on the ski slopes? How 'bout the best place to grab a burger and a beer? Information like this is all provided in Jonathan Weber's new citizens journalism project for the US's Rocky Mountain region, NewWest.net. Weber, former editor in chief of the online tech magazine The Industry Standard, launched the site in February opening up Rocky Mountain news to the region's population who discuss topics from regional business and politics to cultural and outdoor events. Based in Missoula, Montana, the site has so far branched out into local participatory pages for two other major cities, Boulder, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Northern Idaho region. Weber recently answered five questions for the Editors Weblog to help us better understand how he is including everyday people in his news site and where he sees the future of citizens journalism going.

1. What are Newwest's main uses for the community? Are readers tending to stick to their own community sites or are they curious as to what's going on in other Rocky Mountain towns as well?

In general peoples' interests tend to be local. But the communities of the Rocky Mountain West have a lot in common, they are facing very similar sets of issues and their residents tend to have very similar demographic and psychographic profiles. So we think there is a larger community here that people want to be engaged with, and we're providing a means of doing that.

2. Are you readers regular contributors, or are most of the postings done by your staff of journalists?

It's a mix. Our full-time editorial staff is tiny (2 people) but we have a number of contributors on contracts of various kinds (currently around 8 people). On top of that we have a growing number of readers and others who are contributing. It's a mix of professional journalists, aspiring journalists, and people who just like to write.

3. Do you feel that you are still in the nascent stages of participatory journalism? Where do yo see the future of the medium going? Do you see innovations like citizens journalism as permanently moving the enitre news industry online, or will there always be room for print?

We're very much in the nascent stages. Nobody knows yet how to build this new kind of media and these new methods of practicing journalism. I do think that a lot of what online & blogs have brought to the conversation -
participation, linking, immediacy, point of view - will become permanent fixtures of how journalism is done in the future. There will always be room for print, but print will occupy a smaller part of the media universe. Old
media don't die, they just become less powerful.

4. Do you have relations with regional newspapers? What has been their reaction to Newwest? Could you describe your plans to launch a print version of Newwest next year?

The newspapers seem wary of us, especially the local paper here in Missoula. We don't currently have relationships with regional newspapers though we may
in the future. We plan to launch a monthly print magazine next year, a more-or-less traditional regional magazine. We also may do some smaller, experimental
things in print before then.

5. How does your job as editor-in-chief at Newwest differ from the work of a traditional editor? Are citizens also playing the role of editor? If so, have they been effective?

There's a lot of creative thinking involved because we don't have set formulas to guide us. It's not always easy to know how to treat contributors' pieces; if you don't know the person you might not know how reliable the reporting is, for example. Or what if you like the subject but don't like the tone, or disagree with the point of view? We want to be open to many voices and approaches, but we also want to uphold quality standards. So there are a lot of novel decisions to make.
On top of that I'm also founder and CEO, and there are tons of things you have to do in starting a new media operation that are well outside the realm of what an editor would normally do. Everything from raising money to hiring accountants to buying insurance. The editing is the fun part.

Newspapers' Websites increasing ad revenue but Craigslist has rendered their classifieds stagnant

According to Editor & Publisher, newspaper Websites took in USD 1.19 billion in 2004, a number which is expected to increase to USD 1.52 billion this year. This growth is expected to come mostly from local advertisers who are forecasted to increase their online spending by 46%. Although online newspaper advertising still only accounted for 3% of newspaper revenues, it made up 45% of papers' total advertising growth. About 70% of online ad revenues came from classifieds, an impressive figure, but one that did not change from 2003 statistics. This is where newspapers may want to start worrying. In a related article, Poynter reports that Craigslist page-views have exploded to 2 billion a month. Considering that it was only last August that Craigslist page-views crossed the 1 billion threshold, it's safe to say that the 100 city site is now, and will remain, a serious rival to newspaper classified and overall revenue. For some advice on how to compete with the classified superpower, see our former posting about eMarketplaceXpress and review Classified Intelligence's report, "Competing With Craig." Good luck.

Sources: Editor & Publisher and Poynter

Financially modest ideas for saving the newspaper

Milking the newspaper cash cow until she runs dry, the business interests behind huge media corporations are simultaneously sharpening the butcher's knife for her slaughter. Although circulation is declining which, along with rising prices, will eventually cause advertisers to start pulling out, media moguls are reveling in incredible profits, too blindly drunk in their financial success to plan for the future. Some sober journalism specialists have several ideas on how to reverse the process.

Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina, Philip Meyer sees a noble journalistic cycle that will eventually lead to profits. In "Saving Journalism," his article on Columbia Journalism Review, he describes how quality journalism attracts readers and advertisers. Papers that emphasize credibility, accuracy, easy reading, and an excellent staff fare better than those who don't. By not providing these four points, Meyer says that papers will undermine their business models.

Grassroots journalism champion Dan Gillmor is working on ways to involve the audience in the news process. He feels that people will pay for quality journalism but that young readers are changing everything, thus requiring those in journalism "to innovate on new forms and delivery mechanisms as well as the journalism itself."

Jay Rosen, journalism professor at New York University, says on PressThink "Getting newspaper journalism across the divide means a big investment now in the Net and its emerging forms." He calls for research and development and the retraining of newsroom staffs.

These sound like good and logical ideas. But are media companies heeding their advice? An article in American Journalism Review suggests that The Washington Post is trying to reverse its circulation decline along the lines of Meyer's suggestions. Its editors feel that the Post has always provided quality news which has helped it establish a sound advertising base, but that the paper was too "fluffy," meaning its articles dragged on to the frustration of the reader. The article reports that the Post is "trying to create a more compelling and accessible paper," with shorter articles and more appealing pictures and graphics as well as revamping the front page. However, this sounds suspiciously like a format change that will eventually change the quality of journalism and cause a loss of advertisers.

Apart from several papers in the US and Korea's OhMyNews marvel, citizens journalism is being ignored by large national papers. Sure, they've established blogs and provided methods of reacting to articles, but have newspapers really embraced these tools? It seems that they are simply there. How often do columnists refer to their reader comments, use information provided by their readers, or even read reader responses? On the other hand, although blogs and other citizens journalism tools are becoming more popular as a source of information, Gillmor rejects the idea that they have the legitimacy to replace traditional journalism. But as their popularity grows and their influence becomes more noted, newspapers will have to find better ways of really including readers, turning the news into the conversation that Gillmor foresees.

As for websites, it is generally agreed that newspapers have poorly adapted themselves to the net (see former posting). Rosen is especially appalled, not only at this fact, but the fact that newspaper companies are cutting their online budgets even as online advertising is booming and millions are shunning print to read their news on the Internet. Instead of simply republishing their printed news online, papers need to find innovative ways to diversify their products, capitalizing on the capabilities the Net offers.

Obviously all of these ideas, along with the fact that advertisers remain hesitant about online advertising, will result in immediate profit loss. But advertisers are starting to catch on and internet advertising is increasing significantly and classified ads are already dominated by the Internet. Media moguls must be weaned off of the cash cow and buck up and invest in online development if they are to survive. By doing this, the profits will eventually come rolling back in.

Sources: Dan Gillmor, Columbia Journalism Review, PressThink, American Journalism Review

Aggregators: traffic blessing or copyright curse?

The news industry has mixed opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of aggregators according to the Wall Street Journal Online through Excite. Some editors enjoy the traffic that their site receives when their stories show up high on the list of headlines. Others are perturbed by their lower positions. And in a practice that some in the industry believe will be common place, a few newspapers simply pay for aggregators to give their articles priority, such as the New York Times did with Topix.net. This past week's two aggregator related events, the Topix.net deal and AFP's legal action against Google, whose consequences won't be know for some time highlight the dilemma that editors are facing. AFP demanded that Google remove its content from its GoogleNews site on charges of copyright infringement. Some in the industry scoffed, dismissing AFP to the nut house for canceling the free press and traffic its brand name gets through Google. But this is nothing new as others, notably Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest paper, have also refused Google permission to reprint its material. On the other hand, the Topix.net deal, in which three major newspaper companies - Gannett Co., Knight-Ridder Inc., and Tribune Co., each bought a 25% stake in the high-traffic news consolidator, hints that publishers see aggregators as boosting hits on their own site and spreading their brand recognition. What will be the final verdict?

We can't be sure yet. But we may be able to make a pretty good prediction simply from this posting. My source for this posting is the Wall Street Journal, one of the very few pay-for newspaper websites in the world, a publication which has been documented as being ignored as an online reference strictly because of its pay-model, yet a news site to which I am not a subscriber. So how did I read the article? I'm only assuming I've been able to access sacred WSJ content because the Dow Jones Co., publisher of the WSJ, has a deal with Excite which allows it to let a free article slip out from time to time. Considering this, my guess is that most newspapers will keep themselves open to aggregators, or else risk suffocation at the digital hands of those who do.

Source: The Wall Street Journal Online through Excite.

Winning back classified revenue

On Editor and Publisher: A new website called eMarketplaceXpress which targets eBay and Craigslist's rapidly growing share of classified advertisements has been launched by Vancouver based CityXpress. Users will be able to place a photo and up to 2,000 characters for free. Revenue is expected to be gathered through ad-ons such as extra pictures and special features like priority listings. CityXpress will take a 5-9% cut of sales to newspapers who will pay a monthly fee depending on the number of listings and volume on the website.

Source: Editor and Publisher

France: Le Monde capitalizes on Internet opportunities

LeMonde.fr has revamped its ten year old website, changing its presentation, content, and facilitating site navigation. Less than a quarter of the digital publication will be the same articles that are published in the print edition. Breaking news will be available to everyone and subscribers will be offered additional content and services. All webpages have been redesigned to take full advantage of online features such as video, blogs, search, and interactivity. Reading the online edition will also flow more smoothly as links to related articles and breaking news will be posted at the end of all articles, thus avoiding the "back" button. Le Monde will also syndicate its site with RSS.

Source: Le Monde

US: another dismal report of newspaper performance

The State of the News Media, an annual report published by the Project for Excellence in Journalism which is affiliated with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, paints a bleak picture of the state of American newspapers. Expectations of big gains in the wake of an industry recession proved to be wishful thinking as circulation continued dropping, advertising was up minimally, and investors lost more confidence. Here are four main points about the American newspaper business taken from the report. Don’t worry. It’s not all bad news

1. Circulation: Last year’s report opened with “Newspaper circulation is in decline,” a phrase which the industry hoped to turn around this year. But despite the success of a few newspaper companies and individual papers in improving circulation, the industry as a whole lost almost 1% of of its daily and 1.5% of its Sunday circulation. Gannett, the industry leader, declared losses of 2% apart from its banner paper, USA Today. The sustained decline was not helped by the circulation scandals that surfaced over the summer of 2004, resulting in exaggerated figures of almost 250,000 readers.

2. Advertising: Although newspaper advertisements gained almost 4% through September 2004, this percentage did not appease analysts who had expected more of an improvement and whose predictions for future advertising gains are dim. Although help-wanted classifieds improved a bit, the report concluded that newspapers have more than likely permanently lost their classified revenues to online providers. On a much brighter note, advertising on newspaper websites grew between 30 and 60% and although they still account for a small amount of newspapers? revenues, are expected to keep growing. Niche papers are also attracting advertisers.

3. Online: ?The capability of people to get what they want when they want it, and to manipulate it, edit it and seek more depth, could bring a needed revival to journalism.? But despite this optimistic outlook and impressive growth figures, newspapers are still failing to capitalize on the interactive information opportunities the Internet offers, simply rehashing news from the print version on the website. On the other hand, they seem to be adjusting to posting breaking news online and newspapers in general seem to be more tied to the type of website their company produces.

4. Niche papers: Youth and ethnic, especially Spanish-language papers, were all the rage in 2004 according to the report. The number of Spanish-language papers in 2003 jumped to a total of 666, up 14 from the previous year. Circulation of these papers has risen steadily over the past four years and despite last year?s circulation scandals which affected one of the primary Spanish-language publications, is expected to continue this growth. Newspaper companies have started to diversify in attracting their future readership, launching popular free papers aimed primarily at youth. Although there are no concrete statistics to date, these papers have so far proved popular and appear to continue expanding.

All in all, the State of the News Media concluded that of the various types of media, newspapers still provide the most quality content, impartiality, most varied sources, and most thorough investigation. One would assume that this fact, combined with last year?s 20% profit margins for major newspaper companies would logically imply huge increases in circulation and advertising. Does the continually poor performance of these revenue streams mean that newspaper companies will simply ride the current profit wave for what it?s presently worth, eventually abandoning their publications for lack of money or worse, lack of interest? Have publishers already secretly conceded that forecasts of their papers? ultimate and permanent demise are true? Will they diversify into other medium, leaving their papers to the Google and Craiglist dogs or will they use their profits for research and development purposes in order to save their sinking flagships?

Source: Journalism.org

Too late for newspapers to charge for their websites?

"We're in the midst of a long and painful transition," worries Colby Atwood, vice president of the media research company Borrell Associates Inc., commenting on the fact that major American newspapers now have bigger online readerships than their print editions. Katharine Q. Seelye writes in The New York Times that what publishers regret the most about the switch to digital news, apart from its heist of print readers, is that the grand majority of it is free to the reader, a tradition they themselves started at the dawn of the internet news age ten years ago, and one that may now be impossible to change. Rumors that the New York Times has been considering charging for its website have caused a stir, those in favor arguing that quality content deserves respect with paid access by readers, those against arguing that the internet has transformed access to information into a kind of born right. Here are three points in support of the latter:

1. Attracting and sustaining readership: Free online news, now more popular than print in most cases, is not only an alternative source for regular readers fed up with paying rising subscription prices and hauling piles of papers to the recycling bin, but is also a great way to maintain and increase clientele in the future through exploiting the habits of younger generations. Let's face it, younger readers are so accustomed to and adept at using the internet and so enjoy its interactivity, that they just really don't need print anymore, and unless we find the Fountain of Youth in the next few years, habitual newspaper readers will soon be gone. Between the success of free papers and the internet, which youth expect to be free, the newspaper readers of the future simply won't accept a pay model.

2. Advertising: Internet advertising is booming. Some studies show a 40% jump from last year. Although it still only accounts for roughly two to three percent of newspaper revenue, it is publishing companies' fastest growing revenue source and will continue to grow, as long as newspapers keep their websites free. Online ads not only provide advertisers with more innovative ways to push their wares than static print pages, but most importantly provide immediate demographic feedback something that can't be equaled in other medium. Charging for websites can handicap advertising revenue, as proven in the case of the Wall Street Journal, the only major American newspaper to charge subscription fees for its online content. The Journal recently bought the free financial site MarketWatch, primarily to give its advertisers more online visibility.

