Niche Savvy
Ink Tank
Posted by Melissa Meyer
http://wjcblog.typepad.com/ink_tank/2007/04/niche_savvy.html
A Reuters article published Wednesday, March 21st illustrated the growing trend of the niche publication, and how special interest magazines are finding their place in an Internet savvy society.
Rodale, Inc. which publishes Runner's World magazine, seems to have found their place among runners, judging by their rising circulation, according to the article written by Robert MacMillan.
In the second half of 2006, the magazine's circulation rose over five percent, despite seeing a decline in the number of newsstand sales. Since 2000, circulation has increased nearly 40 percent.
An expert in the field discussed the draw of consumers to niche publications and how increased popularity to a sport/activity brings increased sales, at least for Runner's World.
"This is pure service journalism," said Samir Husni, a magazine expert and chairman of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi. "You're a subscriber for life. Until you stop running or die, you are getting the magazine."
There were 29.2 million U.S. runners in 2005, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, up 28 percent from 2001. As novices start running, they pick up the magazine, said Mary Wittenberg, race director for the New York City Marathon.
"Runner's World is often a key initial hook," she said.
In a single issue, the magazine offers recipes, training tips, shoe advice, ads for the coolest new gadgets, and inspirational stories from real runners, both professional and non.
The rise in ad revenue, which was $66.6 million in 2006, a 250 percent jump from 2001, is in part because of all the gadgets runners in this technology based world think they need, like i-pods and heart rate monitors. Technical clothing with wicking fabric along with reflective gear round out today's runner ensemble.
Also the market for footwear has increased. In 2005, it was $5 billion compared to just $1.5 billion just a decade prior according to NPD a market research firm.
Runner's World has also begun to incorporate blogs into its online site. It offers blogs from marathoner Kristin Armstrong, and keeps "marathon diaries from professional athetes Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor. The site also has chats for top songs to run to and nutrition.
Rodale recently acquired Running Times, essentially its only real competitor, in February, allowing it to move beyond the recreational runner, and reach the pros, which the Times catered to. The article did not disclose its source, but said the acquisition price was less than $5 million.
Other niche publications hope to fare as well. Primedia Inc. wants to sell a division of its company, Enthusiast Media, which includes titles like Motor Trend and Hot Rod. They posted $524.8 million in revenue for 2006. They could get more than $1 billion for the sale.
An acquisition like Running Times works for Rodale because it is a narrow, focused segment of a loyal audience.
"There are niches of niches today because the interests of Americans with their leisure time is so diverse," said media banker Reed Phillips.
Runner's World is one of several magazine published by Rodale, Inc. including Men's Health, Bicycling, Best Life, and Backpacker, all of which earned 2007 National Magazine Award nominations from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Other magazines from Rodale, like Prevention and Women's Health, which are also doing remarkably well. Prevention saw a 65 percent increase in sales during the 1990s. Their ad pages also doubled according to an article by Media Central.
So what is the implication for aspiring journalists? Well, have no fear, the niche publication is here! Although newspapers have seen declining sales and readership due to increased online news, magazines are here to stay. If magazines like Runner's World continue to effectively target their readers through online chats and blogs, the industry is sure maintain its status.
According to mediabistro.com, the average pay in the local/regional magazine industry is $30,000, with only 25 percent earning less than that. Throughout the country, according to this site, magazine journalists consistently earn more than newspaper journalists, and those in the online industry earn even higher wages. Also, with the number of niche publications rising, it seems that job security in the magazine world should be a waning problem. And according to the article's stats on advertising sales, it seems like that would be a safe career bet as well.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Why Google will never conquer Madison Avenue
Why Google will never conquer Madison Avenue
By Dave Pasternack, Did-it.com
April 10th, 2007
Every new inroad that Google makes into non-search media creates more anxiety on Madison Avenue. This past week, when Google announced it would begin using its auction-based ad platform to sell television ads on Echostar’s DISH Network, a satellite-based network with 13.1 million subscribers, you could almost smell the panic.
Ad agencies have a lot to be concerned about, including audience fragmentation, consumer rebellion against intrusive ads, clutter, a failure to embrace technology, plus the overall secular shift of ad dollars from traditional untargeted media to targeted media. But any panic over Google is, in my view, unjustified, and so I offer this piece as a reality check.
Everybody agrees that Google rules Search. The question is whether Google can apply those same things that made them dominant in Search to non-Search media such as radio, television and newspapers. If it can, Madison Avenue, and the whole old media establishment, may be doomed.
There are, however, several fundamental reasons why Google may just as likely fail, or at least stumble along the way. Here are three of them:
1. The self-serve model only works with media that are not creative-dependent
Google has more than 400,000 advertisers using its Adwords system, but the text-based advertising they’re doing is a far cry from the way most advertising is created, especially in terms of the need for creative excellence to differentiate the messaging. No one needs an ad agency to write 40 characters of text using Google’s self-serve platform.
With non-search media, however, creative excellence makes the difference between campaign success and failure. For example, you can take the same exact script for a TV or radio spot, hand them to two different director/cinematographer/talent teams, and wind up with two completely different experiences, one wonderful, the other horrible. This is where talent, insight and experience count (and this is why talented, insightful, experienced producers will continue to make the big bucks). Google has yet to demonstrate any core competency in the creative area, nor has it expressed any interest in terms of getting into this field. For this reason alone, ad agencies can breathe a sigh of relief.
2. The mechanics of media buying doesn’t create interest in the medium: the audience does!
Sure, Google’s Adwords platform makes it easy to buy media. But few advertisers have been kept out of any media because they’ve found it too hard to buy. The mere fact that Google can make media buying easier doesn’t make the media in question any more attractive, in fact I’d argue that it makes it far easier for media neophytes to make serious, money-wasting mistakes.
There’s an even bigger problem with automated, auction-based media buying systems such as the one that Google is touting. While auctions may introduce efficiencies into the buying process, they also introduce uncertainty. How can any advertiser plan a multichannel marketing campaign when there’s always a chance that somebody, somewhere, will outbid them for a key campaign component?
It’s true that advertisers at the bottom rungs of the food chain may be attracted to the marginal discounts that auction-based ad buying may deliver to them. But price is rarely a big concern at the start of any advertising campaign: what matters are results. If results are good, then spending can be re-upped, and price discounts can be negotiated at a later stage.
Google (and its shareholders) may expect that providing a more automated, more efficient way of buying media will convince many of its 400,000 Adwords clients to take the plunge into non-search media, but in fact provides no compelling reasons to do so, and this is why the general response to its forays into non-Search media have been lukewarm.
