The Now/ledge

A Guide to the 'Now' Revolution in News

March 7, 2010 • 18:37 0

Ok, now I want an iPad

I recognize that I’ve been quick to dismiss Apple’s iPad; now I want one.

When I first saw the keynote by Steve Jobs, I thought to myself how lame it was — that really, the iPad is nothing more than a bigger iPod Touch or an iPhone.

I’ve come around to see that there’s more to that. In many ways, it is just a larger screen, but the iPad will give content publishers a new and far more interesting way to distribute and engage their audiences.

So what got me going? This video by Wired and Adobe. Check out what Wired wants to do with its articles on an iPad. Then come back and tell me if this doesn’t get you going.

And if you haven’t already heard, the iPad hits the shelves in the U.S. on April 3. It reaches Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing, Tools

March 1, 2010 • 23:11 0

Imagine a world without newspapers

David Schneiderman, the ex-CEO of Village Voice Media, has a fantastic piece in TechFlash about the current ecosystem we live in, and in particular the all-too-familiar view of the world after newspapers.

His forecasts aren’t as interesting as his concise summary of the current state of play. Here are the main points:

  • Demand-driven journalism increasingly influences news judgments
  • Web journalism is fast becoming the dominant form of news media
  • Nothing is ever final online
  • The best and most influential reporters are becoming brand names.
  • The distinction between news and opinion will continue to erode

    • I find the first point especially interesting. You can’t deny the fact that web editors and producers are counting the clicks, comments and page views that you leave behind.

    This is worrying; in the last two years alone, there has a been a dramatic change in the way we write headlines (primarily to feed hungry search engines). There are more lists, more magazine-style coverlines. And all this at the expense of good, clear writing.

    The definition of “news judgement” has changed. It’s no longer about what people need to know (and what you, the editor, know), but what people will find “interesting” — the definition of which is vague, but ironically, measurable.

    I miss newspapers already.

    (Photo/Creative Commons: inju, Flickr)

    Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing

    January 28, 2010 • 02:14 0

    Finding value in the content ecosystem

    I hate the c-word.

    Content. It refers to this huge murky cloud of online articles, video, photos, comments, Tweets, status updates, etc. And it’s a commodity without a price tag.

    Despite its inherent supply and demand, it’s hard to identify a price or any proper way to value “content.”

    In a recent study titled “How News Happens,” the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism found that of all the outlets that produced news in Baltimore, almost all of them simply repackaged or repeated previously published information.

    Of the media that actually created new “news,” 95 percent of them came from traditional media — most of them newspapers.

    The report triggered a number of questions, in particular: Is the real value of content found in original reporting — the stuff you mainly find in newspapers?

    Let’s try a broader approach. There are three systems to consider, and each has a unique value attached to it:

    1. Traditional “gumshoe” reporting: This is the bread-and-butter reporting that you find in newspapers and wire services. It’s the kind of stuff you learn in journalism school — how to source and produce your own original stories.

    2. Social news reporting: Value is created in the shepherding of articles and links. Here, personal brands matter most as value is created in the person who forwards, links or seeds the dialogue in the community.

    3. Commentary: This is the pinnacle of the personal brand. Commentators such as op-ed writers in the newspaper model add spit-and-polish to the newsflow by “value-adding” an expert view to original reporting.

    Where are you creating value in the reporting that you do?

    (Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center. Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, USN, Senior UNC Delegate, (left) with Rear Admiral R.E. Libby, USN, UNC Delegate, (center) examine a Chinese typewriter at the UNC Advance Camp)

    Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing, Social Media ,

    January 27, 2010 • 22:42 0

    Newsday gets only 35 subscribers to its news service

    Here’s a reality check for media companies thinking about putting up a pay-wall (even though you’ve ignored surveys telling you exactly this) — there’s no guarantee you’ll find the subscriber numbers you’re looking for.

    Proof: Newsday.

    After three months of putting up its pay-wall, only 35 (yes, thirty-five) people have subscribed to the news service, which costs $5 a week or $260 a year.