3. It's simply too late: The outlook for paid daily news is not good, especially now in the nascent stages of citizens journalism and the increasing push for free archives. Newspapers make a good point in saying that their quality product should be paid for, but there are so many alternative free sources of news that switching to a paid online business model could be financially devastating for newspapers, as readers will certainly start reading their news on Google or Yahoo. Take the example that Ms. Seelye uses of a 100,000 circulation Washington state newspaper whose switch to paid content not only abruptly halted a steady 40% yearly rise in traffic, but actually caused online readership to drop by 5% in a year. Of course, ten years ago, at the dawn of the internet news era, newspapers effectively signed their own pay-model death wish by putting the same content that was in their print editions online for free.

But on a positive note, this brave idea has greatly facilitated the evolution of the internet, the "free"dom of information, and has in fact made newspapers more visible. Chances are, if papers had begun charging for online content back in the day, declines in print sales would have continued and millions of people, especially youth, who were beginning to spend more time online would not have begun to read their papers. The challenge that newspapers now face is not how to increase revenues directly from the pockets of their online readers, but how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the internet in order to attract more readers to their digital news pages adorned with demographically specified advertising.

Source: The New York Times

The Vanishing Newspaper Webcast

The Media Center held a webcast last week based on the book "The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age," by Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The webcast's 5 member panel, headed by Buzzmachine's Jeff Jarvis, discussed topics such as the future of the newspaper and journalism's role in the world. Some conclusions were that newspapers have so far failed to adapt themselves online and that they'll be extinct by 2040. The entire audio of the webcast is online at The Media Center's website. If you prefer a shorter summary, read the Toronto Star's coverage of the online event, which you can find on the webcast's blog. Also on the blog is an interesting post-webcast reflection by Stefan Dill, part of the panel and web editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican: "My idea of a future newsroom is where you'll have hard-core investigative researchers, then writer/editors who take this information and blog about it, drawing connections and context from other reporters' notes they are receiving, along with reader feedback content and whatever else is out there in the blogosphere." But don't try to read the reactions from the listeners on the blog. There are too many and they are too disjointed to make much sense.

Source: The Media Center

Some main points from Harvard's "Whose News" symposium

About thirty media heavy-hitters gathered at last week's "Whose News" symposium hosted by the Neiman Foundation for Journalism and The Media Center, to discuss the future of news media, the changing relationships between media and society, and technology's effect on news and information. Here are a few of the principle ideas:

1. Journalism: What we should have (create), what should last (survive), and what should die (change): lists of suggestions for these three questions are posted on the symposium's blog. They range from RSSing everything to changing the focus of news from big corporations to grassroots journalism.

2. Education: When it comes to the internet, professional journalists are not sufficiently nor properly trained. Jay Rosen, journalism professor at New York University and PressThink blogger feels that there is a "huge gap between what most journalists know about the Web and what's actually happening on the Web." Furthermore, Brian Reich, Director of Mindshare Interactive Campaigns L.L.C. calls for more journalist training of younger generations.

3. The future of content: Rebecca MacKinnon of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard says that in the future, "It's not the question whether mainstream journalism survives. It's whether journalism survives. The MSM (mainstream media) are doing more audience-pleasing content and are less concerned about doing the work of the public good. We need to look at the business model issues. If you're working for a corporation that is most concerned about short-term business interests, can you do good journalism? " Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin feels that the media is not delivering enough value and could be taking more advantage of the resources of the newsroom to deliver that value.

4. The future of the media business: On his blog, David Weinberger, blogger and a fellow at The Berman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard and author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined, posted the general consensus of the participants of the symposium who saw the future of the media dictated by citizens reporters who will "be integrated into the 'ecosystem'" while the media becomes an aggregator of information. Jeff Jarvis summed this consensus up into three words: trust, transparency, conversation. On his blog buzzmachine, Jarvis also said that, " Instead of being the gatekeepers of news (controlling it), we (the media) become the enablers of news."

The Editors Weblog may not have been kicking around the Crimson campus last week, but from reading the symposium minutes and reactions, it doesn't appear that anything significant was accomplished apart from a bunch of jumbled ideas being spewed out by the experts. Halley Suitt, writer, blogger and symposium participant complained on her blog that the overabundance of thinking and the lack of action had her "climbing the walls." She also smirked at the irony of having an "editor" (monitor) deciding who could talk and when, at a conference discussing the freedom of conversation that blogging permits. Most blogs, even that of the symposium, simply list a quote or two from the invited "elite" without providing any substance or debate. Next time, if it is at all possible in this somewhat incipient conversation about the future of the media, we would like to see some more concrete direction added to the discussion.

Sources: buzzmachine, The Media Center, Joho the Blog (Weinberger), Halley's Comment, Susan Mernit's blog

'Blogger fear' in Apple leak case

According to BBC news, "Three blogs which published sensitive information about upcoming Apple products could be made to disclose where the leaks came from. A California judge said in a preliminary ruling that bloggers should not have the same protection afforded to journalists under US law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), representing the sites, said it was disappointed with the ruling. The case's outcome could be far-reaching for bloggers and writers. Given that so many journalists correspond with their sources via e-mail, this would severely undermine those journalists' abilities to guarantee their sources any kind of confidentiality."

"The tentative ruling serves as an early indication of which way the court is leaning and is not the final ruling, Annalee Newitz, EFF policy analyst, told the BBC News website. "What's at stake here is whether online and independent journalists will be granted the same rights as ones from traditional media," Ms Newitz said.

She added that if the court's final decision stood, it would mean net service providers would be obliged to hand over bloggers' details in future legal cases.

"Given that so many journalists correspond with their sources via e-mail, this would severely undermine those journalists' abilities to guarantee their sources any kind of confidentiality," she said.

Over four months, Apple has filed against PowerPage, Apple Insider and Think Secret to find out how the websites obtained details of unreleased products, code-named Asteroid and Q97.

The EFF argued that those writing for blogs, websites which increasingly act as "unofficial" news sources, should get the same First Amendment and California Shield Law protection as journalists."

Source: BBC news

MediaStorm seeks to innovate the storytelling process

Brian Storm was a speaker at the 11th World Editors Forum when he still was vice president of News, Multimedia & Assignment Services for Corbis and director of multimedia for MSNBC.com. He is now heading Mediastorm, a multimedia production studio with the principal aim of ushering in a new era of multimedia storytelling.

What I appreciate with Brian Storm is his analysis of the media landscape: "Consolidation in the media industry has put new financial pressures on newsrooms, which are reducing staff and emphasizing dissemination rather than newsgathering, according to a recent report published by Columbia University's Project for Excellence in Journalism."

"Network news, news magazines, and newspaper front pages carry an ever-widening range of topics, but much of the new diversity is in lighter fare - lifestyle, entertainment, and consumer news. Some outlets are thriving as they reject the trend toward lighter content and surface coverage. The report asserts, "the success of NPR in radio, The Economist among magazines and The New York Times among newspapers suggests a growing elite niche across media sectors,' one that demands in-depth reporting on globally relevant stories.

According to Storm, this environment creates not only an advancement in quality storytelling, but also a new economic opportunity for the next-generation storyteller. "Combining animation, audio, interactivity, photography, text and video allows multimedia storytellers to distribute their work across multiple media platforms simultaneously to reach the largest audience and widest economic markets," said Storm. "I founded MediaStorm to support this revolution by providing collaborative post-production support and an arc of distribution outlets."

Good luck Brian. In anticipation of great things.

Source: Mediastorm

US: a digital broadsheet

USA Today describes the University of Missouri's experiment to fuse print with digital. The university will soon release a weekly electronic version of it's daily paper, The Missourian, called EmPrint. The paper is designed to transfer the comfort that most people have with a printed version to the computer screen, appearing in the shape of a broadsheet and divided into traditional newspaper sections. The full page fits on the screen, avoiding the need to scroll, and can be printed on normal computer paper. The technology will also include characteristics typical of digital editions such as links to other web pages as well as audio, video, and interactive options. "There's a large niche out there that is not being filled, of people who have an appreciation for what a newspaper can provide but who are also much more digitally attuned these days," says EmPrint's designer Roger Fidler, former new media director of Knight Ridder. Reactions to the initial 10-week experiment currently underway have been positive. EmPrint can be viewed at the Missourian's website.

Source: USA Today

Invitation to participate in webcast about the "vanishing newspaper"

Received from Andrew Nachison, Director of the Media Center in the US: "As some of you may know, The Media Center is a think tank dedicated to helping create a better informed society in a connected world. One of our activities, which we don’t get to do as often as we’d like, is presenting FREE online programs that explore critical issues at the intersection of media, technology and society.

Our next free webcast will take place March 9. I urge you to participate, as well as tell your colleagues, especially those in print journalism or those concerned with the enduring value of journalism in democratic societies. Here’s the information:

FREE Webcast: The Vanishing Newspaper: Survival and Public Service in the Age of We Media

March 9, 2005, 2:00-3:30 Washington time, online

The Media Center will take a good, hard look at the newspaper-business model and its viability in a digital world. How can historic mass-media institutions use new communications trends and tools to once again take possession of credibility and public service, replant them in journalism's firmament, and transform themselves into vibrant 21st-century media enterprises?

This online event will be lead by Jeff Jarvis, well-known blogger and president of Advance.net. Panelists are:

• Phil Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism, UNC, Chapel Hill; author of The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age
• Stefan Dill, Online Editor, freenewmexican.com
• Mary Lou Fulton, Publisher, northwestvoice.com, the Bakersfield Californian
• Tim Porter, newspaper analyst and blogger

To find out more or to register, go here.

Media Center webcasts are free, designed to allow anyone to participate. We love them because they give us the chance to engage people we don’t normally see at our real-world events. We are particularly happy to see international participants who may be looking at similar issues where they are, who are able to bring insights and perspectives shaped by their unique circumstances.

Wikis vs. blogs, to faces of citizen media

Cheers to Simon Waldman, Director of Digital Publishing at London's The Guardian, for tipping off the Wikinews debate on his personal blog. Waldman discusses a few of his qualms with the site, primarily arguing that Wikinews - a branch of Wikipedia - is not living up to the ambitions summarized in its mission statement and manifesto. Admiring Wikipedia, Waldman argues that the Wiki model works well for the citizens' encyclopedia, but not for the news member of the Wiki family. In his review, Waldman makes several suggestions, but ultimately concludes that the people at Wiki should "Stick to Wikipedia."

At the Editors Weblog, our opinion differs, especially because the wiki community is an aspect of citizens media that bloggers seem a bit eager to condemn before understanding its full potential. We don't understand their haste!

1) First of all, Wikipedia had the same problems at its launch, especially during the first six months, only achieving significant recognition after two or three years. Sure, at present, the difference between Wikinews' ambitions and the reality are quite significant. But like Wikipedia, Wikinews needs some more time to evolve.

2) In order to evolve, however, a few logistical problems must be worked out, mainly the site's user-friendliness. Here Waldman is totally right: it's not so easy to become a Wikinews provider! But again, that will come with time.

But, in fact, the real debate is more philosophical on what is news in the blogosphere and in the wikisphere:

3) It is obvious that Wikinews is making bloggers uneasy. They are on opposite ends of the information spectrum. Basically, blogs are defined by individual immediacy of emotion, with no fact-checking and no editor; simply read and react. The comments that follow a blog certainly add to the flavor, but do so in a manner that perpetuates opinion, thus resulting in a fragmented block of information. Wikis, on the other hand, provide for "collective intelligence", where the community fact-checks and corrects itself, and as Wales explained in the Editors Weblog last week, where "Every contributor can be an editor." The goal is to provide "neutral information", not biased personal opinion. This cooperative information gathering among a community results in one sole article, a combination of many writings into an integrated body. Just to say that the philosophy is different between wikis and postings!

5) We agree with Waldman when he says that Wikinews will never rival AP or Reuters, as loosely predicted in the project's mission statement. Maybe Wikinews will never evolve into an online newspaper (see Wales' interview), but surprisingly Wikinews works - or should work - as a real news organization. Wikinews acts as a kind of "virtual newsroom." In that sense, wiki journalism is closer to traditional journalism than blogs.

Wikinews presents the world with a new conception of information based on a noble principle that advances the cause of citizen journalism. We should be patient, allowing this principle time to take root and grow before suffocating it with criticism.

(a John and Bertrand wiki)

Source: SimonWaldman.net. See also a very good synthesis about Wikipedia in Wired

Posted by john burke on February 25, 2005 at 07:25 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Washington Post discusses the relation between the Continuous News Desk and website

Cyberjournalist.net posts that Robert J. McCartney, assistant managing editor of the Washington Post's Continuous News Desk described the interaction between his department and the paper's website as "constant." In an online chat, McCartney responded to readers questions which mainly focused on the effects that washingtonpost.com is having on the print edition. He explained how the Continuous News Desk is the direct link between the print version and the digital version, the former being associated with the paper and the latter being a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. McCartney also explained such topics as how it is often necessary to hold back on publishing breaking news on the web in order not to tip off competitors, decline in print circulation, decline in late news being published in the print edition, differences in the print and online audience, reporter reactions to the website, and the role of the internet for the Post. For some useful information, check out the chat here and a summary on Cyberjournalist.net

Sources: Cyberjournalist.net and washingtonpost.com

Posted by john burke on February 25, 2005 at 11:12 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Craigslist to adopt citizens journalism?

Here's something to watch from SiliconBeat. Craig Newmark, founder of the classifieds sight, craigslist, has recently stated that he the citizens journalism movement appeals greatly to him and that there is a possibility that his sight will eventually branch out into this evolving medium. "As a consumer of news, I've learned that there's too much important stuff which isn't printed or which is distorted on the way out. One example being news out of the White House. We need to fix it. We meaning the public, need to evolve a trusted institution with lots of fact-checking that we can trust and that we can prove does provide honest news." Read the interview on internetnews.com and the summary at SiliconBeat.

Source: SiliconBeat

Posted by john burke on February 24, 2005 at 11:19 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Peter Chernin's 10 rules for media (and newspaper) survival

News Corporation - the Ruppert Murdoch empire from The Times of London to Fox News in the US - President Peter Chernin challenged fellow executives to face the media industry’s biggest problems through a forward-thinking speech entitled “10 rules for Media Survival” at the Forrester Consumer Forum last week. Chernin explained that networks and advertisers need to work together on new formats, and that companies need to turn to technology for new forms of distribution. In particular, Chernin addressed the most contentious issues currently facing the media and threatening future profits including: fragmentation, ad-skipping, and piracy. After addressing media's increasing difficulty to follow its traditional pursuit of passive audiences due to technological advancements, Chernin laid out his 10 rules for survival.

Chernin?s rules are as follows:

"Rule 1: Realize that consumers? desires of control, choice, convenience, and simplicity have not been altered by the recent changes in technology.

Rule 2: A wired home does not change anything. It merely allows consumers to move content from one device to another within their home.

Rule 3: Media companies and advertisers have to redefine their relationship.

Rule 4: Consumers don?t reject advertising, they reject complacency. Advertisers need to evolve the methods through which they reach consumers, especially their old habit of using 30 second commercials.

Rule 5: Content is still king, but financing the kingdom is complicated.