3. Google only thrives where media is measurable
Google became a multibillion dollar powerhouse because those little text ads it matches to search queries are surprisingly effective, and this effectiveness can be precisely measured in real time. But broadcast television, radio and print are inherently unmeasurable media. Google can make such media easier to buy, and perhaps even a bit cheaper to buy, but can’t make these media any more measurable or transparent by itself. There are no real advantages to using Google to buy your media for you, beyond the marginal discounts and ease-of-buying issues discussed above.
The exception to this proposition exists in cable TV, where today’s generation of smart set-top boxes provide both measurability and the ability to provide targeted messaging to very narrow audience segments whose characteristics have been mined from network subscription databases. This is why the Echostar deal is important for Google: because it is the one area where it can actually add value, both for advertisers (who will be able to see highly granular, usage-based stats about how and whether viewers are consuming their messages), and subscribers (who will see fewer irrelevant ads).
Addressable advertising with a high degree of transparency and accountability is undoubtedly the wave of the future. But the Google-Echostar test is small, invitation-only, and it remains to be seen whether major advertisers, especially those seeking the kind of scale that one can only get from broadcast media, will get on board anytime soon. Furthermore, Google is certainly not the only player in this space, which is crowded with technology companies that have been working on the problem of making advertising more accountable and relevant for longer than Google has even been a company.
David Pasternack is president and co-founder of Did-it.com,
By Dave Pasternack, Did-it.com
April 10th, 2007
Every new inroad that Google makes into non-search media creates more anxiety on Madison Avenue. This past week, when Google announced it would begin using its auction-based ad platform to sell television ads on Echostar’s DISH Network, a satellite-based network with 13.1 million subscribers, you could almost smell the panic.
Ad agencies have a lot to be concerned about, including audience fragmentation, consumer rebellion against intrusive ads, clutter, a failure to embrace technology, plus the overall secular shift of ad dollars from traditional untargeted media to targeted media. But any panic over Google is, in my view, unjustified, and so I offer this piece as a reality check.
Everybody agrees that Google rules Search. The question is whether Google can apply those same things that made them dominant in Search to non-Search media such as radio, television and newspapers. If it can, Madison Avenue, and the whole old media establishment, may be doomed.
There are, however, several fundamental reasons why Google may just as likely fail, or at least stumble along the way. Here are three of them:
1. The self-serve model only works with media that are not creative-dependent
Google has more than 400,000 advertisers using its Adwords system, but the text-based advertising they’re doing is a far cry from the way most advertising is created, especially in terms of the need for creative excellence to differentiate the messaging. No one needs an ad agency to write 40 characters of text using Google’s self-serve platform.
With non-search media, however, creative excellence makes the difference between campaign success and failure. For example, you can take the same exact script for a TV or radio spot, hand them to two different director/cinematographer/talent teams, and wind up with two completely different experiences, one wonderful, the other horrible. This is where talent, insight and experience count (and this is why talented, insightful, experienced producers will continue to make the big bucks). Google has yet to demonstrate any core competency in the creative area, nor has it expressed any interest in terms of getting into this field. For this reason alone, ad agencies can breathe a sigh of relief.
2. The mechanics of media buying doesn’t create interest in the medium: the audience does!
Sure, Google’s Adwords platform makes it easy to buy media. But few advertisers have been kept out of any media because they’ve found it too hard to buy. The mere fact that Google can make media buying easier doesn’t make the media in question any more attractive, in fact I’d argue that it makes it far easier for media neophytes to make serious, money-wasting mistakes.
There’s an even bigger problem with automated, auction-based media buying systems such as the one that Google is touting. While auctions may introduce efficiencies into the buying process, they also introduce uncertainty. How can any advertiser plan a multichannel marketing campaign when there’s always a chance that somebody, somewhere, will outbid them for a key campaign component?
It’s true that advertisers at the bottom rungs of the food chain may be attracted to the marginal discounts that auction-based ad buying may deliver to them. But price is rarely a big concern at the start of any advertising campaign: what matters are results. If results are good, then spending can be re-upped, and price discounts can be negotiated at a later stage.
Google (and its shareholders) may expect that providing a more automated, more efficient way of buying media will convince many of its 400,000 Adwords clients to take the plunge into non-search media, but in fact provides no compelling reasons to do so, and this is why the general response to its forays into non-Search media have been lukewarm.
3. Google only thrives where media is measurable
Google became a multibillion dollar powerhouse because those little text ads it matches to search queries are surprisingly effective, and this effectiveness can be precisely measured in real time. But broadcast television, radio and print are inherently unmeasurable media. Google can make such media easier to buy, and perhaps even a bit cheaper to buy, but can’t make these media any more measurable or transparent by itself. There are no real advantages to using Google to buy your media for you, beyond the marginal discounts and ease-of-buying issues discussed above.
The exception to this proposition exists in cable TV, where today’s generation of smart set-top boxes provide both measurability and the ability to provide targeted messaging to very narrow audience segments whose characteristics have been mined from network subscription databases. This is why the Echostar deal is important for Google: because it is the one area where it can actually add value, both for advertisers (who will be able to see highly granular, usage-based stats about how and whether viewers are consuming their messages), and subscribers (who will see fewer irrelevant ads).
Addressable advertising with a high degree of transparency and accountability is undoubtedly the wave of the future. But the Google-Echostar test is small, invitation-only, and it remains to be seen whether major advertisers, especially those seeking the kind of scale that one can only get from broadcast media, will get on board anytime soon. Furthermore, Google is certainly not the only player in this space, which is crowded with technology companies that have been working on the problem of making advertising more accountable and relevant for longer than Google has even been a company.
David Pasternack is president and co-founder of Did-it.com,
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Experts: Newspapers Won't Be as Profitable
Newspapers will never be as profitable as they once were, experts say, but can still do well
The writing on the screen
BY THOMAS MAIER
thomas.maier@newsday.com
April 10, 2007
They don't feel like part of the traditional newspaper thrown on your doorstep - online chats, podcasts, video and audio feeds, plus searchable databases to aid in the hunt for a new home, used wheels or the best pizza on Long Island.
But increasingly they are important parts of the modern newspaper, an ever-evolving format for news and information that is making a not-so-subtle, sometimes wrenching, shift from ink-stained newsprint to computer screens in the Internet age.
Last week's decision by Newsday's parent, Tribune Co., to become a private enterprise, away from the financial demands of Wall Street, will provide only a little breathing room for a media company in the throes of change, experts say.
"It's too early to tell, but there's a sense that companies looking at quarterly reports are more afraid to experiment and innovate," explains Randy Bennett, vice president of audience and business development for the Newspaper Association of America, a trade group based in Arlington, Va.
In a sense, the move by Tribune to go private is a throwback to an earlier time, when newspapers were owned by families such as the Hearsts and the Pulitzers. In recent decades, most major media have been publicly traded, yielding rich profits for investors until recently, when Wall Street began punishing newspaper stocks because of declining circulation.
