A conversation about the future of newspapers with Walter Isaacson of Time (who believes micropayments can save newspapers), Robert Thomson of Wall Street Journal and Mort Zuckerman of The New York Daily News.
Read the “Future of Newspapers” transcript from Charlie Rose’s show on February 11 at this link…
It features: Robert Thomson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal; Mort Zuckerman, owner and publisher of the New York Daily News and the editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report; and Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute (formerly the editor of Time magazine.)
The Bivings Group‘s recently released Bivings Report of the top 10 US newspaper sites in 2008 consisted of:
The study, which picks the list based on usability, design and web features of the US’ 100 largest newspapers, is purposefully limited to covering US-based, newspaper sites.
But as one commenter on the Bivings blog says, ‘No Mention of any of MY best news sites’ – he then goes on to list his own top 10, including Huffington Post and EveryBlock (which another commenter then takes as the Bivings’ list).
Is comparing like-for-like really that useful – newspapers aren’t just competing with each other – or other mainstream news organisations – anymore. What the Bivings Group rates the sites on may be completely different from the readers’ criteria – particularly if these comments are anything to go by.
It reminds me of this Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) study from 2007, which found a different news agenda on UGC sites than mainstream platforms (e.g the agenda decided by journalists).
Users’ online agendas are different (and that’s not to say news organisations should completely adhere to UGC inspired schedules – that’s a debate for another day) and influenced by a plethora of different online sources. As such their expectations of newspaper sites will be shaped by the other tools and information websites they use. Ranking newspaper websites against each other won’t deliver the kind of comparisons that these sites can take away and use.
“The key ‘whistleblower’ in the Bernard Madoff fraud case, Harry Markopolos, testified today [Feb 4 2009] before Congress, alleging among other things that he approached the Wall Street Journal on the story more than three years ago, and the newspaper ultimately did nothing,” Editor&Publisher reports.
Google has approached certain internet carriers with a proposal to create a ‘fast lane’ for its own content, ‘countering’ its previously stance of equal network access for all content providers, reports Reuters, citing a Wall Street Journal article. ‘Google’s proposal, called OpenEdge, would place Google servers directly within the network of the service providers’, the report continues.
The Editors Weblog looks at an article from the Wall Street Journal that indicates “mobile phones are the primary way of accessing the internet for people in ’emerging markets,’ or those with poor fixed-line telecommunications.”
Countries, such as Indonesia, have many areas ‘lacking high-speed cable broadband connections, DSL lines or even regular phone lines for dial-up service,’ the Wall Street Journal reported.
Rounding off last night’s discussion panel hosted by New Media Knowledge on the future of the newspaper industry, panelists were asked what or who they would put their money on for success and survival over the next few years.
Martin Stabe, media blogger, former new media editor of Press Gazette and online editor of Retail Week, plumped for niche and expert content:
“I would bet on anyone who can create unique, high quality content. I’d bet on the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal – those corners of more generalist publications that become more expert,” he said.
Newspapers need to have ‘the ability to compete with all the freely produced expert content that is sometimes better than what is produced by the professionals’, he added.
Neil McIntosh, head of editorial development at Guardian.co.uk, agreed that niche coverage could help newspapers compete with the blogosphere.
“In areas where blogs are working really well, mainstream media has two options: to raise its game and start covering those niches better; or it can get out and as Jeff Jarvis says, ‘do what you do best, and link to the rest’,” said McIntosh
“Those are two areas where mainstream media can move forward but it’s about acknowledging that this world exists.”
Assistant editor at Telegraph Media Group, Justin Williams said trusted brands and content areas such as finance, politics and certain sports are best placed to survive.
“Brands that are trusted and valued no matter how they are produced, those brands will still be here in 10 years time. You’re looking at areas like finance, politics, certain kinds of sport, where we still thrive. During the financial crisis most of us have turned to established news outlets,” said Williams.
“We’re positioned in those markets already, if we can hone in on what’s important to our readers and deliver it in a smart way, then we [newspapers] can be here in 10 years time.”
Speaking at New Media Knowledge’s (NMK) ‘What happens to newspapers?’ event last night, Justin Williams, assistant editor at Telegraph Media Group, drew the audience’s attention to a new aggregation feature being used in Telegraph.co.uk’s recently relaunched finance channel.
A timeline of the current global recession has been created using free third-party tool Dipity. The timeline, which can also be viewed as a map, flipbook or list, aggregates both Telegraph content and items – predominantly news articles – from other titles.
Aggregating from external sources, which in this instance include the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and CNN Money, is a first for the site, Williams said.
And another for your watching pleasure. This comes from Blip TV: a brief interview with the Wall Street Journal’s deputy managing editor Alan Murray, on the WSJ’s 25-30 videos a day, the majority of which are produced by the paper’s reporters.
Kelsey Blodget, associate producer writes:
“As part of a strategy to integrate online video with the reporting, The Journal trains reporters on a regular basis in New York and San Francisco to use Sony HDR-HC9 cameras.”
Online subscription revenues at the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones could go up by $300m every year for up to three years, according to Rupert Murdoch.