Rule 6: If content is king, then marketing is the crown prince. Broadcast or cable networks need to create tightly focused brands, like HBO, FX, or MTV.

Rule 7: Get noticed. Even the brightest ideas need to be original, more audacious, and more gripping.

Rule 8: The industry cannot ignore the fragmentation that is going on around the world.

Rule 9: Nothing compares to the spontaneity and thrill of things that are live, including sports, news, and entertainment.

Rule 10: If the industry does not solve the problem of piracy and can thus not protect content, all other rules are meaningless."

It's easy to understand that this "Bible's decalog" mainly applies to the broadcast industry, but some rules are relevant to forecasting the future of the newspaper industry.

Source: Forrester Magazine through paidcontent.org

Posted by john burke on February 23, 2005 at 06:53 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, o. Ethics and Press Freedom, q. Global/Local trends, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, February 18, 2005

Jimmy Wales to the Editors Weblog: "on Wikinews, every contributor can be an editor"

Thanks to Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, to answer our questions about his vision of Wikinews defined as a "free News source" written and edited by different experts and contributors (see the former posting on wiki technology).

How does the editorial process differ between Wikipedia and WikiNews? What is the average profile of a WikiNews contributor?
Wikinews is very young and so many editorial processes are still being discussed and established. Because a newspaper is a different creature from an encyclopedia, the process must be different. But the thing that the two have in common is a commitment to high quality and neutrality.

What is your personal role in the WikiNews process? Do you consider yourself an editor-in-chief?
No, I am not editor-in-chief, this is not the wiki way. My personal role is simply to provide a focal point, to provide guidance and vision on the big picture issues of neutrality and quality, not to dictate to the volunteers about how to get the job done. It is a fun hobby for people, and so they need the freedom to make it fun.

Is every contributor an editor on WikiNews? Or is there a complete absence of editors?
Every contributor can be an editor, yes. There is no firm delineation of roles in that sense.

What consequences could WikiNews have for the "traditional" printed editor? Will a lack of an educated editor result in too much false information being posted?
Our editors are highly educated. :-) It seems likely based on the track record of traditional media outlets and of Wikipedia that our error rate will be slightly better, not worse. Whereas Dan Rather can get away (for at time) with publicizing fake memos, the open process of the internet guarantees realtime peer review of a type not possible in a closed organization.

Do you fear that false or doctored information will be posted? How WikiNews can deal with that? For instance if a Public Relations company tried to add promotional information?
We review it and if it is bad, we delete it.

Can the average contributor be trusted to post substantiated information?
They will need to cite their sources. First-hand reporting will be limited to highly trusted community members, and I do not expect it to be a major part of what we do for a long time.

Do you see the "collective intelligence" of WikiNews as "objective" since it is essentially a combination of information from various sources?
I try to avoid the word "objective" because it means too many different things to too many different people. We prefer our terminology of "neutral".

How do you see WikiNews and blogs working together? Are they complementary or contradictory seeing as WikiNews portrays the collective intelligence and blogs individual opinion?
I like to draw this parallel: a really good blog is like a really good columnist or editorialist. If it is done well, wikinews will be like a really good front page of the newspaper. There is nothing wrong with opinions, and there is nothing wrong with clear neutral information. There is a place for both.

Are you ready for a partnership with a printed newspaper if a daily would like to publish some of the WIKINews articles?
Yes, and our free licensing policy makes that very easy.

-- Jimbo

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 18, 2005 at 06:01 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, k. Newspapers launches and results, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Murdoch hires McKinsey for web strategy

"Rupert Murdoch has hired management consultants McKinsey to help come up with a new global internet strategy for News Corp. The consulting firm, once a favourite with John Birt during his tenure as director general of the BBC, has been charged with improving links between the media giant's TV and newspaper businesses and the internet, according to a report in today's Financial Times. McKinsey consultants attended a meeting of News Corp bosses in New York on Wednesday aimed at addressing the effects of high-speed broadband, free content, video games and online advertising on the group's key TV and newspaper businesses." See also former posting, two days ago

Source: MediaGuardian

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 18, 2005 at 04:33 PM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

New media acquisitions: New York Times becomes a dominant web player

The trend is confirmed: after acquisitions of CBS Marketwatch by Dow Jones and Slate by Washington Post Co. - both of them "old media" companies - the almost done big deal between the New York Times Company and the community website About.com (a network of around 500 weblogs) shows the relentless effort of the newspaper industry to be connected with new readers and new ad revenues, even if it is more related to entertainment than to information. But figures - given by Rafat Ali, paidcontent.org - are clear enough: about.com counts 22 million monthly users, almost two times more than the Times Co. (13 million monthly users, mainly with the NYT website). In fact, the purchase allows New York Times Co. to broaden its online advertising base, and add a cost-per-click advertising business.
According to MediaGuardian, "The New York Times Company announced a $410m (£216m) deal to buy the online information business About.com from publishing group Primedia. The deal reflects the recent growth in online advertising and the company's need to find new revenues. Like other newspaper firms The New York Times Company is struggling to wring higher revenues out of its print business as it faces stagnant or falling circulations and a patchy advertising climate. About.com provides consumers who search its database with information on topics such as health, finances, food and travel." More explanation about the deal on marketwatch.com: "The newspaper industry is under secular siege as media is fragmenting and younger generations are flocking to the Internet without regard for print," Merrill Lynch researchers said.

Rafat Ali adds that "Yahoo is in talks to acquire a minority stake in Indiatimes, the online operation of Bennett Coleman, India's biggest media group (The Times of India in particular). Indiatimes is one of the biggest portals in India, along with Rediff.com and Sify..." Here, a new media firm wants to enter an online subsidiary of an old media company!

Sources: MediaGuardian, paidcontent.org and the New York Times

Here is the presentation of about.com on its "about us" page:

"About. com was founded in 1997 with a simple premise, that people are the best Guides to the Internet. We have built on that belief over the past seven years. Today, when you read an article on About.com, you are tapping into a powerful network of 475 Guides -- smart, passionate, accomplished people who are experts in their field. Our Guides have written books, appeared on national television and won many awards in their field...

About Guides live and work in over 20 countries and celebrate their interests in hundreds of topics. Guides are selected for their ability to provide the most interesting information for users, and for their passion for their subject and the Net. The selection process is rigorous -- only 10% of those that apply graduate to the live service. Below are some of the most important criteria by which they are chosen:

* High level of knowledge/passion for their topic
* Appropriate credentials
* Keen understanding of the Web "experience"
* Commitment to creating informative, actionable features."

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 18, 2005 at 11:39 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Rupert Murdoch and News Corp to discuss web strategy

The Guardian reports that approximately 50 News Corp executives, including chief Rupert Murdoch, will gather in New York City for a brainstorming session concerning to plan their future internet strategy. Murdoch, who famously told the Guardian in 1999 that, "The future of the press will be determined by the internet," sent a memo asking how his group's companies are adapting online, provoked the one-day meeting. Thier internet business ventures in the late 90's having failed, it will be interesting to watch how Murdoch and crew intend to propel their powerful news group into the digital future.

Source: The Guardian

Posted by Ulrike Trux on February 17, 2005 at 12:36 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

CNN.com offers free RSS feeds to users, bloggers

Interesting initiative - that could be followed by many newspapers - from CNN. According to the Blog Herald, "CNN.com has introduced a new self-syndication feature to enabling users to post and view the latest headlines through an RSS aggregator or on their blogs. The feeds can be accessed directly at CNN.com/rss. “Our new RSS feeds provide an additional way for our users to access CNN.com quickly and easily,” said Mitch Gelman, senior vice president and executive producer of CNN.com. “The feeds provide fast access to CNN.com’s top headline news and allow users the opportunity to then experience the full breadth of CNN.com’s special reports and interactive features"... The feeds are available free to users for private, non-commercial use."

Source: Blog Herald

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 17, 2005 at 10:51 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Online video news clips attracting wealthy audience

Poynter quotes a study done by the Online Publishers Association that shows that well-off online news readers are enthusiastic about video clips. A quarter of these readers watch a video one a week and more than half once a month. A quarter of them also visit an advertised website after watching the news clip, which is good news for advertisers who are contemplating the benefits of video ads online. The study also showed that daytime and nighttime traffic for videos is about equal, allaying some advertisers fears of low level of viewing during working hours.

Source: Poynter

Posted by Ulrike Trux on February 16, 2005 at 02:23 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, g. Visual strategies and photojournalism, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

washingtonpost.com: new home page

Jim Brady, Executive Editor, washingtonpost.com speaking: "washingtonpost.com has launched a redesigned home page, and I wanted to take a moment to point out some of the changes and explain the reasons behind them. • New navigation: We have removed the left-side navigation that previously appeared on the home page and moved to roll-down top navigation. To see the list of the sections previously featured on the left side of the home page, roll over the section names at the top of the page—News, Opinion, Sports and Arts & Living. This change provides more room to showcase the day's top news and allows for more layout and photo flexibility.

? Cleaner design on the bottom of the page: By switching to a tighter three-column layout at the bottom of the page, we are able to better organize the deep well of content featured on washingtonpost.com.

? Faster loading: This new design also significantly reduces the weight of the page to allow for quicker downloads.

While we believe these improvements make for a positive change, we'd like to know what you think. So please feel free to send any comments to executive.editor@washingtonpost.com.

Thanks,
Jim Brady
Executive Editor, washingtonpost.com

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 16, 2005 at 10:52 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, g. Visual strategies and photojournalism, h. New readers: how to involve them, k. Newspapers launches and results, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Norway: winning back paid print customers from free websites

Verdens Gang, a top Norwegian newspaper, is taking steps to bring back readers to its print edition according to Poynter. A 3.9% drop in circulation over the past year due mostly to readers getting their information from the paper's website has motivated Bernt Olufsen, the paper's editor in chief, to make a few rules about publication on the website. These rules include not publishing feature stories on the web, saving consumer interest stories for after lunch, having columnists writing exclusively for the online edition, and varying the expressions of the front pages of the online and print edition. It is not known how the paper's customers, who have come to expect the news free online, will react to the new rules.

Source: Poynter's e-media tidbits

Posted by john burke on February 16, 2005 at 10:36 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Spain: El Mundo's website surpasses 6 million readers in January

elmundo.es, the website of Spain's main daily, has beaten its own record by reaching more than 6 million unique readers in January. In only three months, the number of the site's readers grew by more than a million, affirming elmundo.es' position as the most consulted news site in Spain, as well as in the Spanish speaking world. With monthly figures for the New York Times being around 17 million and France's Le Monde at 3 million, elmundo.es is not making a bad showing at all, especially for a European paper.

In a related note, Juan Varela at Periodistas 21 posts that elmundo.es is launching several blogs. Gumersindo Lafuente, the website's director hopes that blogs will help open the readers' eyes and help the news escape the shackles of individual journalistic opinion and political correctness.

Sources: elmundo.es

and Periodistas 21

Posted by john burke on February 15, 2005 at 11:50 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, February 14, 2005

Eason Jordan affair (2): how patriotism interferes with journalism

The Eason Jordan affair (see the former posting on Saturday 12 February 2005) is not over. I received tons of emails about my comparison between some bloggers behaviour and the Senator McCarthy era in the fifties. I think these five specifications will help for a better understanding of my position:

1) What Eason Jordan has - presumably - said about U.S. forces targeting journalists in Irak is just UNAUDIBLE for a majority of Americans. After the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004, a new attack on the role of US army cannot be accepted anymore. I have in mind this sentence of the BBC News chief, Richard Sambrook: "American media were failing the public by wrapping themselves in the American flag…" It was true six months ago and it is still true. In that sense, the Jordan case doesn't reveal a clash between bloggers and mainstream media... because nobody in mainstream media tried to really defend Jordan. In that sense too, I'm convinced that the main question to American journalists and citizens is: how patriotism interferes with journalism? 2) The whole Jordan story is now reduced to the release of the videotape of his remarks. But who can believe this is the real issue? Even if the CNN executive said U.S military had aimed at journalists, where is the scandal? International news organisations as Reporters without Frontiers and a lot of Arab media - Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya - told the same thing, asking for international and independent inquiries about the death of nine journalists killed by American forces. The real crime of Eason Jordan was to say what Arab media claimed and, today, in America, nobody can have such a beheavior.

3) The Eason Jordan affair is compared to the Dan Rather dismissal. Because of the role of non mainstream media in the process. But there is another comparison, much more convincing: Eason Jordan is a new Peter Arnett, this well-known journalist accused in 2003 to be a "traitor" because he talked on a Iraki television. The same arguments gave the same results: Arnett was sacked from NBC and Jordan obliged to resign from CNN!

4) What's wrong with what was said on the blogosphere between the 28 January (first posting on Jordan's speech) and the 11 February 2005, date of the Eason Jordan resignation? Seen from Europe, it is very surprising that the only question was about "truth" and "facts" about Jordan's words. But who cared about "truth" and "facts" regarding the death of journalists in Irak? I'm not saying that the only goal of bloggers was to sack a mainstream journalist, I'm just surprised by how it is easy in the blogosphere to forget real issues. Instead of asking for the release of Jordan's videotape, why didn't anybody ask for an international and independent investigation into the journalists' death?

5) My goal was not to shock when I made the comparison between some bloggers' behaviour and the McCarthy era. But it is difficult not to see the same hatred against "anti-American activities": Jordan was not vindicated because he didn't tell the truth, he was demonized because he had some doubts about the death of certain journalists. So, my goal was not to judge all bloggers - it would be foolish -, just to say that it is too easy that all bloggers represent "grassroots journalism". Not all of them. And I am urging for a strong barrier between real citizen media and pure political activists. If not, it could ruin the new phenomenon that is participatory journalism! In Europe, we are following this movement with particular attention, but we don't want that political bias to inhibit its potential.

As we say in French, "l'arbre cache la forêt", maybe someting like "you can't see the forest through the trees". Indeed the Eason Jordan case is much more than the question of a videotape! It's about freedom of speech and the right to raise disturbing questions.

See also the New York Times: "Bloggers as news media trophy hunters" and the answer from Jeff Jarvis, Buzzmachine.

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 14, 2005 at 03:36 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, j. Staff changes, n. New sources for Editors, o. Ethics and Press Freedom | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBack

Friday, February 11, 2005

Google wants to work with the Wikimedia Foundation

Exceptionally, I quote a complete post from Staci Kramer, paidcontent.org because it is a scoop: "A new post on Wikimedia describes a vague proposal from Google "to host some of the content of the Wikimedia projects." The non-profit Wikimedia Foundation includes Wikpedia, Wikinews and the Wiktionary. A possible tie-in with eternal beta Google News? Google Answers? Something completely new? The mind whirs ... Terms are being discussed by the board, the developer committee has some details and a private IRC chat with Google is being scheduled for March. More information will be posted "when the offer is allowed to be made public." The most explicit information is a note "that this agreement does not mean there is any requirement for us to include advertising on the site."