No longer the only 'road'
But whether they are publicly held, controlled by private owners or even operated through a nonprofit foundation, America's newspapers face unprecedented challenges for advertising dollars and the public's attention.
"Newspapers will never go back to their historical level of profitability," said Philip Meyer, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Newspapers, he notes, used to have "a near-monopoly in the market, and the newspaper owner owned the road on which information flowed."
Meyer's 2004 book on the industry, "The Vanishing Newspaper," explained how perhaps the strongest mass medium the United States has ever seen for presenting vast amounts of information has steadily lost readers during the past few decades because of technological changes, particularly competition from the Internet.
Despite a host of worries, including substantial recent drops in national and classified advertising, Meyer said, "You can still make an investment case for newspapers." He said the strength of traditional newspapers to break news and "influence" society won't go away soon if their owners learn to adapt.
Meyer said that by moving steadily onto the Internet, newspapers can make a substantial dent in the costs of newsprint and transporting papers, costs that now account for as much as 17 percent of a newspaper's total expenditures. "The new model can be built on information, as the leading trustworthy provider of information," Meyer said. "But now is the time to do it."
While taking a newspaper company private might seem a good idea, it means little in the long run if no investment is made in a long-term strategic plan to improve its financial picture, said former newspaper editor Alan D. Mutter, now managing partner of Tapit Partners, a Silicon Valley investment firm specializing in new media.
Slow to adapt
Mutter, who writes a blog, or Web log, about the newspaper industry, pointed to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which went into private hands last year after the break-up of the publicly held Knight-Ridder chain, as an example of the difficulties facing newly privatized papers. Layoffs began in January, and 71 newsroom employees - about 17 percent of the editorial staff - departed. Mutter notes that, after taking on sizeable debt to fund the purchase, "There was little extra cash to put into the product."
Overall, he said, newspapers have been slow to adapt to technological change, often publishing stories based upon the "personal predilections" of editors and reporters - articles that may win journalism prizes but fall outside the interests and needs of most readers. "In a market that has changed dramatically," he said, "it's a huge problem."
Despite these challenges, Mutter said newspapers remain a "unique and powerful brand with a high degree of credibility," provided by staff who usually know more about local government, schools and social activities than any competing medium, including television, cable and radio.
Online ads surge
Bennett, the trade association executive, said newspaper companies are making substantial inroads with online advertising, which has been growing at a brisk 30 percent annual rate, though last year it still accounted for only $2.7 billion of the $49.3 billion total spent on newspaper advertising. Local retail and classified ads accounted for almost 80 percent of last year's spending on newspaper advertising, the association's records show.
Print-ad revenues have been flat or declining in the past year for "cyclical" reasons, Bennett said, reflecting the slowdown in real estate. Revenue from online ads, meanwhile, is still far short of replacing what print ads generate, he said.
To grab more of the hard-to-reach younger-than-35 audience, Bennett said, newspapers are investing in numerous online ventures. As an example, he pointed to newspaper companies joining with Internet search engines such as Yahoo in an effort to maximize advertising potential.
Hearst, MediaNews and other companies representing a total of 150 newspapers recently announced a deal with Yahoo for online classified advertising, aimed initially at job recruitment. "In an age of many media platforms, newspapers have to think of what is the right way to reach a certain audience," Bennett said.
More modest margins
Even veteran industry observers like Meyer said they've changed their expectations for newspapers. No longer will publishers enjoy 20 percent to 40 percent profits. Today, large urban newspapers often produce profit margins in the teens - considered very good for most industries - though Wall Street investors have not been satisfied.
Meyer said newspapers will have to learn anew how to compete, as they did after World War II amid growth in television, FM radio and direct-mail advertising.
Meyer said he's surprised what the advent of Internet competition has meant for his own life. Rather than buy a newspaper ad to rent a property he owns, Meyer said, he used craigslist, a mostly free online service that has sapped considerable paid classified advertising from newspapers in recent years.
"I felt so guilty," he said, "but it was faster and cheaper."
Increase in newspaper ad spending from 2003 to 2006:
Print
4%
Online
119%
Amount spent last year:
Print
$46.6 billion
Online
$2.7 billion
SOURCE: NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATING OF AMERICA
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.
The writing on the screen
BY THOMAS MAIER
thomas.maier@newsday.com
April 10, 2007
They don't feel like part of the traditional newspaper thrown on your doorstep - online chats, podcasts, video and audio feeds, plus searchable databases to aid in the hunt for a new home, used wheels or the best pizza on Long Island.
But increasingly they are important parts of the modern newspaper, an ever-evolving format for news and information that is making a not-so-subtle, sometimes wrenching, shift from ink-stained newsprint to computer screens in the Internet age.
Last week's decision by Newsday's parent, Tribune Co., to become a private enterprise, away from the financial demands of Wall Street, will provide only a little breathing room for a media company in the throes of change, experts say.
"It's too early to tell, but there's a sense that companies looking at quarterly reports are more afraid to experiment and innovate," explains Randy Bennett, vice president of audience and business development for the Newspaper Association of America, a trade group based in Arlington, Va.
In a sense, the move by Tribune to go private is a throwback to an earlier time, when newspapers were owned by families such as the Hearsts and the Pulitzers. In recent decades, most major media have been publicly traded, yielding rich profits for investors until recently, when Wall Street began punishing newspaper stocks because of declining circulation.
No longer the only 'road'
But whether they are publicly held, controlled by private owners or even operated through a nonprofit foundation, America's newspapers face unprecedented challenges for advertising dollars and the public's attention.
"Newspapers will never go back to their historical level of profitability," said Philip Meyer, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Newspapers, he notes, used to have "a near-monopoly in the market, and the newspaper owner owned the road on which information flowed."
Meyer's 2004 book on the industry, "The Vanishing Newspaper," explained how perhaps the strongest mass medium the United States has ever seen for presenting vast amounts of information has steadily lost readers during the past few decades because of technological changes, particularly competition from the Internet.
Despite a host of worries, including substantial recent drops in national and classified advertising, Meyer said, "You can still make an investment case for newspapers." He said the strength of traditional newspapers to break news and "influence" society won't go away soon if their owners learn to adapt.
Meyer said that by moving steadily onto the Internet, newspapers can make a substantial dent in the costs of newsprint and transporting papers, costs that now account for as much as 17 percent of a newspaper's total expenditures. "The new model can be built on information, as the leading trustworthy provider of information," Meyer said. "But now is the time to do it."