    In that time, it’s not surprising that the company would have taken a hit on its traffic numbers, further depressing its ad revenue.

    Newsday is especially important for the industry since it was one of the first non-business dailies to establish a subscription-based system online.

    Plenty of lessons here for the New York Times. But really, are you surprised?

    Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing

    January 8, 2010 • 08:29 0

    Tweetdeck goes primetime at Sky News

    Sky News is installing Tweetdeck on all computers, marking a significant shift in the thinking at live TV newsrooms.

    This is a clear endorsement of the role of Twitter in the ‘now’ revolution as a tool to track and gather news and other information. TV newsrooms have been slow in making that shift, so kudos to Sky News for leading that change.

    Sky has always been an early adopter, having appointed Ruth Barnett as social media or “Twitter correspondent” as early as March 2009. That move put Twitter in the center of the company’s online breaking news strategy. The Sky News account detects when new stories are getting posted and distributes them across Twitter. Sky also recently started the @skynewsbreak account, which broadcasts breaking stories first on Twitter before they appear on the company’s own website. Sacred cows are getting slaughtered in 140 characters.

    And there’s more coming. Facebook Connect is apparently on the roadmap ahead of this year’s general election. The site will also be using more liveblogging to stir conversations.

    What’s your newsroom doing with Twitter?

    Filed under: Publishing, Social Media , , ,

    January 6, 2010 • 22:24 0

    Did the pursuit of the ‘now’ kill storytelling?

    Michael Kinsley has a funny column in the current edition of The Atlantic. In it, he argues that people are abandoning newspapers for the Internet not because of technology, but the simple fact that print articles are too long.

    The software industry has a concept known as “legacy code,” meaning old stuff that is left in software programs, even after they are revised and updated, so that they will still work with older operating systems. The equivalent exists in newspaper stories, which are written to accommodate readers who have just emerged from a coma or a coal mine. Who needs to be told that reforming health care (three words) involves “a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system” (nine words)?

    I don’t agree. Well, not completely at least.

    It comes down to this: People are busier. They (We) have more competing activities and face numerous distractions even while sitting at our workspaces. Pings, tweets, new emails, text messages. Arrgh.

    It’s not about the length of the article — it’s about the storytelling. Concision has never mattered more. And in this age, if you can’t get your point across before the next tweet comes in, you’ve lost the plot.

    In effect, our pursuit of the “now” has killed storytelling. Who cares if a reporter is giving enough “color” to the piece? News is now faster than ever. And in shorter sentences. And connects faster. That’s compelling.

    Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing, Social Media

    January 5, 2010 • 17:47 0

    Dow Jones restructures, joins consumer and enterprise units

    Dow Jones & Co. is merging two of its biggest business units in one of its most aggressive moves yet to integrate the company under the leadership of News Corp.

    The consumer media group, which produces frontline products like the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron’s, will be merged with the enterprise media group. The latter carries the namesake newswire service as well as Factiva.

    This is the biggest restructuring at Dow Jones since the News Corp takeover in 2007. Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton says this change wasn’t driven by a need or desire to reduce costs but to help serve customers “irrespective of platform or distribution channel.”

    This is an important acknowledgement of the shift in content consumption — ultimately, the consumer doesn’t care where the news comes from, as long as it’s credible and accurate. The question then: Does Dow Jones still need as many brands as it has in its product showcase?

    Filed under: General, Newspapers, Publishing , ,

    January 2, 2010 • 00:34 3

    Do newspapers have to die for news to survive?

    What better way to start sizing up the new year.

    Do newspapers have to die for news to survive? In a recent article in The Economist, the magazine offered a reminder that the industry is still evolving, as it has been for more than 150 years.

    Case in point: the arrival of the electric telegraph in May 1845. Yes, pre-Twitter, news existed.

    The telegraph was an immediate threat to newspapers, whose survival hinged on the speed of fast boats, carrier pigeons and express trains. The arrival of the telegraph was thus greeted with the same worries that we have in 2010 about what the internet is doing to the news business.