Google and WikiNews, it's what we call in French "le mariage de la carpe et du lapin".

Source: Wikipedia through paidcontent.org

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 11, 2005 at 04:08 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, February 10, 2005

UK: Sunday Telegraph and Vodafone collaborate in weekly supplement

MediaWeek reports that the Sunday Telegraph and mobile phone giant Vodafone have teamed up to create a new supplement targeting small businesses entitled Business Voice. Business Voice will run for the next thirteen weeks and will feature advice and articles from both Vodafone's business experts and the Telegraph editorial team. The collaboration marks a significant move by the Sunday Telegraph's commercial team to incorporate demands by major advertisers to run advertorial projects.

Source: MediaWeek

Posted by john burke on February 10, 2005 at 12:42 PM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, f. Weekly supplements, h. New readers: how to involve them, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

New editor for Salon

From New York Times: "David Talbot, a pioneer of online journalism who founded Salon magazine in 1995, will announce today that he is stepping down as the magazine's editor in chief, chief executive and relentless cheerleader. He will be replaced as editor, he said, by Joan Walsh, his longtime deputy. Salon will also announce its first profitable quarter in its history, Mr. Talbot added, a profit of $400,000 on revenues of $2.2 million. The company also said that Elizabeth Hambrecht, Salon's president, would become its chief executive." And as usual, the issue of the business model is questioned: either on a subscription basis (88,000 people who pay an average of $30 a year, the company says) + some advertising revenues or either on a pure advertising model with free access to the website, as for Slate.

Source: New York Times

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 10, 2005 at 11:53 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Poynter: a manifesto for online journalism

Last week's three day conference entitled Web+10: the Future of Online Journalism at Poynter's headquarters in St. Petersberg Florida analyzed the past ten years of online journalism and plotted a path towards the future. Forty industry experts divided the conference into seven major subjects, content, customers, competition, community, credibility, competencies and corporate structure with the goal of eventually producing an online journalism "manifesto." Some of the questions to be answered:

- How will journalists and the organizations that fund their work react to the changing relationship between the media and its audience?
- During the next 10 years, will the economic underpinnings of the current media business collapse?
- What business models will support quality journalism?
- What new storytelling models will emerge that engage online audiences and attract new participants to newspapers' journalism, brands and products?

Some observations:

- The transformation for media companies needs to happen faster

- In order to stay competitive, the industry will have to take more big risks instead of simply modifying existing business models.

The conference also touched upon the topic of the Flash presentation Epic making waves in the digital world, concluding that the predictions made in the production may be the biggest fear of traditional media companies but are what young journalists see as inevitable. Concerning community journalism, veteran blogger Dave Winer added a twist on a familiar proverb, saying that in the future, everyone will be famous to 15 people. We'll have to wait for the publication of the manifesto to learn where these professionals really think the future will take us.

Source: The Poynter Institute

Posted by john burke on February 8, 2005 at 01:01 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, l. Editors conferences, training sessions and awards, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, February 07, 2005

US: experienced citizen journalism site set to expand

With 45,000 citizen journalism websites around the country already, GetLocalNews.com may be defining the future of citizen journalism. After realizing that "local community members are addicted to interactivity," the five-year-old company began establishing hyper-local sites whose success is based on turning readers into reporters. Anyone in the community can post articles or opine on message boards from topics ranging from speeding on residential streets to the most recent high school play. GetLocalNews also provides advertising opportunities and is integrated with print software so that citizen journalism sites can start their own print publications. CEO Edgar Canon says, ""Our network of citizen journalism sites creates a middle layer in the information world between individual blogs and fully edited news sources." Perhaps more importantly for newspapers, Canon also points out that teens are keen on the interactivity that these sites allow. "We've found that our sites attract the generation that newspapers have lost."

Posted by john burke on February 7, 2005 at 11:04 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, February 04, 2005

The Guardian tests the distributed/ decentralised internet says Simon Waldman

A new RSS reader? Again? But this time, it seems there is a real innovation - especially the link between advertising, classifieds, content and personalisation - with My Guardian / Newspoint at the British newspaper. The "My" is interesting because Consenda, the software company who developed the RSS reader, works as a media ASP and offers to newspapers a sort of custom branded newsreader. The Editors Weblog - John Burke in fact - asked five questions to Simon Waldman, director of digital publishing at The Guardian about his expectations and his vision of the RSS feeds' future.

1. What's the difference between the RSS reader The Guardian used until now and NewsPoint?
Newspoint is just one of a number of things we're testing and examining at the moment in the RSS area. Actually, our thinking is not simply driven by RSS, but about the whole principle of the distributed/ decentralised internet which we think is going to be one of the main developments and challenges that face publishers over the next three years. What you've seen is a simply a bit of beta testing (which is now pretty much fully signed up at the moment thanks to the extra publicity it's received) for something that we might or might not ultimately go with. But our engagement with the distributed internet will - we think - ultimately go much further than this.

Why Newspoint - or a branded RSS reader for that matter? We think that once you get beyond the early adopter crowd, the best way to bring people into RSS etc. is through leveraging existing brand relationships. This what Yahoo and MSN are doing with their 'My' offerings - and we feel there's a window where we might be able to help people make the leap to RSS, while helping them venture into a new and exciting world, we have a bit more control over their RSS experience than if we simply leave our content in the hands of other newsreaders and aggregators.

2. Is NewsPoint going to change the way people read your news? If they can add news from competitors in their feeds, will that threaten loyalty to your brand?
I think that once you offer RSS feeds, you're entering into a world where you no longer have end-to-end control of the user's consumption of your content. If you can't deal with that - then don't offer RSS feeds (although someone will probably scrape your site if you don't). I think that the best way to encourage loyalty is to offer people the best possible content in whatever way is most accessible for them. Letting people add other feeds only makes it more likely that they will keep using the tool, and therefore have sustained exposure to our brand. I have every confidence that our content can sit alongside that of other players and only look better as a result.

3. Is the choice of NewsPoint a purely commercial / advertising decision in order to increase online revenues, or are there also some new editorial opportunities?
Our choices on RSS generally - Newspoint included - are 360 degree publishing decisions. They combine editorial and commercial needs, along with an informed understanding of what our users want - and are likely to want - from us.

4. Will you try the "classifieds delivery newsreader" that the Los Angeles Times is trying with Consenda?
We think the situation with classified RSS is equally fascinating and frightening. We have recently started offering RSS feeds of any search on our jobs site because we believe it adds and extra dimension to our role as a matchmaker between employers and jobseekers. At the same time, when I saw Feedster suddenly offering a search of jobs RSS feeds, I start to wonder whether we've simply let a fox into the henhouse. So, in any RSS activity we do in the future - Newspoint included - classified is going to play an important part.

5. Do you expect the move to NewsPoint to increase readership? Revenue? Do you already have figures on Guardian RSS feeds?
Yes, we have plenty of figures - but I'm not going to tell them to you! Overall it's a small, but growing source of traffic. The importance is not so much the short term benefits - but the long term challenge of making sure that our content is where our readers want to find it. The online world is changing. The idea that we are simply seeing a move - however painful - from publishing newspapers to publishing websites is optimistic to see the least. We are entering a world where people are increasingly going to access our content through RSS, aggregators, bloggers and search engines. It is - as I said - the distributed internet and it is a real challenge for us. The more we learn about it; and the more we engage with it "now", the healthier we will be in the medium and long term future.

Source: Simon Waldman, director of digital publishing at The Guardian. See also MediaGuardian (registration required).

Excerpt of the presentation of Consenda:

"CONSENDA is a Swiss-American media software company that has developed a patented online content delivery platform called NewsPoint. NewsPoint is based on the ?RSS? online publishing format.

RSS enables end users to automatically receive the latest content from pre-selected websites and ?blogs?. It is currently the fastest growing format for online content, and is being embraced by leading online media companies around the world.

NewsPoint is licensed to online newspapers, who distribute their own versions of the software to their end users. The software works as an add-on to an ordinary web browser, and NewsPoint?s unique and simple interface enables users to receive timely updates via RSS from their favorite news source. In addition, users are able to receive all types of content from other websites and blogs in the NewsPoint interface, eliminating the need to visit those sites to see if new content has been added.

Using NewsPoint, newspapers are able to place themselves at the convergence point of traditional news publishing and blogs, while increasing average revenue per user through NewsPoint?s innovations in RSS-related targeted text, display, and classified advertising."

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 4, 2005 at 06:19 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The "We Media" report available in Spanish

Guillermo Franco Morales, a university professor and manager for El Tiempo in Colombia, South America, has translated the complete text of "We Media: How audiences are shaping the future of news and information" into Spanish. The translation, called Nosotros, el medio, is now available online in HTML and PDF (2.7MB) formats. The We Media report is published by the Media Center at the American Press Institute.

Source: Cyberjournalist

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 4, 2005 at 03:07 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, l. Editors conferences, training sessions and awards, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

U.S. publishers eye growth outside newspaper sector

Good synthesis from Reuters about business trends in 2005 in the United States (and why not outside the US). "We're going to see more traditional media companies buying nontraditional media," said Roland DeSilva, managing partner at media investment bank DeSilva & Phillips, which predicts a busy year ahead for media deals. In one such deal, Dow Jones & Co Inc. recently spent $463 million for online news site MarketWatch in a move to court more Web advertisers. Dow Jones wants to diversify its advertising revenue base as its flagship Wall Street Journal grapples with unsteady business-to-business advertising. Analysts at Merrill Lynch have forecast that advertising on the Internet will comprise 4.6 percent of total U.S. advertising this year and will rise to 7.4 percent by 2009 -- a trend not lost on newspaper publishers. "The newspaper share of the total advertising pie is eroding and likely will continue to erode, and they likely are looking at other channels," said John Eade, director of research at Argus Research."

"Newspapers also are grappling with long-term trends of declining circulation, as many younger readers have turned to the Web or TV for their daily dose of current events.

Amid these trends, companies such as Washington Post Co., which now relies on its Kaplan education unit for the biggest chunk of its revenue, and E.W. Scripps Co. have been steadily expanding beyond newspapers.

Scripps recently bought the Great American Country music TV network for $140 million to add to its fast-growing cable business."

Source: Reuters

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 4, 2005 at 11:12 AM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

US: Penn Media to convert 50 e-zines to blogs

According to The Blog Heraldr, "Penn Media - the largest American online media and publishing company dealing with “e-zines” or publications delivered via email - announced that it will publish fifty of its flagship owned and operated e-zines as Blogs, making them one of the largest publishers of consumer trade blogs in the blogosphere... Penn Media President, Jaffer Ali stated, “We have been Blogging before it had a name. Essentially the nature of building relationships through content, and having people subscribe to content via email was the first kind of Blogging experience. But now with Blogging tools, we are combining the ‘push’ aspect of e-zines with the web-centric approach of Blogs and the ‘pull’ nature of RSS.”

Penn Media plans to continue publishing the e-zines and run them concurrently, but allow readers to communicate with each other through the Blog. This is to help foster a community surrounding the subscriber base. It will drive traffic to the blogs via their newsletters that are delivered to over 7 million monthly subscribers.

Pheedo?s Chief Marketing Officer, Bill Flitter commented, ?Blogs represent an evolution of content delivery from e-zines. Migrating e-zine content to the Blogosphere is a way to introduce content to a new audience while fostering a sense of community. We are witnessing a significant shift in media consumption habits and we are pleased to be working with Penn to guide them through this progression.?

Source: The Blog Heraldr

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 2, 2005 at 12:07 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sweden: an advanced, and successful, newspaper market

The Swedes may embrace technology, but at the same time, they still love newspapers, reports Monique Van Dusseldorp on Poynter's e-Media Tidbits. Van Dusseldorp recently had the chance to visit the Swedish regional newspaper publisher Goteborgs Posten, and the local paper Hallandsposten, who have both successfully integrated technology into their market strategies while maintaining healthy circulation. When Goteborgs Posten switched to tabloid format last year, it promoted the new format with a 30-day trial offer for which 40,000 people signed up, over 10 percent of which used their mobile phones for registration and payment. Hallandsposten, with a circulation of 33,000, has a website but it contributes to a very small percentage of its revenue, which is split 60/40 between advertisements and subscription respectively. Sverker Emanuelsson, editor-in-chief of Hallandsposten believes that the future of newspapers lies in local news. He also takes the contrary stance of the current debate on the future importance of newspapers. Realizing that friends and colleagues no longer watch the same TV shows because of the enormous amount of programming and that they rarely talk of the websites they visit, Emanuelsson says that news stories from the local paper once again become the source of people's morning water cooler discussion.

Source: Poynter's e-Media Tidbits

Posted by john burke on February 2, 2005 at 10:23 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft search goes live in 24 countries

From DMEurope.com: "Microsoft has officially launched its own in-house-developed search engine, in ten languages and usable in 24 countries. The search engine claims its service is more reliable than that of search engine market leader Google, as well as those of other rivals such as Yahoo and Ask Jeeves, as its technology scans the web for new content every two days, instead of the fortnightly refreshing typical in the industry. The service also offers answers to queries from 40,000 articles in its Encarta Encyclopedia, instead of just search results."

Source: DMEurope.com

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on February 2, 2005 at 10:00 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Personalizing the news in print

The age of customized news creeps closer. A.S. Berman at Presstime Magazine reports that last June, Los Angeles based magazineReason personalized its monthly edition for each of its 40,000 subscribers, placing customized editorial content on the inside covers and a satellite photo of their residence on the cover accompanied by the headline, "(Subscriber's name)...The Know Where You Are!" Berman describes the process used to create the monthly magazine's personalized edition and new technology that will be used to customize news such as GMA Inc. Print-on-Demand system, which GMA's director, Gretchen Walters feels will be used to customize advertising before content. Despite these projects, Douglas Karr, database marketing manger at the Indianapolis Star, says that personalized news has not come close to reaching the level that consumers would like, but that newspapers will have to start embracing customized news as the wave of the future. "We're still trying to please everybody with one product. I think the day is coming when we'll have to please everybody with their own product." He indicates that there is much work to be done, emphasizing the huge difference between printing a monthly personalized magazine and a customized daily newspaper.

Source: Presstime

Posted by john burke on February 1, 2005 at 12:55 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, g. Visual strategies and photojournalism, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, January 31, 2005

US: birth of "Keeping People Connected"

It happens in Indiana, USA and the evolution is quite interesting. First, this little media group from the Middle-West - The News-Sun, The Evening Star or the Herald-Republican - radically changes its name: "For years we had been known as Kendallville Publishing Co. For some people, that’s what we’ll always be, even though it’s an image that isn’t quite true anymore... Finally, the change was officially made to KPC Media Group Inc. with the “KPC” part reinterpreted as “Keeping People Connected.” It's a very clever name because "Keeping People Connected" is the main asset of newspapers. Offline and online. Second, the group recently decided shift towards a paid model: "The first change you’ll notice at the beginning of February 2005 is that the Web site will be moving to a paid model. That is a huge shift, and one worth talking about.