While taking a newspaper company private might seem a good idea, it means little in the long run if no investment is made in a long-term strategic plan to improve its financial picture, said former newspaper editor Alan D. Mutter, now managing partner of Tapit Partners, a Silicon Valley investment firm specializing in new media.
Slow to adapt
Mutter, who writes a blog, or Web log, about the newspaper industry, pointed to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which went into private hands last year after the break-up of the publicly held Knight-Ridder chain, as an example of the difficulties facing newly privatized papers. Layoffs began in January, and 71 newsroom employees - about 17 percent of the editorial staff - departed. Mutter notes that, after taking on sizeable debt to fund the purchase, "There was little extra cash to put into the product."
Overall, he said, newspapers have been slow to adapt to technological change, often publishing stories based upon the "personal predilections" of editors and reporters - articles that may win journalism prizes but fall outside the interests and needs of most readers. "In a market that has changed dramatically," he said, "it's a huge problem."
Despite these challenges, Mutter said newspapers remain a "unique and powerful brand with a high degree of credibility," provided by staff who usually know more about local government, schools and social activities than any competing medium, including television, cable and radio.
Online ads surge
Bennett, the trade association executive, said newspaper companies are making substantial inroads with online advertising, which has been growing at a brisk 30 percent annual rate, though last year it still accounted for only $2.7 billion of the $49.3 billion total spent on newspaper advertising. Local retail and classified ads accounted for almost 80 percent of last year's spending on newspaper advertising, the association's records show.
Print-ad revenues have been flat or declining in the past year for "cyclical" reasons, Bennett said, reflecting the slowdown in real estate. Revenue from online ads, meanwhile, is still far short of replacing what print ads generate, he said.
To grab more of the hard-to-reach younger-than-35 audience, Bennett said, newspapers are investing in numerous online ventures. As an example, he pointed to newspaper companies joining with Internet search engines such as Yahoo in an effort to maximize advertising potential.
Hearst, MediaNews and other companies representing a total of 150 newspapers recently announced a deal with Yahoo for online classified advertising, aimed initially at job recruitment. "In an age of many media platforms, newspapers have to think of what is the right way to reach a certain audience," Bennett said.
More modest margins
Even veteran industry observers like Meyer said they've changed their expectations for newspapers. No longer will publishers enjoy 20 percent to 40 percent profits. Today, large urban newspapers often produce profit margins in the teens - considered very good for most industries - though Wall Street investors have not been satisfied.
Meyer said newspapers will have to learn anew how to compete, as they did after World War II amid growth in television, FM radio and direct-mail advertising.
Meyer said he's surprised what the advent of Internet competition has meant for his own life. Rather than buy a newspaper ad to rent a property he owns, Meyer said, he used craigslist, a mostly free online service that has sapped considerable paid classified advertising from newspapers in recent years.
"I felt so guilty," he said, "but it was faster and cheaper."
Increase in newspaper ad spending from 2003 to 2006:
4%
Online
119%
Amount spent last year:
$46.6 billion
Online
$2.7 billion
SOURCE: NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATING OF AMERICA
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.
Martha Stewart Targets Russia's Middle Class for Magazines, TV
Martha Stewart Targets Russia's Middle Class for Magazines, TV
By James Brooke
April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Martha Stewart, the self-styled American authority on taste, plans to bring her books, magazines and television shows to Russia, tapping into an expanding middle class as incomes surge in the former Soviet republic.
``It's a very, very opportune time,'' Stewart, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., said in an interview today in Moscow during a week-long Russian visit.
Translated into Russian, Stewart's publications about cooking, entertaining and gardening may be on sale at kiosks in Moscow by next spring. She'll start with Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Food and Blueprint, a new magazine aimed at women aged 25 to 45. The media rollout will be followed home furnishings including sheets and towels, possibly through an alliance with a local retailer, she said.
Stewart arrives in Russia as income from the country's oil exports filters down to consumers. Retail sales rose 14 percent in February from a year earlier, while construction surged 24 percent in the last quarter of 2006.
``There is a middle class that is rapidly emerging,'' said Kim S. Iskyan, co-head of research at Uralsib Capital in Moscow.
Russians' disposable income has increased about fivefold in the last five years, bringing about 20 percent of the country's 141 million people into the middle class, he said.
``Everywhere you look, someone's fixing up their apartment,'' he said. ``And as soon as people have the discretionary income to upgrade their immediate surroundings, you can bet they are going to throw out the hand-me-down china.''
Stewart said she's noticed a gap between U.S. perceptions of Russia and the reality.
`Wild West'
``The new Russia -- people are just imagining it's the Wild West, a bunch of cowboys making lots of money, oligarchs just running around like crazy,'' she said. ``But in fact Moscow is a very sophisticated city.''
Stewart's mission will be to reverse setbacks in taste imposed by seven decades of Soviet rule, she said.
``All the things that happened during that time were very bad for the middle classes, for good taste,'' said Stewart, recalling her studies of Russian history as a student at Barnard College. ``Now people are scrambling to learn, scrambling to develop a lifestyle they can call their own. And I think that is all very exciting.''
To contact the reporter on this story: James Brooke in Moscow at jbrooke2@bloomberg.net .
By James Brooke
April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Martha Stewart, the self-styled American authority on taste, plans to bring her books, magazines and television shows to Russia, tapping into an expanding middle class as incomes surge in the former Soviet republic.
``It's a very, very opportune time,'' Stewart, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., said in an interview today in Moscow during a week-long Russian visit.
Translated into Russian, Stewart's publications about cooking, entertaining and gardening may be on sale at kiosks in Moscow by next spring. She'll start with Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Food and Blueprint, a new magazine aimed at women aged 25 to 45. The media rollout will be followed home furnishings including sheets and towels, possibly through an alliance with a local retailer, she said.
Stewart arrives in Russia as income from the country's oil exports filters down to consumers. Retail sales rose 14 percent in February from a year earlier, while construction surged 24 percent in the last quarter of 2006.
``There is a middle class that is rapidly emerging,'' said Kim S. Iskyan, co-head of research at Uralsib Capital in Moscow.
Russians' disposable income has increased about fivefold in the last five years, bringing about 20 percent of the country's 141 million people into the middle class, he said.
``Everywhere you look, someone's fixing up their apartment,'' he said. ``And as soon as people have the discretionary income to upgrade their immediate surroundings, you can bet they are going to throw out the hand-me-down china.''
Stewart said she's noticed a gap between U.S. perceptions of Russia and the reality.
`Wild West'
``The new Russia -- people are just imagining it's the Wild West, a bunch of cowboys making lots of money, oligarchs just running around like crazy,'' she said. ``But in fact Moscow is a very sophisticated city.''
Stewart's mission will be to reverse setbacks in taste imposed by seven decades of Soviet rule, she said.
