Publisher Lays out Plan to Save Newspapers

In a story in today’s New York Times, pulishing company Axel Springer said that they have come up with a way to save newspapers. Their idea isn’t too original though. It’s charging for online content.

They would work with Google, or other search engines, and have price tags next to articles that people search for. The people would pay that price, and have access to it. They also suggest a monthly fee for customers at one Web site, and give them unlimited access of the site, much like people who have smart phones with monthly data plans.

It is obvious that newspapers can’t give away their content for free online anymore. It’s hurting them a lot. I think this is a good business plan. If people aren’t avid readers, let them pay small prices for single articles. If they are avid readers, then there should be no reason why they wouldn’t pay a newspaper for their online content.

Nielson to Begin Tracking online Viewership

An article in today’s New York Times stated that Nielson, the company that tracks television views, will now track how many people are watching television shows online as well.

The company is not exactly sure when it will begin, but it should be soon. They will begin installing their tracking devices in the 7,500 homes they collect data for television. Using those numbers gives the company a general idea of how many homes in America are watching a certain show.

This is especially good news for television networks who have seen their advertising revenue dwindle down in the past years. With the popularity of iPods, mobile phones, DVRs and Web sites like Hulu.com, not to mention pirating, people are just sitting in front of their televisions for a show’s initial airing.

I think this is very good news for the television industry. Since so many people- myself included- very rarely sit down to watch a show when it first airs, they lose out on viewership that would allow them to charge more for advertising. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later.

AOL to Begin Producing News and Video

It was announced today that AOL will be following in Yahoo.com’s footsteps and begin creating their own news content, rather than just featuring other site’s work.

This is a good sign because this now means more jobs for journalists who have either been laid off, or like us, are graduating soon and hoping to get into the business.

It is also good because of the money this company has. They have a ton of money from ads, and from subscriptions. Without the cost of production that other newspapers have, it will be very difficult for this company to fall apart, especially now that they’re back on their own.

Washington Post closes Bureaus

It was announced today that the Washington Post, one of the countries most prestigious newspapers, will be closing bureaus in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago on Dec. 31. They have said that they will keep those reporters on in Washington, but I don’t think that will last that long. The three news aides will be let go.

This is just another sign of how bad things are in the newspaper industry. Even major newspapers aren’t safe from the bad times the entire industry is going through right now.

Americans Less Willing to Pay for Online News

An article in today’s New York Times shows that Americans are less likely to pay for their online news, as opposed to other countries in the world.

A study done by the Boston Consulting Group showed that less than half (48 percent) of people in the country would pay for their online news, with many said the most they would pay a month is $3.

America was tied with England for the lowest percentage. Some Western European countries got as high as 60 percent of people wiling to pay for their online news, with Italians saying they would pay as much as $7 a month.

This isn’t a good sign for the industry. People have to start being willing to pay for the online content they receive. It is essential for the industry to survive. News is moving solely online, and people have to be willing to shell some cash out to make it work.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/media/16paywall.html?ref=media

Where Do I Fit Into Journalism?

Although I’m not graduating this May (I’ll be out next December), the thought of venturing out into the unknown job market is a bit scary for me. At this point in time, finding a job anywhere is a difficult task, but finding one in the journalism industry is even more frightening.

For some reason, I still hope to find a job at a daily print newspaper. There is something about working for a print paper that has for whatever reason always appealed to me.

I hope to find a position writing in the sports section. I still feel that there is a place for a sports section in any paper. Although it is not as important as the rest of the sections, I feel that it has the largest amounts of readers. People still love to sit down and read about the game from the night before, or what the team plans on doing in the days that follow.

Farnham and Rosenblum Points

Listening to Michael Rosenblum was by far the most entertaining guest speaker I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Although I personally thought that the idea of newspapers being completely dead 2-5 years from now. Although I do see no newspapers years from now, that is too small of a time period for me.

The other point I really liked was him telling us that we can’t just be employees anymore. Rather, we should be the employer. We need to go out and create our own product, and market it ourselves, and then sell it for a lot of money, and move onto the next venture.

Although not as entertaining, Brian Farnham was extremely informative. He broke down the goals Patch.com has in moving forward, such as hiring more writers and expanding into more towns.

I personally think a site like that is great. I believe very hyper-local journalism is the future. People in small towns want to know what is going on in there town, aside from larger papers covering the murder or other crime.

GE and Comcast have agreed on a price

GE and Comcast have finally reached a sale price for GE’s stake in NBC. That price is $30B, and would give Comcast a 51 percent majority ownership of NBC.

There is still one problem standing in Comcast’s way: Vivendi. The French entertainment company owns 20 percent of NBC Universal, and they have still not given Comcast a price for them to purchase it.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSTRE5A801F20091109

New Paper Starts in Portugal

A new paper has just formed in Portugal, and it’s called ‘i,’ for information.

The unique aspect of this paper is that it is designed like a magazine. Instead of boring front pages filled with stories and text, the paper has a cover resembling a magazine cover. Furthermore, each issue is the size of a magazine, with the pages stapled in the middle like a magazine.

Also unlike other more traditional papers, each issue starts with op-ed pieces, which are usually saved for the end of the paper. They are followed by a mix of all types of news stories, not really in any order.

The final section is called ‘more,’ which groups entertainment, sports and the arts all together.

It’s circulation numbers are some of the highest in the country.

I think this is a great idea. If people aren’t buying newspaper, why not disguise it as a magazine? It catches the eye more than a black and white newspaper, and that is what the consumer is looking for.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/business/media/09iht-paper.html?_r=1&ref=media

Questions for Brian Farnham

1. What was your inspiration for creating a site like Patch.com?

2. How do you choose what towns get covered?

3. Was there any doubt from other people about your idea?