For years readers tell that they couldn’t understand why we offered so much of our newspaper content for free on the Internet. The standard response was that we were being supported by online advertising, much like a free newspaper, or “advertiser,” would be.

The advertiser newspaper analogy broke down at some point, though, because none of the companany’s advertisers, called the Smart Shoppers, carried as much sheer information as the Web site...

Another reason why the Web site is going to a paid model is just plain fairness. You might argue that there are other ways to be fair, but let’s take a look at the situation for a moment, broken down by reader types.

“Group A” gets the regular daily newspaper — the print version.

“Group B” is our Web reader, who hasn’t had to buy or borrow anything, but who is able to take advantage of most of the same content as the person who has bought a subscription... If you only want a subscription to the Web site, that cost begins at $5.95 per month, $29.95 for six months, and so on."

With rumors on big newspapers' websites moving towards paid models, this attempt of a very local media group could be pioneering.

Source: KPCnews.com through paidcontent.org (Stacy Kramer)

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 31, 2005 at 04:16 PM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Friday, January 28, 2005

Slate rekindles the blogging debate

Tipped off by Jack Shafer's observations on Slate about last week's Blogging, Journalism and Credibility Conference at Harvard, a small digital battle of opinions has emerged. Shafer thinks that the bloggers are arrogantly and prematurely exaggerating the success of their medium as well as the extent to which blogging is revolutionizing mainstream media by declaring "blogs as the medicine the newspaper industry should take to reclaim its lost readers" and open source journalism as the "tonic for what ails the press." He says that bloggers ignore the historically proven adaptability of the media and the fact that professional journalists have been "Webified" for years, actually being more "Webby" than bloggers are today. He points out that none of the representatives of the "dinosaur" media at the conference felt threatened by blogs and that many journalists have even begun their own blogs. Responses were quick, many and varied from supportive to openly hostile. Theagitator.com agrees with Shafer, saying that bloggers have begun to take themselves too seriously. Jay Rosen on the Conference's website says Shafer, aside from being lazy and lacking decency, writes "false characterizations" about the meeting. Ed Cone calls his Shafer's article "boring" and "innacurate." Read the article and join the debate by posting your own comments.

Source: Slate

Posted by john burke on January 28, 2005 at 12:21 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Blogs help kill AOL Newsgroups service

From blogherald.com: "News.com is reporting that blogs have helped caused the imminent death of the AOL Newsgroups service. “AOL’s decision to scrap newsgroup support comes as other forms of online community have taken favor, according to company spokeswoman Jaymelina Esmele. “We are seeing that traffic on newsgroups is pretty minimal at this point,” she said. “With features like message boards, chat rooms and AOL Blogs, the majority of our members are turning to these to engage in topics of interest to them.”

Source: blogherald.com

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 27, 2005 at 11:11 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Blogging, Journalism & Credibility Conference: some principle points for editors

On the website for last week's Blogging, Journalism & Credibility Conference at Harvard, many articles, comments and links are posted. Here are a few points emphasizing the distinctions between traditional journalism and online news that the Editors' Weblog considers valuable:

1. Organic news vs. Investigative reporting: Jimmy Wales, founder and CEO of Wikipedia says of his Wikinews experiment that the news will be "shaped organically" by its community of users and will become what this community needs and wants. Its future will be determined through trial and error and experimentation. This relatively new website could provide some ideas for editors as they decide whether or not to open up their journals to reader influence such as what is happening at the Greensboro News & Record.

2. Credibility vs. Interest: As noted by David Weinberger, online participatory media is not necessarily driven by credibility, but by ordinary people's interests. Rebecca MacKinnon says that new credibility standards will evolve and that guidelines could be set, but that it will be a difficult task to achieve. Weinberger also points out that participatory journalism will be shaped only by those who participate, possibly resulting in exclusive and partial "news" depending on the demographics of those participating.

3. Objectivity vs. Opinion: Apart from Wikipedia, which strives to maintain a "neutral point of view" (NPOV) by having multiple anonymous authors contribute to each entry, Jon Garfunkel feels that "Objectivity is dead." If people's interests are to begin determining the news, then their various opinions will inherently be included. This could be useful information for editors as they contemplate making their newspapers' editorial more reflective in response to instantaneous online news.

4. Blogs vs. Wikis: On PressThink, Ethan Zuckerman and MacKinnon say that they both felt that we were moving towards a world of "blogs vs. wikis," "transparency vs. NPOV," or "personal vs. collective" news or opinion. They felt that NPOV was impossible for citizens' journalism. But both were enlightened at the conference. Zuckerman was surprised to see that bloggers and wikipedians share common ground through their passions. MacKinnon says that NPOV "just might be possible;" "In cyberspace, ideas no longer need clear plans to create something revolutionary. Your community organically takes your idea and runs with it, shaping it into whatever they need that they don't already have."

In a side note, MacKinnon also predicts that blogs and wikis will change the media business: "This kind of approach to media innovation doesn't strike me as very appealing, however, to corporate boards and shareholders of companies that own news organizations. Which is why the future belongs outside of corporate concentrated media."

Source: Blogging, Journalism & Credibility Conference and PressThink

Posted by john burke on January 26, 2005 at 02:29 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Monday, January 24, 2005

Internet news sites are back in vogue

it could be the quote of the day by Larry S. Kramer, the founder of (CBS)Marketwatch. According to the New York Times, ""The existing old-line media companies, which have a big stake in where people advertise, have to recognize this medium," said Larry S. Kramer, a founder and chief executive of MarketWatch. "Our audience means more to them now because it's not just revenue they are going to pick up. It's revenue they are going to lose." Online advertising is expected reach $9.7 billion in 2004, or about 3.7 percent of United States advertising spending, according to a recent Merrill Lynch report. Still, that number is expected to grow 19 percent this year as the nation's largest advertisers shift budgets from print and network television to cable and the Internet, the report said."

Source: New York Times

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 24, 2005 at 06:54 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, January 14, 2005

UK: The Sun moving to mobile, attracting youth

According to MediaBulletin, News International has expanded its Sun brand content to mobile. The move will implement screen savers, ringtones, and games and is expected to attract a younger crowd. Simon Ashley, commercial manager at News Group Digital says, "It's an important step as it allows us to develop a totally new revenue stream, as well as develop the Sun's brand awareness within the youth market, who are comfortable with accessing us via new media." Thanks to the Sun's partnership with Bango, which manages content, delivery, and payment, Sun Mobile will be available in more than 130 countries. It will be advertised through The Sun print version and Sun Online. Ashley is positive about the expansion saying, "It is vitally important that The Sun has a strong presence in all media whether it be print, web or mobile."

Source: MediaBulletin

Posted by john burke on January 14, 2005 at 10:48 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Trends in Newsrooms 2005: a preview of the 12th World Editors Forum

It will be my second conference at the World Editors Forum and I begin to receive answers from speakers. Here is my introduction to this event to be held in Seoul, South Korea from 29 May to 1 June 2005:

"The newspaper industry in 2003 could be seen as a British year with the launching of compact editions for The Independent and The Times. A smart answer for young readers and commuters and the first real positive action to counterbalance the circulation crisis in mature markets.

By the same measure, 2004 was a German year due to the new initiatives of Axel Springer and Georg von Holzbrinck groups. Welt Kompakt, News and several other new titles now compete with free papers and also attract young readers. What is fascinating in this experience is that media groups have initiated collaborative and exchange processes between different newsrooms.

What will be the symbol of the year 2005? It could emerge at the 12th World Editors Forum to be held in Seoul.

Perhaps 2005 will be an American year. For four reasons:

- we have invited as keynote speaker Dan Gillmor, the well-known blogger and ex-columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, the pioneering Californian newspaper. He will tell us more about his wish to create citizen journalism based on his book We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. Call it participatory journalism or public journalism or open source journalism, it is a major issue to involve more and more readers in the news gathering and debating process

- RSS (Real Simple Syndications) and news aggregators - as Google News and Google Alerts - are rather unknown outside the US. But editors need to know how it could reshape the way readers are informed. Personalized news is no longer a slogan, it is developing and very few newspapers are ready to this revolution. Google executives will explain their views on this issue, Rich Skrenta, Topix.net CEO too.

- more and more American newspapers are considering charging subscription fees for the online version of their flagship newspaper. As New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr said: "It gets to the issue of how comfortable are we training a generation of readers to get quality information for free. That is troubling." Indeed!

- There have also been major innovations in the design of many American newspapers. Mario Garcia from Garcia Media will help us to discover their main innovations."

In other words, the 12th World Editors Forum is very promising with cutting edge information provided to cutting edge editors!

Source: 12th World Editors Forum

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 12, 2005 at 12:20 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, d. Making newspapers easier to read , e. Tabloid vs. broadsheet, g. Visual strategies and photojournalism, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, j. Staff changes, l. Editors conferences, training sessions and awards, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, s. 2004 World Editors Forum in Istanbul, t. 2005 World Editors Forum in Seoul | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

RSS circulation is growing by about 1% every weekday

I have not understood everything in this study from burningdoor about the growth of RSS feeds, just tried to analyze the consequences of such a conclusion: "RSS circulation is growing by about 1% every weekday"! Here is the Top 5 RSS softwares listed by burningdoor: (Market Share Percentage) 1. Bloglines (32.86%) 2. NetNewsWire (16.95%) 3. Firefox Live Bookmarks (7.78%) 4. Pluck (7.20%) 5. NewsGator Online(4.45%)

Source: burningdoor through ranchero feed

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 11, 2005 at 06:49 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Your fleeting memory vs. the permanence of online information

Hold on to your hats! What you're about to read may be on the internet for eternity! At least that's the way it should be according to Simon Waldman, Director of Digital Publishing at The Guardian, who was asked to write an article for PressThink. "Immediacy" and "interactivity" may be the two most commonly mentioned Web features, but Waldman argues that permanence could be the the most important. "The Web is the first medium where the publisher can put something in a place that it can be found forever. Other media can provide immediacy, and to varying degrees, some level of interactivity. But no other medium can be permanent in the same way as the Web (other media depend entirely on the consumer to archive: something completely different)." Without permanence, Waldman says that search engines and "news as a conversation" would not work and that nothing would be "part" of the Web, but simply "on" it. He thinks that as of now, the web is not permanent enough, pointing to how the public memory fades fast and search engine specificity as well. But he feels that research capabilities would be enhanced infinitely by articles being forever findable online. Thus, newspapers may be wise to digitize their archives. But if ever the whole system crashes, it's comforting to know I'll still be able to finger through a card catalog.

Source: PressThink

In fact, the article shows that it is usually the newspapers, looking to increase circulation, that search advertisers to sponsor the freely distributed papers, not the other way around. "'Third-party distribution is not targeted at the most attractive advertising prospect," said Bob Shamberg, chief executive of Newspaper Services of America, which placed $1.7 billion in ads in newspapers over the last year on behalf of Home Depot, Sears and BMW, among others. "It is in effect targeted at where the newspaper can generate distribution.'" Publishers seem to want to expand the practice. "'Publishers are accepting free publications as credible because of the demand they see from the public," said John P. Murray, vice president for circulation marketing at the Newspaper Association of America, the industry trade group." The free papers are delivered to residential areas as well as places such as hospitals to mixed acceptance by the public. But it appears that the practice will be around for some time to come. William Dean Singleton, vice chairman and chief executive of MediaNews Group says, "Once this became a rule, we took the position 'Hey, it's the rule and we're going to use it." Check out the article for some surprising statistics on just how much this practice is being used.

Source: The New York Times

Posted by john burke on January 11, 2005 at 10:30 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, January 10, 2005

Toward the massless media era

Willian Powers has certainly written a brilliant article called "The Massless Media" in The Atlantic... but I have no means to read it. Sorry, I can just quote the summary of this piece: "With the mass media losing their audience to smaller, more targeted outlets, we may be headed for an era of noisy, contentious press reminiscent of the 1800s." Very promising start! And very accurate about segmented and polarized audiences. This phenomenon can be compared to the birth of a new opinionated press in Italy (Il Foglio di Giuliano Ferrara...)

Source: Atlantic online (paid registration required) through mediabistro.com

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 10, 2005 at 04:57 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Saturday, January 08, 2005

More power to the people say HP... and the blogosphere

Have a look on this BBC News report: "The digital revolution is focused on letting people tell and share their own stories, according to Carly Fiorina, chief of technology giant Hewlett Packard. The job of firms such as HP now, she said in a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), was to ensure digital and physical worlds fully converged. She said the goal for 2005 was to make people the centre of technology. "The digital revolution is about the democratisation of technology and the experiences it makes possible," she told delegates. "Revolution has always been about giving power to the people." She added: "The real story of the digital revolution is not just new products, but the millions of experiences made possible and stories that millions can tell." Ms Fiorina's talk also touted the way technology is being designed to focus on lifestyle, fashion and personalisation, something she sees as key to what people want."

I'm struck by the fact that there is no more difference between the speeches of tech firms CEO - as Carly Fiorina or Bill Gates - and some well-known bloggers about participatory or open source media. In the nineties, pioneers were struggling against big interests, now they are sailing on the same boat. It certainly means something in the media debate. If I was an American blogger (sorry, I'm European), this "coincidence" should raise some interesting questions!

Source: BBC News

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on January 8, 2005 at 10:32 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, January 07, 2005

Qué Madrid: the continued spread of free papers

Juan Varela has posted news about the latest addition to Europe's free newspaper phenomenon, Qué Madrid, on his media watchdog site, Periodistas21. Already in trial phase on the web, the Spanish communications group, Recoletos, will release the paper in 12 Spanish cities on January 17. Online interaction and blog postings are the most important innovation of Qué which is striving to become Spain's principal daily for young people. Qué will diversify between its two formats and add new sections in order to compete with its rivals, 20 Minutos and Metro. The print form will follow the basic form of other free papers, with the standard local, national, international, sports, etc. sections, but will also include humor and opinion pages. The online version is specifically focused towards younger internet surfers who are able to enrich the paper's content with their own blogs. Blogging sections include automobiles, education, social, technology and employment, as well as interactive options such as the reader photos, that distinguish Qué from its competitors. The project will include 130 journalists between the two versions and the print edition will vary between 24 and 36 color pages.

The editorial group Marca y Expansion has announced an advertising campaign of more than 8 million euros in order to promote the new free journal. When it is released, the printed version will be distributed at more than 7,000 sites nationwide. This will be an interesting business move to watch.

Qu?, the new free newspaper of Recoletos Group is in the web now. Qu? has a new original formula with two versions:
in the street will be launched January 17th (see Periodistas21) and will be a regular free paper, similar to 20 Minutos or Metro; in the web is a blog aggregator with nine sections or categories. Qu? offers a blog publishing system and a repository of blogs. Promoters hope that blogs attract young readers to the website.