``All the things that happened during that time were very bad for the middle classes, for good taste,'' said Stewart, recalling her studies of Russian history as a student at Barnard College. ``Now people are scrambling to learn, scrambling to develop a lifestyle they can call their own. And I think that is all very exciting.''
To contact the reporter on this story: James Brooke in Moscow at jbrooke2@bloomberg.net .
Journalism Education Stuck in Same Oldthink Mode as Big Media
Journalism Education Stuck in Same Oldthink Mode as Big Media
by Mark GlaseR
When I visited the campus of Ball State University recently, I was struck by the number of innovative programs the school had carried out, from a live interactive TV local broadcast to its converged newsroom. Ball State is also home to the well endowed Center for Media Design , which conducted one of the most comprehensive (and expensive) usage studies, the Middletown Media Studies , in which researchers literally watched and recorded their subjects’ media usage during all their waking hours. And the Ball State campus itself is aggressively wired with WiFi Internet access, and is filled with gleaming buildings and high-tech trappings.
But the problem, particularly with Ball State’s journalism and communications study programs, is that the school’s philosophy remains mired in a legacy media mindset. You can learn about advertising or PR or newspapers or broadcast or magazines. And the goal of those programs is to get placed into positions as they have been defined for decades: the big PR agency, The New York Times, ABC News, Newsweek.
I went to speak in front of a class of students learning about advertising sales. I was happy to hear some of them were working on a project related to ads on cell phones. I was horrified to hear that there was no class related to online advertising. None, nada, zip. That’s unbelievable, when you look at the growth of online advertising — up about 34% in 2006 alone — compared to the stagnation of legacy media’s ad business. How can students be prepared to go into media ad sales without knowing about the online realm? My only advice to students was to learn it on their own, check out the blogs and websites dedicated to the topic and soak up what they could.
I don’t think for a minute that this is a problem only at Ball State. Almost every interaction I’ve had with journalism schools and their faculty reaffirms that these institutions have a long way to go before they can evolve from the oldthink mindset. There might be pockets of resistance or some innovative projects here and there, but overall the focus of students is to follow in the same footsteps as their professors: Start your career at a podunk daily newspaper and work your way up to the big metro papers, and end up in academia.
Nowhere do students get the inkling that the metro paper might not exist by the time they get there — at least in its current ink-stained format. Nowhere do they learn the ins and outs of being a freelancer, even though they are living in a free agent nation, almost assured of being downsized out of a job at some point. Nowhere do they learn what it takes to moderate an online community, to do outreach into a community and work with citizen journalists and bloggers. The blog, in academia, is looked at by faculty as something to disdain, a lazy way out of doing real journalism; and by students, it is looked at as a leisure time activity, pointless and fun.
From what I learned from Ball State’s administration, there are three groups of professors: those that understand the shift that is happening and are happy to figure it out; those that refuse to change their curriculum that has been set in stone for years; and those that are on the fence. The hope of administration is that the oldthink types can be moved along the path to retirement, while the middle group can be convinced to join the vanguard.
Meanwhile, the students present an interesting conundrum. I figured that they would be chomping at the bit to work in new media, as they are the digital generation born with a laptop and cell phone in their hands. David Studinski, a Ball State senior who is editor of the student newspaper, explained to me over lunch why students were as slow to embrace change as their professors.
“They use the technology all the time, they all have cell phones and they text message,” he said. “But they don’t take it seriously as a work thing. They think of blogging as gossip and MySpace is for fun with their friends. They don’t think they could work in that type of environment as a journalist.”
So what is a university to do? It could start a program for students to learn networked journalism or online journalism. Or it could start to require all journalism students to learn the basics of multimedia production and storytelling, online moderation of communities, and the skill of writing for the web and on blogs. Newspaper students would learn about making — and being on camera for — online video reports. Magazine students would learn the basics of doing an audio podcast. Broadcast students would learn how to write for the web. And advertising students would learn about behavioral and interstitial advertising online.
Freelance writer Greg Lindsay gave an amazing virtual commencement speech to 2005 j-school graduates on mediabistro, noting the same problem with academia. His main point:
You thought you were buying [with your tuition] a set of skills, credentials, and quality time with the placement office. And you did. But your professors also sold you a mindset, a worldview, an ideology — one in which newspapers are God’s work, bloggers are pagans, and your career trajectory is a long, steep, but ultimately meritocratic climb to a heavenly desk at The New York Times or ‘60 Minutes.’ Accepting any of this as gospel truth will almost certainly cause permanent damage to your budding careers…
Is there a way to fix this? Maybe, if your professors are willing to admit that they’re evangelizing as well as teaching, and that where they see a decline and fall going on in the media landscape, you might just find opportunities helping tear it down. But who wants to say that?
Who, indeed? What’s your experience in academia? Are administrations ready to shift their teaching along with the times? Are students still focused on legacy media and what will it take to change their mindset? Share your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to be proven wrong with examples of widespread change.
by Mark GlaseR
When I visited the campus of Ball State University recently, I was struck by the number of innovative programs the school had carried out, from a live interactive TV local broadcast to its converged newsroom. Ball State is also home to the well endowed Center for Media Design , which conducted one of the most comprehensive (and expensive) usage studies, the Middletown Media Studies , in which researchers literally watched and recorded their subjects’ media usage during all their waking hours. And the Ball State campus itself is aggressively wired with WiFi Internet access, and is filled with gleaming buildings and high-tech trappings.
But the problem, particularly with Ball State’s journalism and communications study programs, is that the school’s philosophy remains mired in a legacy media mindset. You can learn about advertising or PR or newspapers or broadcast or magazines. And the goal of those programs is to get placed into positions as they have been defined for decades: the big PR agency, The New York Times, ABC News, Newsweek.
I went to speak in front of a class of students learning about advertising sales. I was happy to hear some of them were working on a project related to ads on cell phones. I was horrified to hear that there was no class related to online advertising. None, nada, zip. That’s unbelievable, when you look at the growth of online advertising — up about 34% in 2006 alone — compared to the stagnation of legacy media’s ad business. How can students be prepared to go into media ad sales without knowing about the online realm? My only advice to students was to learn it on their own, check out the blogs and websites dedicated to the topic and soak up what they could.
I don’t think for a minute that this is a problem only at Ball State. Almost every interaction I’ve had with journalism schools and their faculty reaffirms that these institutions have a long way to go before they can evolve from the oldthink mindset. There might be pockets of resistance or some innovative projects here and there, but overall the focus of students is to follow in the same footsteps as their professors: Start your career at a podunk daily newspaper and work your way up to the big metro papers, and end up in academia.