    So what’s so different about where we are today?

    In a nutshell (and I know I’m simplifying this), technology has bridged that elusive “last mile.” While newspapers have gone on to flourish post-1845 (due largely to an increased volume of both news and demand), they faced issues with distribution. Social news today — where news finds you — has turned the industry on its head.

    The biggest question for news in the “now revolution” is context. Oddly, we’re not the first generation to call for that. In 1891, W.J. Stillman, a journalist and critic, complained in the Atlantic Monthly:

    “America has in fact transformed journalism from what it once was, the periodical expression of the thought of the time, the opportune record of the questions and answers of contemporary life, into an agency for collecting, condensing and assimilating the trivialities of the entire human existence… The frantic haste with which we bolt everything we take, seconded by the eager wish of the journalist not to be a day behind his competitor, abolishes deliberation from judgment and sound digestion from our mental constitutions. We have no time to go below surfaces, and as a general thing no disposition.”

    So 150 years and a little more, we are still looking for context. But here in 2010, there is much to be thankful for as new technologies allow us to work with better maps, better illustrations, better graphics — and by adding the voices of readers, a more measured experience.

    Context is key. Do newspapers need to be around to make that happen?

    Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing, Social Media

    December 22, 2009 • 15:10 1

    The ‘now’ revolution in 2010: My predictions

    2009 was the year of the microblog (Twitter, Tumblr, Meme). What does 2010 have in store? Here are my predictions for “now” revolution in the Southeast Asian market for the coming year.

    1. Professional content: Expect to see a push to cultivate and support a generation of professional bloggers in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia as the market for paid content connects with a rising class of professional writers. Keep an eye on Indonesia and the Philippines — their strong traditions in journalism will form the pillar for this.

    2. Corporate social media: Companies will stumble in trying to find the right mix of resources — PR, editors, product teams — to direct engagement with their customers. The realization will hit home: It’s expensive to build and engage a community. Many will fail with half-baked social media strategies.

    3. Innovation: New technologies will pave the way for the creation of independent news startups in the region, following in the footsteps of The Huffington Post and Gawker. Cheap, efficient technologies in content management will help companies get up faster. Massive opportunities here for systems integrators to deliver fast, scaleable backend systems to keep up with the traffic. A key question remains: Will advertisers be ready?

    4. Open collaboration: It isn’t over yet. Facebook Connect will help new startups leapfrog the difficulties in building a user base. An “instant” community is coming together, faster.

    5. “Mobile-lizing” content: The next ten million internet users will come online for the first time on their mobile phones. Handsets will get cheaper and apps will get more sophisticated. No brainer. The real challenge here is for publishers to start building a compelling experience on mobile phones from the ground up — and not simply dump web content on phones. Does anyone have a good idea of how consumers want to see content displayed on their phones? Not yet.

    Filed under: Newspapers, Publishing, Social Media, Tools ,

    December 15, 2009 • 10:58 0

    HuffPo’s gamble with paid comments may backfire

    The Huffington Post is treading into dangerous waters.

    The company, as part of a plan to double revenue next year, is allowing marketers the ability to inject their own paid comments among those from users. It will also place paid Tweets in live Twitter feeds.

    This is interesting at two levels.

    First, this is an important acknowledgement that the comments section of article pages is a prime spot where impressions are served — despite being beneath “the fold.” (Thought: Perhaps it’s time to serve up some comments to the top right corner of article pages.)

    Second, HuffPo is taking a big risk by playing Twitter as a one-way conversation. Advertisers will be put in a position where they will have to come up with brilliant ways to add value to the dialogue in the Twitter stream (those Web 1.0 days are long gone). Or it could backfire.

    Ultimately, smart advertisers will be asking if they want to be associated and intertwined with a deluge of comments — good and bad — and how they will adjust their message to follow. The key will be for marketers to avoid unnecessary interruptions in comment streams to hawk their products, but to be genuinely interested in the ongoing conversations. Only then can you add value.

    Filed under: Publishing, Social Media , ,

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