Marca.con, owned by Recoletos, is the first sport news portal in Spain and the second newspaper website in traffic after ElMundo.es. The bet is for the young people. Qu? is going a step further than other free newspapers like Quick (Gannet) and its formula blog/newspaper is in the edge of participatory journalism. More in Periodistas21

A group of Recoletos?s executives bought the company to Pearson in last december (see Periodistas21). Pearson wanted to center the company in financial news (Expansi?n, owned by Recoletos, is the business newspaper leader in Spain) and didn?t trust in the Qu? project and other initiatives.

Source: Periodistas21

Posted by john burke on January 7, 2005 at 01:44 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, d. Making newspapers easier to read , h. New readers: how to involve them, k. Newspapers launches and results, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Poynter's prediction: a bleak future for newspapers?

Here's a shocking prediction about the end of newspaper prominence. And it's coming sooner than you would think! Cyberjournalist.net has posted a summary of a Flash movie called EPIC by Poynter's Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson which foresees the end of the press as we know it and a future where everyone around the world contributes to the "mediascape." It's starts with a history of the impact of the Internet, from the creation of the World Wide Web in 1989 through the creation of Amazon, Google, Tivo, Blogger, Friendster, and Google News, to the most recent innovations, Newsbot and e-paper. Then the fortune telling begins.

In 2006, according to EPIC, we'll witness the release of the GoogleGrid, a program that will make it easier than ever before to create and consume media. In 2007, Microsoft, having purchased Friendster, will combine it with Newsbot, forming Newsbotster which will rate and sort news. It's publishing medium of choice? E-paper, which has become cheaper than print paper. In 2008, Google and Amazon will join forces forming "Googlezon" which " uses detailed knowledge of customers to provide total customization of content according to tastes." In 2010's "Newswars," ironically in which no actual newspapers participate, Googlezon emerges victorious over Microsoft releasing technology in which a computer compiles news from all over the world into customized stories for each individual user. Reacting to this, the New York Times sues Googlezon, but loses in the U.S. Supreme Court. 2014, the New York Times decides to go offline, becoming a news item uniquely for the elite and the elderly. And finally in 2014, EPIC or Evolving Personalized Information Construct, a "custom content organizer" is released. Everyone participates, using blogs, cell phones, digital video, etc. and everyone is paid from Googlezon's huge advertising revenue depending on the popularity of their postings. A new generation of freelance editors is born, competing on their ability to filter content. EPIC is a "summary of the world, deeper, broader, and more nuanced," than the world has ever experienced which combines all of this information, creating personalized stories and feeding them to individual consumers' according to their tastes. WOW! That's a lot to absorb in one sitting. But don't worry. The end of broadsheets was once predicted too, and those are still around... aren't they?

Source: Cyberjournalist.net

Posted by john burke on January 7, 2005 at 12:43 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, n. New sources for Editors, o. Ethics and Press Freedom, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Thanks to BBC for its earthquake's coverage

It's a bit difficult to talk about editorial quality when such a catastrophe happens. But BBC has done an incredible good work in a few hours in all the countries struck by the today's earthquake and tsunami. In my opinion, one very important thing is that national victims (in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia...) were treated as well as foreign tourists. That's not the case in all coverage of this event: sometimes, you could think that only tourists were killed or injured.

Source: BBC News

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 26, 2004 at 10:57 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, December 23, 2004

What journalists can learn from bloggers?

It's a very balanced article written by Steve Outing, Poynter online about what bloggers and traditional journalists can teach one another. I have selected some quotes: "Mainstream journalists could learn a few things from bloggers. And by doing so they just might ensure their survival in a media world turned upside down by the Internet. Bloggers and mainstream journalists likely won't end up as twins, but perhaps cordial cousins... "

"Let me suggest that current trends are pushing mainstream news organizations toward a new way of doing journalism that is a bit more blog-like...

The Internet, of course, has speeded up the news publishing cycle. No longer is it easy for a news organization to sit on a big story and publish it at a set time, when all the dust has settled...

"We have owned the printing press for centuries; now the people have the power of the press" through blogs, Jeff Jarvis, Buzzmachine says. "They are speaking and it's our turn to listen and engage them in conversation." To do that represents a profound shift in the type of journalism practiced in the U.S. and most Western countries with?a free press...

One significant difference between mainstream journalism and blogging is the way each handles its mistakes. On this one, the bloggers seem to have an edge. With much in common as well as many differences, bloggers and mainstream journalists should be looking to one another for ideas on how to navigate our newly revised media world.

Source: Poynter online

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 23, 2004 at 12:06 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

US: how did an institution with a brave history of safeguarding democracy become a threat to its survival?

Danny Schechter, editor of Mediachannel.org sent me this article two days ago as a global comment on 2004. His thoughts can be compared with Mark Glaser views (see former posting today). They seem belonging to two different planets. Schechter writes that "It has not been a good year for journalists and journalism... The big fear, as journalists die, is that journalism itself may soon follow. Some years back, I read a book about the emergence of the "post journalism era" cataloging the abandonment of a commitment to real news in the news business. It spoke of how packaging and "mechanics" and compression and infotainment defines the new uber-merged corporate media order. At the time, that indictment seemed alarmist, and premature. Not any more..."

"The Committee's State of the Media report showed a system that is devolving and losing credibility. Here were a few of the main findings:

1. A growing number of news outlets are chasing relatively static or even shrinking audiences for news. That audience decline, in turn, is putting pressures on revenues and profits.

2. Much of the new investment in journalism today is in disseminating the news, not in collecting it. Most sectors of the media are cutting back in the newsroom. While there are exceptions, in general journalists face real pressures trying to maintain quality.

3. In the 24-hour cable and online news format, there is a tendency toward a jumbled, chaotic, repetitive and partial quality in some reports, without much synthesis or even the ordering of the information.

4. Journalistic standards now vary even inside a single news organization. Companies are trying to reassemble and deliver to advertisers a mass audience for news not in one place, but across different programs, products and platforms. To do so, some are varying their news agenda, their rules on separating advertising from news and even their ethical standards.

The last item makes projecting a consistent sense of identity and brand more difficult for news organizations, reinforcing a public perception that the news media lack professionalism and a sense of any duty to the public interest."

Not at all the atmosphere of self-congratulations that I denounced in the Mark Glaser article.

Source: Mediachannel.org. See also Danny Schechter's article in Editor & Publisher (Press still falling down on Iraq).

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 22, 2004 at 06:47 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Time archives made available

Good news related by Mediapost: "Time magazine has announced that it will make its full archive of articles, dating back to its inaugural issue in March 1923, available to its subscribers. The archive will provide access to over 266,000 articles at Time.com. In addition to the category article search, the archive also includes unique search features, including a Time covers archive, a "Find Your Birthday Cover" function that allows users to view the cover that was featured on the day they were born, and "First Mentions"--which lists when famous people were first discussed in the magazine. The new feature will also be interactive, as users can send queries to archive editors." A very good example of what is valuable for readers and subscribers: newspapers archives are incredible resources!

Source: Mediapost

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 22, 2004 at 04:26 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

US: new developments for the "continuous newspaper"

According to John N. Wilcox, president and chief operating officer of Ottaway, "Now, people expect to get the news on their desktops, laptops and cell phones not only once a day, but whenever it breaks." Ottaway, the parent company of The Daily Item, recently signed contracts to install a new content management system for print and online services at its daily and weekly newspapers in nine states. The project has been in the planning stage for more than two years. At The Daily Item, installation of the new equipment will commence in July 2005 and will offer the Susquehanna Valley area innovative ways to receive information and advertising messages electronically throughout the day, using a variety of electronic devices. The content management system will also streamline the traditional printing methods that are used to generate this newspaper daily, while offering expanded archiving capabilities.

Ottaway Newspapers Inc. is the community newspaper subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company. Ottaway publishes 15 daily newspapers, 12 Sunday newspapers, 18 weeklies and numerous specialty publications and web sites in nine states.

Source: Daily Item

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 22, 2004 at 01:15 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft sells Slate to Washington Post Co.

Here is the beginning of the article written by the editor of Slate, Jacob Weisberg: "Today the Washington Post Co. announces that it is buying Slate from Microsoft Corporation, our home since we began publishing in 1996. When the transaction closes in mid-January, we will leave the splendiferous House of Bill Gates for the munificent House of Don Graham." Good start, but after you understand what is the meaning of "political correctness". To make a long story short, the Slate's editor says that everything was perfect under Microsoft reign... and that everything will be perfect under Washington Post reign. Remains a positive assertion: "readers are likely to notice little, if any, change in the magazine." OK but who can believe that synergies between Slate and Wapo - Newsweek Interactive will not affect the editorial contents and assets of the current online magazine? Losses were acceptable for Microsoft, not for WaPo. On the other part, it's true that the Washington Post has more opportunities - than Microsoft - to develop an online magazine under its umbrella: New York Times online supremacy could be challenged. In fact, I was expecting prospective views from the Slate editor, but I got only a nothing-will-change answer! Dommage! (what a pity!) Sources: Slate. See also the Washington Post

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 22, 2004 at 12:51 AM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Monday, December 20, 2004

Dan Gillmor, keynote speaker of the 12th World Editors Forum

Dan Gillmor will be our guest at the 12th World Editors Forum and the keynote speaker of this annual gathering of 300 editors from around the world. In 2005, the forum will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from 29 May to 1 June. I'm very pleased that Dan Gillmor accepted my invitation for two reasons: first, his decision to leave the San Jose Mercury News at the end of the year and to create a new organization focused on "participatory journalism" is an example for all of us. Nowadays it's not so common for writers to put their theory into practice! Second, I'm sure a lot of European editors will not share Gillmor's views expressed in his latest book "We the media. Grassroots journalism by the people for the people". I'm interested to see if, during the debate, Gillmor's ideas will be percieved as pioneering views for the rest of the world or as the beginnings of a dividing line between American journalism and what some call "European journalism". Don't forget this date: Monday 30 May 2005 for the Dan Gillmor presentation and the debate. Obviously, it will be broadcasted on the Editors Weblog.

Source: 12th World Editors Forum in Seoul and our official website

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 20, 2004 at 10:50 AM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, d. Making newspapers easier to read , n. New sources for Editors, t. 2005 World Editors Forum in Seoul | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Mobiles a very important part of online newspaper future

To compensate for falling print revenues, newspapers are relying on online income. Financial Times' director of online publishing is planning on going further by looking into new charging models to turn visitors into subscribers. "As the new director of online publishing for the Financial Times, Nigel Pocklington sees the opportunity to sell the paper's content everywhere, reports Kieren McCarthy of the Independent. He's talking about instant, personalised market data and news sent directly to your phone. And he has already signed deals with Nokia and Sony Ericsson to provide just that. "

"The challenge is to replace falling print revenues with online equivalents. Which is why the FT decided last month to create a new board-level position for online. "It's recognition of the importance of the internet - that it reflects a bigger part of the business and a larger part of the revenue," Pocklington explains. "This is a sign of a maturing online newspaper market, the director of UK Association of Online Publishers, Alex White, tells us. "With nationals, there is a big overlap in that they are all reporting daily news, so in terms of charging, it is really important they focus on what makes their product different and what readers are not able to get from the others," she says."

Source: The Independent through IWantMedia

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on December 14, 2004 at 12:30 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, December 13, 2004

How Dan Gillmor views newspapers as endangered species

Thanks to Jean K. Min, International director of OhmyNews in Korea, for providing us the interview he did with Dan Gillmor this weekend about the new initiative of the San Jose Mercury News columnist (see former posting): "Dan Gillmor's announcement that he will leave the San Jose Mercury News next month in order to start a citizen-journalism venture has left many insiders scratching their heads. Why is the much respected tech writer leaving what he described as "greatest gig in the world" for the perilous journey of developing an entrepreneurial idea in citizen-journalism?"
I select one of the question asked by the OhmyNews staff:
What do you think about the future of the newspaper? Will it disappear?
Well, eventually, sure. I assume that we will have electronic displays that will be very high resolution, without flicker, to replicate the very best of the page, of print, which is really a wonderful form factor. I love books and like magazines, I like newspapers. We're going to get eventually a kind of handheld thing that is easy and pleasant to read as paper is in our hands today -- with a lot of things that will make it better, in some ways. And of course there's the bathroom test -- can you take it with you into the bathroom. But I assume this will be solved. I'll probably always buy books, just because I'm old, but what's important is the medium as much as what's said. A lot of where we're going is kids today using video and audio in ways we could never contemplate -- and SMS is a media of its own -- so we have a lot to learn. Us old guys are learning a lot from younger people about it works."

Please find below some other questions.
OhmyNews: OK, let's get straight to it: What's your media venture all about?
Dan Gillmor: That's what we're figuring out (laughter). I'm not saying this to be evasive, but it's so early that I just don't have the specifics in place. But I do know that I want to avoid "left vs. right" and I do hope to work on something that involves our economic system and how we can work out some of the problems we have. But it just feels to me like it's a trap to get into a leftwing-rightwing debate right now. There are lots of people already doing that quite well, and I also want to bring, as (OhmyNews) did, the understanding that professional journalists have actually learned a few things over the years -- things that actually work and we shouldn't just throw out those things that work as we go into this new era of citizen journalism. We should apply the best lessons from professional journalism -- which is not to say replicate it - but to combine the best of the old with that wonderful energy and excitement out there in the grassroots. I think that would be wonderful if I could pull that off.

What message are you sending by starting your own media venture?
I'm not trying to send a message. I feel I have a great opportunity to be part of something that is changing journalism and I want to be part of that.

It seems your anger against the mainstream media was a part of the reason you took this direction in journalism.
I still love newspapers and I work with wonderful people and have enormous respect for the institution of journalism that I've been part of for a long time. But I do think that election coverage, in particular, was not our best hour. Mainstream journalism should have done a better job as we should have done with other things. But we still do a better job at important journalism in broadcasting and reporting that so far we don't see done by the online community.

Do many Americans share your anger, if I can call it that, against the mainstream media?
I don't know the exact numbers, but polling suggests people are hoping for better things.

... Internet journalism, based on citizen journalism, can reduce that danger?
It can. But it's not up to us. We can advise people to read other things and to look at other avenues. We can't force anybody to do that. But I think we as journalists have a responsibility to urge people to go beyond the page they're on. And yeah, part of what is so cool about the Web is the hyperlink -- the elemental unit of the Web. It tells you either here's something that backs up what I'm saying, or here's a way to get to something that is related to it. The Web is about links."

Read the whole interview, it's worth it.

Source: OhmyNews

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 13, 2004 at 02:07 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, k. Newspapers launches and results, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, December 10, 2004

Dan Gillmor leaving the SJ Mercury News to work on a citizen-journalism project

Very important news for participatory journalism: now blogosphere's stars are joining anonymous pioneers. Let's talk Dan Gillmor, author of "We the media", latest bible of American media thinkers : "I'll be leaving the San Jose Mercury News next month to work on a citizen-journalism project. I hope to pull together something useful that helps enable -- and demonstrates -- the emerging grassroots journalism that I wrote about in my recent book. Something powerful is happening, it's in the early stages and I have a chance to help figure this out... Keep in mind that this project is now in what's known as the seed stage. It's not an operating entity yet, though I expect it will be. But we're some time away from that, with many issues to resolve in the meantime." Very courageous attempt.