Nowhere do students get the inkling that the metro paper might not exist by the time they get there — at least in its current ink-stained format. Nowhere do they learn the ins and outs of being a freelancer, even though they are living in a free agent nation, almost assured of being downsized out of a job at some point. Nowhere do they learn what it takes to moderate an online community, to do outreach into a community and work with citizen journalists and bloggers. The blog, in academia, is looked at by faculty as something to disdain, a lazy way out of doing real journalism; and by students, it is looked at as a leisure time activity, pointless and fun.
From what I learned from Ball State’s administration, there are three groups of professors: those that understand the shift that is happening and are happy to figure it out; those that refuse to change their curriculum that has been set in stone for years; and those that are on the fence. The hope of administration is that the oldthink types can be moved along the path to retirement, while the middle group can be convinced to join the vanguard.
Meanwhile, the students present an interesting conundrum. I figured that they would be chomping at the bit to work in new media, as they are the digital generation born with a laptop and cell phone in their hands. David Studinski, a Ball State senior who is editor of the student newspaper, explained to me over lunch why students were as slow to embrace change as their professors.
“They use the technology all the time, they all have cell phones and they text message,” he said. “But they don’t take it seriously as a work thing. They think of blogging as gossip and MySpace is for fun with their friends. They don’t think they could work in that type of environment as a journalist.”
So what is a university to do? It could start a program for students to learn networked journalism or online journalism. Or it could start to require all journalism students to learn the basics of multimedia production and storytelling, online moderation of communities, and the skill of writing for the web and on blogs. Newspaper students would learn about making — and being on camera for — online video reports. Magazine students would learn the basics of doing an audio podcast. Broadcast students would learn how to write for the web. And advertising students would learn about behavioral and interstitial advertising online.
Freelance writer Greg Lindsay gave an amazing virtual commencement speech to 2005 j-school graduates on mediabistro, noting the same problem with academia. His main point:
You thought you were buying [with your tuition] a set of skills, credentials, and quality time with the placement office. And you did. But your professors also sold you a mindset, a worldview, an ideology — one in which newspapers are God’s work, bloggers are pagans, and your career trajectory is a long, steep, but ultimately meritocratic climb to a heavenly desk at The New York Times or ‘60 Minutes.’ Accepting any of this as gospel truth will almost certainly cause permanent damage to your budding careers…
Is there a way to fix this? Maybe, if your professors are willing to admit that they’re evangelizing as well as teaching, and that where they see a decline and fall going on in the media landscape, you might just find opportunities helping tear it down. But who wants to say that?
Who, indeed? What’s your experience in academia? Are administrations ready to shift their teaching along with the times? Are students still focused on legacy media and what will it take to change their mindset? Share your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to be proven wrong with examples of widespread change.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Hearst to Turn Magazines Into Webisodes, TV Series
Coming Soon to TV: Your Favorite Mags
Hearst Inks Development Deal With Fox to Turn Popular Titles Into Series
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Fox Television Studios and Hearst Magazines are joining forces to create series for broadband and eventually network TV based on popular magazine titles. |
The development deal includes two initial webisode projects inspired by CosmoGirl and Popular Mechanics. |
The development deal includes two initial webisode projects inspired by CosmoGirl and Popular Mechanics. The online series feature an undetermined number of two- to three-minute episodes that will launch on the magazines' websites. The companies also plan to pitch the content to web portals such as Yahoo and AOL.
The CosmoGirl project is a serialized soap, with fans contributing to the narrative by submitting suggestions for what should happen next in the story. The details of the Popular Mechanics webisodes have not yet been determined, nor has a timeline for launching either project.
50-50 split for Fox, Hearst
The deal marks the first union between Fox and Hearst, with the companies agreeing to a 50-50 split of any advertising revenue. If successful, they hope to create further content for both broadband and network TV. "This is an innovative partnership that marries Fox TV Studios' creative ideas with Hearst's successful brands and content," said Angela Shapiro-Mathes, president of Fox Television Studios.
The webisodes will be the first foray into broadband for Fox Studios, which has long been known primarily for reality and documentary content.
This week, the Fox team will seek to score two more credits when it begins shopping two projects from "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, whom it signed to a development deal last year. The studio is keeping quiet on the details, but Ms. Shapiro-Mathes is optimistic this summer will be a watershed. "This is a nice place to be in a comparatively short period of time," she said.
~ ~ ~
Mr. Hibberd is a reporter with TelevisionWeek.
See what's free at AOL.com.
Survey Gives Good Reviews to Online Product Reviews
Survey Gives Good Reviews to Online Product Reviews
By Todd WassermanNEW YORK -- When it comes to influencing online purchases, positive reviews in Amazon may trump online ads, per a new survey.
One in three Internet users report their purchase decisions are influenced by sites with social content, Amazon being the most influential, according to a report from iProspect and JupiterResearch being released this week.
The study, based on a poll of 2,223 respondents in January, sought to measure how consumers use social networking sites. Though Amazon isn't usually thought of as such a site, the survey defined a social networking location as one that lets users post their own content. In Amazon's case, that means reviews.
Robert Murray, president of iProspect, Boston, said it's unclear whether a positive review in Amazon is more effective than an ad, but: "It's human nature. People trust people."
Among other findings in the survey:
• Search engines get more visitors than social networking sites. Forty percent of adults surveyed visit Yahoo! on a daily basis versus 12% for MySpace.
• YouTube appears to skew male. Twenty-eight percent of men visit the site at least once a month compared to 12% for women.
• The younger the user, the more likely they are to visit and interact with a social networking site. Sixty-eight percent of 18-24-year-olds surveyed visited MySpace over the past month versus 65% for YouTube and 42% for Facebook.
Murray said the data also shows that up to 90% of visitors to social networking sites don't post. That, in part, showed the gap between hype for such social media and the reality, he said. "It's like when blogs first came out a few years ago and all you heard about was how blogs were changing everything," he said. "We tend to overstate the importance of new technologies."
Still, Murray said the item marketers should take away from the survey is that the brands that exploit the two-way communication potential of Web 2.0 will gain an edge over competitors. "You want to find a way to engage with the community in a dialogue," said Murray.
See what's free at AOL.com.
'Relish' Success, Husni Names It Launch Of The Year
'Relish' Success, Husni Names It Launch Of The Year
by Erik Sass, Monday, Apr 9, 2007 8:15 AM ET
Relish, a magazine delivered via newspaper with a circulation of almost 9 million, was awarded the new magazine "Launch of the Year" by Samir Husni, a professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi, better known as "Mr. Magazine." Every year, Husni--widely acknowledged as a guru of all things magazine--holds a one-man awards ceremony to honor standouts that carry status in the industry.
Asked what distinguished Relish from the other 900 launches of 2006, Husni listed several key accomplishments. Foremost, the magazine's circulation rose from 6 million to 9 million in its first year, partly through the use of an unconventional distribution channel.
"While everyone is complaining about distribution and how bad the single-copy distribution channels are, and how expensive the direct-mail subscriptions channels are, Relish went a different way: the newspaper route." That method guaranteed a strong distribution channel, and it ensured the "timely and cheap delivery of the magazine to its intended audience."
Husni also praised the magazine for giving a boost to the newspaper business --a medium desperately in need of help. "I have spoken with a few newspaper publishers who credited Relish with giving their paper a boost every time it is inserted." In fact, he notes, most papers advertise the arrival of Relish a week before the magazine is out.
Relish and American Profile, both produced by the Publishing Group of America, use the same distribution model as magazine inserts like USA Today and Parade, but they target a previously unfilled niche: "B" and "D" counties usually comprised of small towns and rural areas. The magazines' success is notable--especially in light of the recent closing of Life, which was also distributed via newspapers, but in competition with USA Today and Parade in "A" and "B" counties.
by Erik Sass, Monday, Apr 9, 2007 8:15 AM ET
Relish, a magazine delivered via newspaper with a circulation of almost 9 million, was awarded the new magazine "Launch of the Year" by Samir Husni, a professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi, better known as "Mr. Magazine." Every year, Husni--widely acknowledged as a guru of all things magazine--holds a one-man awards ceremony to honor standouts that carry status in the industry.
Asked what distinguished Relish from the other 900 launches of 2006, Husni listed several key accomplishments. Foremost, the magazine's circulation rose from 6 million to 9 million in its first year, partly through the use of an unconventional distribution channel.
"While everyone is complaining about distribution and how bad the single-copy distribution channels are, and how expensive the direct-mail subscriptions channels are, Relish went a different way: the newspaper route." That method guaranteed a strong distribution channel, and it ensured the "timely and cheap delivery of the magazine to its intended audience."
Husni also praised the magazine for giving a boost to the newspaper business --a medium desperately in need of help. "I have spoken with a few newspaper publishers who credited Relish with giving their paper a boost every time it is inserted." In fact, he notes, most papers advertise the arrival of Relish a week before the magazine is out.
Relish and American Profile, both produced by the Publishing Group of America, use the same distribution model as magazine inserts like USA Today and Parade, but they target a previously unfilled niche: "B" and "D" counties usually comprised of small towns and rural areas. The magazines' success is notable--especially in light of the recent closing of Life, which was also distributed via newspapers, but in competition with USA Today and Parade in "A" and "B" counties.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Breaking News . . . Journalism Doomed!
Breaking News… Journalism Doomed!
http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=editorials&xfile=April2007_mediawatch_standard187&child=mediawatch
While it is very well to say that the task of the media is to inform and educate the public, only entertainment is increasingly being given top priority to promote sales
Writing in ‘The Hindu’ (March 7), Jeff Jarvis, a professor of Journalism at the City University of New York, raised what he called two important questions. He said: “First, why teach journalism? Aren’t newspapers and news doomed? Why ensnare young people in a dying profession? And second: how should you teach journalism today?” To the first question his answer was: “Journalism is evolving – at long last – and actually growing and that’s what makes this an exciting time to get into the news business”. As for the second question, his answer was that he was taking students through audio, video, slideshows, blogs, wikis, web pages google maps, photos, interactive forums and data bases”. Fair enough answers. But there is some truth in what he said about newspapers becoming a dying profession.
Ignorant public
But that is mostly in the United States and in recent times in Britain as well. According to one responsible source, students in the United States no longer read news. Indeed, according to a report by an Indian journalist just returned from the States the situation is truly bad. Writing in ‘The Hindu’ again, Sevanti Ninan says: “Walk into a relative’s home in Atlanta and you discover that they don’t take newspapers any more on week days…. Go around in a graduate class in Philadelphia and ask how many read newspapers and two out of 15 hands go up”. And a friend reported to her that the number of graduate students at the Columbia School of Journalism reading newspapers were zero! Sadly, US newspapers are winding up their bureaus abroad because they have ceased to be ‘cost-effective’. For an American newspaper it costs about $250,000 to maintain a newspaper bureau abroad. In the 1980s, American TV networks each maintained about 15 foreign bureaus; presently, they have six or fewer. So American people are getting to know less and less about more and more countries which is a dangerous development. An ignorant public can easily be manipulated by a vicious government which has its own agenda.
Luckily, the situation is just the reverse in India. In India more and more newspapers are selling and ‘The Times of India’ claims it has the largest circulation in the world! The Chandigarh-based ‘The Tribune’ (March 15) has announced that “responding to the demand of its readers for better coverage of the hill state”, it is launching its Himachal Pradesh edition. According to a report seen in a website, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as recently as October 2005, some 23 publishers and CEOs from the German Magazine Publishers Association has toured India to explore potential joint ventures and alliances with Indian publishers. Even journals like ‘Newsweek, Fortune, Time Out, Men’s Health’ etc. are setting up Indian operations. ‘The Independent’ of Britain has tied up with ‘Dainik Jagran’ which is a leading Hindi paper. Fancy that! Then again it is not just the English media that is thriving. The Indian language papers too are doing well. ‘The Times of India’ is reportedly planning to have a Kannada paper in Karnataka. The point is that as more and more Indians become literate, their desire to know is growing by leaps and bounds.
Most of the neo-literates can’t afford to have computers but they are sophisticated enough to realize that information on what is going on around them, in their own country and abroad, is important for their own future. Technology, on the one hand, is making information more easily acceptable to people. At the same time it is turning otherwise intelligent people into morons. We have come to a point where plenty of information is available but knowledge is on the decrease. The fashion is “to break news”, not to explain news. Becoming aware of ‘facts’ has become more important than to analyse what those ‘facts’ portray. The public is being inundated with information, but not with knowledge. It is a very unhealthy development that must be resisted. Currently, the fashion is to bring up tabloids on the grounds that they are easy to carry around, unlike broadsheets and hence easier to read. Readers are lured to buy tabloids because they are dazzled by the page designs, the colour and glamour. One whole page can be given to one news item without enlightening the reader as to the significance of the event reported. The reader hardly realizes that he is being taken for a ride. It suits government because no one goes to analyse news and go to the roots of the matter.
Iraq was damned for stocking weapons of mass destruction. No one was ever told that what the US wants is a pliable government in Baghdad that gives easy accesses to find our who supplied Iraq with poison gas and other such weapons to attack Iran for nine long years. Currently Iran is being targeted for allegedly manufacturing nuclear weapons. The truth is different. The United States and other western powers in the developed world wants to have total access to Iranian oil and gas, considering that both may get depleted elsewhere in the next two to three decades leading to a steep fall in living standards. The West, notably the United States, wants to control Iranian oil and gas stocks. Nowhere is this discussed. Iran is condemned as a war-mongering state, forgetting that for more than nine years the western powers were instigating Iraq to demolish Iran. Iraq failed and is now paying for that failure.