Source: Dan Gillmor ejournal

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 10, 2004 at 12:53 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, j. Staff changes, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

US: first results of convergence study released

According to Gail Koch, reporting for Star Press, "a new study of convergence, conducted at Ball State University, has found that newspapers and broadcasters are still in the beginning phases of defining working partnerships with one another. The first leg of the three-part survey, funded by the Center for Media Design, included a survey of 372 newspaper editors that found about 30 percent of newspapers are involved in news-gathering relationships with television stations. The majority of newspapers, however, are not taking advantage of such cross-promotional opportunities and are paying little attention to their TV partners.

"What caught our attention is that convergence efforts are happening in all circulation areas, regardless of a newspaper's size," said Lori Demo, one of the study's author. She said the goal of the study is to discover whether convergence lends itself to "richer, better journalism. Here are a few of the figures from the study: newspapers are willing to share story budgets and lineups with their television partners but attempt to retain stories considered "exclusives." About 44 percent of the editors said they are selective in what they share, 16 percent said they never share and 12.3 percent hold back stories on which they have a competitive advantage over their partner. About 12 percent of editors say they and their partners make use of a common editor or assignment desk to coordinate story planning on a daily or almost-daily basis. About 70 percent of newspapers do not spend any time during news meetings discussing how to promote their partner's content. About 51 percent never share the cost of special projects or investigations with their partners.

The second and third portions of the survey, due out in 2005, will focus on the TV and Web angles of convergence. The study is authored by Larry Daily, journalism professor and CMD faculty fellow; Lori Demo, journalism professor; and Mary Spillman, telecommunications professor."

Source: The Star Press

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on December 7, 2004 at 01:20 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, December 06, 2004

US: two examples of local media revolution

Two local citizen journalism site are in the works in the US, according to Cyberjournalist: Pegasus News and another one that will be launched by Backfence.com. It is planned that the latter will be launched in the Washington, D.C. area "in the first quarter of 2005. Online-news pioneer Mark Potts, who's involved in the venture, said, "Our vision is to create sites that offer extremely local coverage, written almost entirely by the readers, using blogs, wikis, and other formats to allow people to share community news and information with their neighbors in a friendly, ad-supported environment distributed via the Web, RSS, and other online media." The former, Pegasus News, is "a new local news company aiming to reinvent local market content and advertising", according to its Website. Its beta test will take place in Dallas, Texas in late 2005 and eventually launch in every top-25 U.S. market with a monopoly newspaper. "Within a month of launch, the most broadly interesting and immediate content from that site will be published in a daily tabloid print newspaper," the site says.

So far the people behind Pegasus News are remaining anonymous. The core principles of Pegasus News are:
? Local news and information is aggressively, inherently, totally local.
? Users have so many choices of medium, that we cannot afford not to distribute content through as many media as technologically possible.
? Media is a conversation, not a monologue.
? Engaged consumers are better than paying consumers.
? All products and services are as precise and precisely priced as technology will allow.
The site says its model's key differentiators are:
? Hyper-local content to the exclusion of all else.
? Rich delivery via as many mediums as possible, with the print edition representing only a small fraction of the content created in a given day.
? Subscription price predicated on level of engagement (higher engagement = lower price).
? Almost exclusively pay-for-performance advertising. Yes, even in print."

Source: Cyberjournalist.net article 1 and article 2

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on December 6, 2004 at 01:12 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Korea: the rapid transformation of the media market

Jean K. Min, the international affairs director of OhmyNews, the cutting edge Korean newssite exposes his personal view on the state of the Korean newspaper industry: "Korean news market doesn’t look very good recently. Just last week another sports and entertainment daily filed for a bankruptcy and other financially troubled newspapers could soon follow the similar fate. A report by a Korean consulting firm predicts that within a couple of years, only top three major national dailies would survive. You will find very soon some unfortunate victims of the rapid transformation of Korean media market. The sudden reversal of fortune of Korean newspaper industry is shocking even to the eyes of Koreans, who are accustomed to dramatic social changes and upheavals for the past half a century. Not just young netizens but the familiar old guard, whom many considered would remain the loyal readers of the newspapers delivered to them every morning are rapidly turning to Internet.

They either visit dedicated news site such as OhmyNews or check out news from major portals. Chosun Ilbo has recently taken a major shift in their business strategy to survive in this harsh market condition. They announced a drastic restructuring plan to cut at least three hundreds senior staff reporters. Joongang Ilbo would follow the similar actions soon. Chosun Ilbo will put a greater strategic weight on the Internet arm of their news operations while cutting down or reshuffling their existing resource devoted to print news. However, I don?t think they would find any better luck on Internet either. Average Koreans? primary source of daily news is no more Internet edition of print news but either dedicated news site like OhmyNews or major portals. Those portals are buying news from all kinds of news sources and people love this one-stop news offering which eliminates need to visit multiple news sites. The changing media consumption behavior coupled with severe economic recession makes Koreans to simply reconsider their existing newspaper subscriptions. You know people?s wallet size is only limited and their squeeze on media spending will eventually allow only number one or number two media to survive. Newspapers seem to be no more their first choice of daily news."

Source: OhMyNews

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on December 6, 2004 at 11:40 AM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sunday, December 05, 2004

After the circulation scandal, the click fraud?

Newspaper websites may have to face up to the kind of fraud similar to the circulation scandals which occurred with some printed editions (Newsday, Hoy...). To Webpronews, a new major issue about online ad revenues is emerging: "According to a CNN report, Google CFO George Reyes "refered to an illegal practice known as "click fraud" that occurs when individuals click on ad links that appear next to search results in order to force advertisers to pay for the clicks". Investment analysts have increasingly expressed concerns about click fraud. Those of us who have followed the search engine industry closely have realized this from the begining when GoTo.com popularized the pay for click search engine revenue model. If Google, Yahoo and others can't stop click fraud (and there is no guarantee they can) then the model is doomed. No advertiser can sustain paying for empty clicks.

As the CNN article states it is a problem created by the nature of the business model, "The main perpetrators appear to be competitors of advertisers and also scam sites set up for the sole purpose of hosting ad links provided by Google, through its AdSense unit, or Yahoo!'s, through its Overture service. Humans or specially designed software then click on those ad links in order to "steal" revenue from advertisers." Google's primary defense against click fraud has been to refund advertisers their money if they complain and Google sees evidence that fraudulent clicks have occured. The problem with this is that the burden of proof is on the advertiser ... and Google knows that most advertisers will not take the time to argue."
Read the whole article, it's very relevant.

Source: Webpronews

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 5, 2004 at 05:38 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

What's wrong with American journalism? (1)

I am taking the opportunity of a piece of news about the Drudge report to begin a series of short articles on American journalism (one posting every three days). My meeting with Danny Schechter, the editor of mediachannel.org, also gave me the idea of comparing journalism in Europe and America. I will obviously be making postings out of Paris, and hope my selection will be appreciated as a European's interpretation of the American scene.

Let me begin with this remark by Rich Ord, Webpronews: "According to Google Zeitgeist, the internet based Drudge Report is the third most searched for news source as of October, 2004. Why is this interesting? Of the top sites searched for news sources, the Drudge Report (DR) is the only Web based news service. It is significant that online news sources are now mainstream news sources when using pure popularity as the barometer. All of the others in the top five are principally television based. The Google Zeitgeist list of most popular news sources is as follows: CNN, Today Show, Drudge Report, Fox News, MSNBC..."

What is amazing about this piece of news is that very few people seem to be worried: it is now part of the American media landscape - as wonkette.com or other opinion blogs - and relatively well accepted, even if the parent/child relationship between DR and its baby-blogs can be discussed or denied (seen from Europe, there is no doubt it exists). Organisations with hundreds of journalists - and skilled people and a long tradition of fact-checking - are now put on the same level as a single person. But nobody seems to care! Isn't important when rumours and second-hand commentaries become as important as breaking news and investigative reports? And ironically, during the presidential elections, major American newspapers were almost obliged to follow the lead set by opinionated weblogs: de facto, their agenda was driven by this new cast of opinion leaders.

The second point is the apparent lack of courage among many American editors (due to media-political correctness?): the only one who reacted to this new trend was John S. Carroll, LA Times editor in a prophetic lecture entitled "The Wolf in Reporter's Clothing: the Rise of Pseudo-Journalism in America" (targeting Fox News talk-shows but a lot of his examples could be applied to opinionated blogs). What does this editors' self-censorship mean? That today blogs are so popular that nobody dares say that Drudge's sons of the blogosphere raise as many problems as they bring solutions. I know that American editors aren't pro-blogs, but I'm still waiting for a strong editorial saying that blogs are not the corner stone of 21st century journalism...

What's the main issue for European journalists in this American blogmania tsunami? Usually, the information process can be divided into four segments (fact-checking being part of the two first segments): breaking news, investigative reporting, balanced analysis and then opinion. With the bloggers, you jump directly from breaking news to the opinion article. This is a major disruption and, by the way, a major misunderstanding of what journalism is: when you are articulated and well informed, it's rather easy to become an opinion giver, but it is much more difficult to fact-check the news and avoid manipulation by the government or big companies and interests. You need staff, a newsroom, and what has existed in media organisations from a century. Period.

I am, by now, perfectly aware of bloggers' arguments regarding the CBS affair concerning the "60 minutes" report about George W. Bush National Guard service. It is said that, thanks to the "guys in pajamas", truth emerged very quickly. To be frank, I'm not fully convinced. For the following reason: CBS' competitors would have done the same job, criticizing the sources and the conclusions as they usually do. But it would have taken days and days. What is really new is that, as a case study, the collective intelligence of the blog community did the work in a few hours. It is now impossible to re-write the story as if bloggers didn't exist, but as far as we are concerned in Europe, the blog issue is only a question of timing, not a question of principle. Bloggers, in this sense, are part of the journalistic community. As potential contributors and as accelerators - as opinion makers as well -, not as editors or truth makers!

Another worrying issue is what could be called "American demagogy" or the "Zagat culture" and I will develop that in another posting. The syllogism is the following: blogs are popular, blogs are worthy - instead of so-called MSM or mainstream media -, so blogs give you the truth! In France, you don't say a restaurant is good because it is full and seems successful. First, you try the food and second you let pass time to see if the promises are kept in the following months. So, it is not because you have 12 million monthly visitors on Dailykos.com that it is a good site. It's certainly a successful blog, but beyond that it reveals a crisis in American public opinion. I see it as a symptom, not a cure! Sorry if it is a bit tough, but there is no reason to accept any "religion of figures" based on the audience of some weblogs: so far, fairness and accuracy were not indexed on Technorati technology! It's more or less the same story about the "We Media" concept and we will discuss that later in "What's wrong with American journalism? (2)".

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 5, 2004 at 02:24 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Europe: broadband challenges TV viewing

First news: broadband figures are quite the same in the US and in Western Europe - 10% less in the old continent - according to a BBC news article. Second news: it will be difficult for newspapers' websites to survive without a broadband offer and some aggregated contents from broadcast partners. "The number of Europeans with broadband has exploded over the past 12 months, with the web eating into TV viewing habits, research suggests. Just over 54 million people are hooked up to the net via broadband, up from 34 million a year ago, according to market analysts Nielsen/NetRatings. The total number of people online in Europe has broken the 100 million mark. "Twelve months ago high speed internet users made up just over one third of the audience in Europe; now they are more than 50% and we expect this number to keep growing," said Gabrielle Prior, Nielsen/NetRatings analyst.

"As the number of high-speed surfers grows, websites will need to adapt, update and enhance their content to retain their visitors and encourage new ones." A study by analysts Jupiter Research suggested that broadband was challenging television viewing habits. In homes with broadband, 40% said they were spending less time watching TV. It said TV companies faced a major long-term threat over the next five years, with broadband predicted to grow from 19% to 37% of households by 2009. "Year-on-year we are continuing to see a seismic shift in where, when and how Europe's population consume media for information and entertainment and this has big implications for TV, newspaper and radio," said Jupiter Research analyst Olivier Beauvillian.

Source: BBC news

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 4, 2004 at 12:14 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, d. Making newspapers easier to read , g. Visual strategies and photojournalism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, December 03, 2004

Chile: instant Web feedback creates the next day's paper

Thanks to Danna Harman, staff writer of Christian Science Monitor for her report of a new media trend born - this time - outside the US, but very inspired by the Google fashion: "It was 102 years old, boring, unpopular, and basically, as economist Marta Lagos puts it, "a middle-of-the-road piece of nothing." Now, it's a phenomenon. Las Ultimas Noticias (LUN) - The Latest News - is Chile's most widely read newspaper today, setting tongues wagging, talk-show hosts chatting, celebrities and politicians denying, serious folks wailing, and advertisers calling. No, it's not a tabloid, insist the employees at the slightly shabby downtown newsroom. Rather, they say, it's a revolution in journalism, a reader-driven product that reflects the changing values and interests of a postdictatorship public that grew up on a diet of establishment news and now wants more. Or, as some say - because of the often low-brow content - less. This revolution has occurred, says the paper's publisher Augustine Edwards, thanks to his decision to listen to "the people." Three years ago, under Mr. Edwards's guidance, LUN installed a system whereby all clicks onto its website (www.lun.com) were recorded for all in the newsroom to see. Those clicks - and the changing tastes and desires they represent - drive the entire print content of LUN. If a certain story gets a lot of clicks, for example, that is a signal to Edwards and his team that the story should be followed up, and similar ones should be sought for the next day. If a story gets only a few clicks, it is killed. The system offers a direct barometer of public opinion, much like the TV rating system - but unique to print media...

None of the LUN correspondents have news beats anymore, rather, they compete one against the other. Edwards says he will start financial incentives, with salaries reflecting the monthly clicks each reporter accrues. Editors, he adds, will work more as coaches than bosses. "I want my correspondents to be writing for the people," he stresses. "Not for me, or their editors, or the bureaucrats who put out press releases.""
Then read the whole CSM article to understand the opportunities and evidently the risks and drawbacks of such a process. Hope we will never have to write about "automatized journalism"!

Source: Christian Science Monitor through cyberjournalist.net. See also Las Ultimas Noticias website.

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 3, 2004 at 04:44 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

France: Le Monde puts reader-bloggers (almost) at the same level as journalists

I like Loïc Le Meur blog. Loic is VP Europe of Typepad and one rare French manager to blog in English. Last week, we gave you the info that Le Monde and Typepad launched together a "blog offer" for the readers of the newspaper's site and Loic just gave his first comments: "Le Monde is one of the first newspaper in the World to offer blogs to their readers, under the Le Monde brand. They have also published a ranking of the 10 top blogs, mixing their journalists blogs and their readers blogs, showing them at the same level, based on blog readers recommendations. After only two days after launch, 4 reader blogs make it in the top ten, that is lead by journalists, the blog of the language correction team of Le Monde (1st) that everybody talks about here (five people at Le Monde do nothing but correcting the French language of the journalists to be perfect French and they blog in a very humoristic way) and that of Francis Pisani (2nd) who reports on technologies from California... Looks like a competition between professional journalists blogs and amateurs blogs... This has been on for a long time on Technorati, but here it is under the Le Monde brand..." I don't share Loïc's views on how marvellous is the competition between bloggers and journalists - there is a big difference between a NEWSSITE and a VIEWSSITE -, but's it is an interesting comment!

Sources: Loïc Le Meur blog and Le Monde blogs page (in French but a lot are done from the States)

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on December 3, 2004 at 12:01 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Wikipedia Creators Move Into News 

Another example of citizen journalism, launched this month, this time by Wikipedia. According to Joanna Glasner of Wired News, "after doing much in recent years to revolutionize the way an encyclopedia can be built and maintained, the team behind Wikipedia is attempting to apply its collaborative information-gathering model to journalism. Through a new effort, Wikinews, members of the open-source community who write and edit Wikipedia's encyclopedia entries are encouraged to test their skills as journalists." "Our mission is to create a world where citizen journalists report the news on a wide variety of current events" says the main page of Wikinews.

"The news site follows a similar set of rules as the encyclopedia, which allows anyone to edit and post corrections to entries, so long as each change is recorded," reports Joanna Glasner. Unlike Wikipedia, Wikinews will present original material rather than just compiling and summarizing information found elsewhere, according to the news site's organizers. For future submissions, organizers also want to set up a system for accrediting Wikinews reporters who have actively participated in the project. The current rendition of Wikinews is an experimental version that, according to Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, offers just a taste of what's to come when the news effort builds momentum."
92 articles have been written so far, featuring among others subjects the Ukraine political crisis, and the creation of a trade area by China and South-East Asian countries.

Sources: Wired News and Wikinews

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on November 30, 2004 at 12:34 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them, k. Newspapers launches and results, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, November 29, 2004

Korea: Ohmynews' first figures released

We have already written about the Korean news website Ohmynews a few times on the Editors' weblog, but until now we didn't know the precise figures concerning this website. "According to Min, director of international development, OhmyNews is generating almost US$500,000 a month in advertising revenue."We broke even last year and since then kept generating a monthly profit of about $27,000," The website is ranked in the top 15 in South Korea. According to a website message from the founder, Oh Yeon-ho, after three years OhmyNews was breaking even, with 2004 anticipated to yield a modest profit. According to OhmyNews sources, only 20% of the site's copy each day is written by staff journalists. The balance is totally dependent on outside contributors, including professors, police officers, students, housewives, business people - everyone. "OhmyNews citizen-reporters are paid from US$20 to as little as $5, depending on the place [each article] is assigned by our editors," Min said. The site was recently recognized at the fifth World Forum on E-Democracy hosted by PoliticsOnline, in a ceremony in France, as one of the global players instrumental in changing the world of the Internet and politics.

Source: Asia Times

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on November 29, 2004 at 01:40 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, n. New sources for Editors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

UK newspaper websites: how long before charging for news online kicks in?

The Independent's Jane Thynne writes about the dilemma that most newspapers have been having to face for the past few years: now that almost all British national newspapers have their online edition, should they continue to depend on advertising for revenues or should they start selling content? Online editions are "the only medium where you get content free," says Alexandra White of the UK Association of Online Publishers. "At the upper end of the market it is widely accepted that paid-for content is the way ahead. It's hard to charge for news, because of its general availability elsewhere, but archive news can be paid for, as can specialist information. "The million-dollar question is working out what the unique strengths are that a reader may be prepared to pay for," says Avril Williams, editorial director of Associated New Media. "For us it's our columnists." Nearly 60 per cent of Daily Mail readers use the net. "Our job is to provide up-to-the-minute stories 24 hours a day and to give readers a chance to talk back to us".

"Yet there is a delicate balancing act between making money by charging for services and keeping enough free content to maintain traffic for the advertisers. Allow reader numbers to drop and advertising revenue will go the same way, yet having a small group of motivated subscribers can be a great investment when targeting them for other sales. According to Simon Waldman, the director of digital publishing at Guardian Unlimited, keeping in touch with readers and providing a vital synergy between paper and online as internet use develops is the major challenge."

Source: The Independent through IFRA

Posted by Valérie Gazzano on November 29, 2004 at 12:01 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, q. Global/Local trends, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, November 26, 2004

CNN offers free (but sponsored) mobile news service

MediaBulletin, "CNN has launched the first mobile news service to be entirely supported by an advertiser, with money from Xerox effectively allowing it to be offered to consumers free of subscription charges. The service is independent of any mobile operator or manufacturer, and works with most Java-supported handsets. It delivers the top 10 stories in world news, and users only pay one SMS fee to request the service and their normal operator GPRS tariffs to use it. Xerox branding appears as the service starts, on the home page and on pages across the service."

Source: MediaBulletin

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on November 26, 2004 at 12:55 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Three examples of innovative newsroom management in the German-speaking world

Der Standard introduces three examples of innovative newsroom management, which have been developed in the German-speaking world over the past year. Traditionally physically and subjectively separated, the German-speaking newspaper industry has now begun merging different departments of the production process physically in order to induce more communication in the process of newspaper production. German "Rhein Main Presse" decided to follow the American model of journalism and has split its staff into editors and reporters. Eighteen journalists work together in one newsroom--the Newsdesk-- which relies more on research completed by the in-house reporters than it used to do, while also providing customers with Newsletters and SMS-services. An interesting concept, which failed, due to internal protests, would have been that envisioned by Austria's Kleine Zeitung: the offices would have no longer been assigned to editors or reporters; instead the seating would have changed on a daily basis depending on which department would have been working on the breaking news.

Der Standard, on the contrary has altered its newsroom management completely during the last twelve months. The newsroom comprises 200 journalists including the graphics department, seated in a large room of 4000 square meters. the changes are especially interesting when it comes to rapid coverage of news, such as election coverage. Goal of the alternations was to make the newsroom "faster, qualitatively better, more smooth and cost-efficient". Gerfried Sperl, editor-in-chief of Der Standard explains further, "the newsroom allows for a dynamic production of the newspaper, because everything necessary for the production process is at hand."

Source: Der Standard

Posted by Ulrike Trux on November 26, 2004 at 12:35 PM in c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, i. What is newsworthy or how to reshape the future of the newspaper, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Germany: New products and new readers for the newspaper market

Marc Zeimetz, Manager, Projects and Newspaper Strategy Division and Klaus Madzia, Editor-in-Chief (News), Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, Germany gave a presentation on the evolution, that the German newspaper market is currently undertaking at the World Association of Newspapers' 2004 World Editor and Marketeer Conference in Lisbon. Following similar strategies to adapt to the changing German newspaper market Jan-Eric Peters, Editor-in-Chief, Die Welt, Welt Kompakt, Berliner Morgenpost, Germany illuminates his company's approach. Marc Zeimetz and Klaus Madzia presented marketing strategies and target groups for Holzbrinck's new publications 20 Cents and News, underlining that they were not targeting the masses with the new trend but rather presenting more varied news for the ever growing target groups of print media. Jan-Eric Peters added another angle to the discussion by introducing Axel Springer's new paper Welt Kompakt. He related the merging of Berliner Morgenpost's, Die Welt's and Welt Kompakt's editorial offices to the new trend and explained how all papers profit from the resources of their colleagues at the newly merged editorial office.

Traditional German newspapers are too old, too expensive, too big, too slow and too rigid, says Mr Zeimetz, in introducing the strategy that has led to new, youth-oriented newspapers like Von Holtzbrinck's 20 Cent and News. "Having identified these problems, we now have opportunities," he says. "We want to be young, inexpensive, fast, streamlined, practical and convenient, and flexible." The presentations by Mr Zeimetz and Mr Madzia included case studies of the recently launched German newspapers, which are already attracting young readers who never read newspapers on a regular basis before. 20 Cent, named for its cover price, is a young, quick information newspaper with a big entertainment section, targeted at 14- to 39-year olds. It has led to new market expansion--other newspapers in its test markets have not suffered circulation declines. And the paper has attracted new advertising. News, which Mr Madzia described as a "newszine", attempts to combine hard news and information with more in-depth magazine-like reporting and increased utility. It also includes interactive elements like SMS options and web links. It sells for 50 euro cents. "We are not talking any more about one product for the masses, but different products for different target groups," says Mr Zeimetz.
Jan-Eric Peters, Editor-in-Chief, Die Welt, Welt Kompakt, Berliner Morgenpost, Germany illuminates his company's adaptations to the changing newspaper industry in Germany. At first glance, Welt Kompakt might seem to be smaller version of the Germany quality broadsheet Die Welt. But it is something completely new, and completely different. "It is not just a new concept for newspapers, it is part of a unique world-wide journalistic model," says Mr Peters. "We've not only increased quality, but we cut costs. Name me a publisher in the world who would not want such a model." The new model began when Axel Springer's quality national Die Welt and its regional sister publication, Berliner Morgenpost, combined their editorial staffs -- going from 300 journalists each to 350 for the two publications. Although the cuts were severe, Die Welt benefits from the regional competencies of Berliner Morgenpost, while the Berlin paper benefits from the national competencies of Die Welt, says Mr Peters. And when Welt Kompakt joined the mix, it benefited from both. "It is similar to a news agency serving several newspapers," says Mr Peters about the combined newsroom. Launched in May 2004 in Berlin and seven other German cities, Welt Kompakt is not a substitute for the broadsheet, but a different offer aimed at new readers, particularly younger readers who don't have a lot of time but want quality journalism. The tabloid sells for 50 euro cents. The majority of readers are between 18 and 35 years old and have not read newspapers before on a regular basis, says Mr Peters. And although it was designed to be a quick read, customers spend an average 50 minutes with it -- same as the broadsheet Die Welt. "We reach a very attractive target group," says Mr Peters, adding that circulation has grown 10 percent since launch.

Posted by Ulrike Trux on November 26, 2004 at 11:37 AM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, d. Making newspapers easier to read , e. Tabloid vs. broadsheet, h. New readers: how to involve them, j. Staff changes, k. Newspapers launches and results, l. Editors conferences, training sessions and awards, m. From editorial quality to editorial measurement, n. New sources for Editors, q. Global/Local trends, r. What new revenues and new business models? | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Another American obituary of the printed press

There is no more week in the US without the announcement of the upcoming death of the printed newspaper. Wired could not be the last for the requiem! Adam L. Penenberg writes that "The seeds have been planted for a tremendous upheaval in the material world of publishing. Young people just aren't interested in reading newspapers and print magazines. In fact, according to Washington City Paper, The Washington Post organized a series of six focus groups in September to determine why the paper was having so much trouble attracting younger readers... Imagine what higher-ups at the Post must have thought when focus-group participants declared they wouldn't accept a Washington Post subscription even if it were free. The main reason (and I'm not making this up): They didn't like the idea of old newspapers piling up in their houses...Don't think for a minute that young people don't read. On the contrary, they do, many of them voraciously... In short, they customize their news-gathering experience in a way a single paper publication could never do. And their hands never get dirty from newsprint... And when young people go online, they tend to browse for news in much the same way they window-shop for jeans or sneakers: sampling a headline here, a blog entry there, a snippet of a story there, until their news cravings are satisfied... Blogger Waldo Jaquith believes that "as news-reader (programs) improve and become more widely used, adding the sort of auto-filtering and smart-sorting capabilities of a decent e-mail client, their popularity will snowball." He also predicts that print media, which he says his generation has largely rejected in favor of digital dissemination of news, will die off within 30 years, "when the dead-tree readers will die off."

Source: Wired</a>

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on November 25, 2004 at 05:56 PM in a. Is blogging journalism?, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, h. New readers: how to involve them | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

China: Partial opening of the media industry

According to Financial Times, the General Administration of Press and Publication in China has announced a partial opening of the media industry to foreign investment. The new regulation allows for international newspapers to be printed in China, hence avoiding overnight shipment, which has made a timely delivery of the news in the morning impossible in the past. The Chinese government nevertheless holds a firm grip on the media market, reports Financial Times. "Foreign news publications sold at retail outlets can have pages removed if they feature articles that touch on sensitive political subjects or are judged overly critical of China." The Guardian analyses the development further by stating " The partial opening is aimed at strengthening the domestic media industry through the introduction of foreign expertise and finance, without relinquishing overall control." The Beijing Youth Daily has already announced its intentions to seek foreign direct investment; furthermore Tom.com, a media firm based in Hong Kong, has bought part of China's most popular computer magazine.

Source: Financial Times, The Guardian

Posted by Ulrike Trux on November 25, 2004 at 12:44 PM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Analysts see more US newspaper consolidation ahead

Reuters reports that triggered by the news of Pulitzer Inc. being for sale, assumptions about further newspaper consolidations in the US have appeared. Analysts estimate high bids for Pulitzer and predict that other chains will follow suit. "It's very unlikely that a company will find growth by expanding circulation [...] or that they would launch a significant number of new publications" themselves, said analyst Jim Walden of research firm Morningstar Inc. "The most realistic form of growth would be that from acquisitions." Reuters remarks further that "the last major deals in the U.S. newspaper business were in 2000, when Gannett Co Inc. acquired Central Newspapers Inc., publisher of The Arizona Republic and Indianapolis Star, for $2.6 billion and Tribune Co. bought Times Mirror, home to the Los Angeles Times, for $7.8 billion."

Source: Reuters

Posted by Ulrike Trux on November 25, 2004 at 12:22 PM in b. Alliances and partnerships: consequences for newsrooms, c. Converged or diverged? The multiplatform newsroom, q. Global/Local trends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

US: 2004, year of the fact check?

An interesting article from the American Journalism Review focuses on the fervor of fact-checking that took place during the presidential campaign. "When it came to campaign coverage," writes Lori Robertson, "2004 was the Year of the Fact-Check. Or maybe just a few months of the Fact-Check. A number of media outlets took a distinct interest in putting statements made by Bush and Kerry, and their ad makers, to the test. The New York Times launched a feature named "Fact Check"; the Washington Post called its "For the Record"; ABC News had correspondent Jake Tapper chiming in with "just the facts"; many simply interviewed factcheck.org Director Brooks Jackson. As the election approached, the media were doing more and more truth-finding segments, which is a good thing, Jackson said in late September. But earlier? There were months of missed opportunities, he said. Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, started reviewing the Democratic hopefuls' claims in December 2003. This campaign, he pointed out, began a long time ago."

"In other words, there's plenty of room for improvement. Critics would like to see more of this fact-check effort in daily coverage--not just relegated to an ad watch on page A17, and not just reserved for debate time every four years. And they're bothered by stories that strive to balance the offenses, painting both candidates with the same they-all-stretch-the-truth brush."

Source: American Journalism Review, See also