An important task
The electronic media does not deal with these matters and even when it does, the retaining power of news in the average listener is low. He sees, he listens and he forgets. It is the print media on the table that helps memory to last. The tragedy is that even the print media in India is more engaged in making money than in educating the people of the land. The point is made that while it is very well to say that the task of the media is to inform, and educate the public, entertaining the reader is also essential, only entertainment is increasingly being given top priority to promote sales. The excuse behind this explanation is that nearly half the population of India today is under 25 and that youth wants to be entertained, not educated. A sad reflection on out times, but one that has to be faced and corrective measures suggested. And that is the task of educationists, politicians and social reformers
http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=editorials&xfile=April2007_mediawatch_standard187&child=mediawatch
While it is very well to say that the task of the media is to inform and educate the public, only entertainment is increasingly being given top priority to promote sales
Writing in ‘The Hindu’ (March 7), Jeff Jarvis, a professor of Journalism at the City University of New York, raised what he called two important questions. He said: “First, why teach journalism? Aren’t newspapers and news doomed? Why ensnare young people in a dying profession? And second: how should you teach journalism today?” To the first question his answer was: “Journalism is evolving – at long last – and actually growing and that’s what makes this an exciting time to get into the news business”. As for the second question, his answer was that he was taking students through audio, video, slideshows, blogs, wikis, web pages google maps, photos, interactive forums and data bases”. Fair enough answers. But there is some truth in what he said about newspapers becoming a dying profession.
Ignorant public
But that is mostly in the United States and in recent times in Britain as well. According to one responsible source, students in the United States no longer read news. Indeed, according to a report by an Indian journalist just returned from the States the situation is truly bad. Writing in ‘The Hindu’ again, Sevanti Ninan says: “Walk into a relative’s home in Atlanta and you discover that they don’t take newspapers any more on week days…. Go around in a graduate class in Philadelphia and ask how many read newspapers and two out of 15 hands go up”. And a friend reported to her that the number of graduate students at the Columbia School of Journalism reading newspapers were zero! Sadly, US newspapers are winding up their bureaus abroad because they have ceased to be ‘cost-effective’. For an American newspaper it costs about $250,000 to maintain a newspaper bureau abroad. In the 1980s, American TV networks each maintained about 15 foreign bureaus; presently, they have six or fewer. So American people are getting to know less and less about more and more countries which is a dangerous development. An ignorant public can easily be manipulated by a vicious government which has its own agenda.
Luckily, the situation is just the reverse in India. In India more and more newspapers are selling and ‘The Times of India’ claims it has the largest circulation in the world! The Chandigarh-based ‘The Tribune’ (March 15) has announced that “responding to the demand of its readers for better coverage of the hill state”, it is launching its Himachal Pradesh edition. According to a report seen in a website, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as recently as October 2005, some 23 publishers and CEOs from the German Magazine Publishers Association has toured India to explore potential joint ventures and alliances with Indian publishers. Even journals like ‘Newsweek, Fortune, Time Out, Men’s Health’ etc. are setting up Indian operations. ‘The Independent’ of Britain has tied up with ‘Dainik Jagran’ which is a leading Hindi paper. Fancy that! Then again it is not just the English media that is thriving. The Indian language papers too are doing well. ‘The Times of India’ is reportedly planning to have a Kannada paper in Karnataka. The point is that as more and more Indians become literate, their desire to know is growing by leaps and bounds.
Most of the neo-literates can’t afford to have computers but they are sophisticated enough to realize that information on what is going on around them, in their own country and abroad, is important for their own future. Technology, on the one hand, is making information more easily acceptable to people. At the same time it is turning otherwise intelligent people into morons. We have come to a point where plenty of information is available but knowledge is on the decrease. The fashion is “to break news”, not to explain news. Becoming aware of ‘facts’ has become more important than to analyse what those ‘facts’ portray. The public is being inundated with information, but not with knowledge. It is a very unhealthy development that must be resisted. Currently, the fashion is to bring up tabloids on the grounds that they are easy to carry around, unlike broadsheets and hence easier to read. Readers are lured to buy tabloids because they are dazzled by the page designs, the colour and glamour. One whole page can be given to one news item without enlightening the reader as to the significance of the event reported. The reader hardly realizes that he is being taken for a ride. It suits government because no one goes to analyse news and go to the roots of the matter.
Iraq was damned for stocking weapons of mass destruction. No one was ever told that what the US wants is a pliable government in Baghdad that gives easy accesses to find our who supplied Iraq with poison gas and other such weapons to attack Iran for nine long years. Currently Iran is being targeted for allegedly manufacturing nuclear weapons. The truth is different. The United States and other western powers in the developed world wants to have total access to Iranian oil and gas, considering that both may get depleted elsewhere in the next two to three decades leading to a steep fall in living standards. The West, notably the United States, wants to control Iranian oil and gas stocks. Nowhere is this discussed. Iran is condemned as a war-mongering state, forgetting that for more than nine years the western powers were instigating Iraq to demolish Iran. Iraq failed and is now paying for that failure.
An important task
The electronic media does not deal with these matters and even when it does, the retaining power of news in the average listener is low. He sees, he listens and he forgets. It is the print media on the table that helps memory to last. The tragedy is that even the print media in India is more engaged in making money than in educating the people of the land. The point is made that while it is very well to say that the task of the media is to inform, and educate the public, entertaining the reader is also essential, only entertainment is increasingly being given top priority to promote sales. The excuse behind this explanation is that nearly half the population of India today is under 25 and that youth wants to be entertained, not educated. A sad reflection on out times, but one that has to be faced and corrective measures suggested. And that is the task of educationists, politicians and social reformers
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Mag Bag: The Greening Of The Week
Mag Bag: The Greening Of The Week
by Erik Sass, Friday, Apr 6, 2007 7:45 AM ET
The Week Goes Green
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=58321
The Week, the popular compendium of the best of various media in magazine form, is showing a green side. It's publishing a special bonus issue on the Web, sponsored by Lexus, which is devoted to the environment. The online-only issue will become available April 20 to regular subscribers and include all the magazine's regular features. The Lexus sponsorship serves to highlight the company's line of "luxury hybrid" vehicles, such as the RX 400h luxury utility vehicle, the GS 450h performance sedan and the LS 600h L flagship sedan.
Justin Smith, president of The Week, said: "In partnership with Lexus, we are able to bring our readers an online issue with all of The Week's regular editorial features, but with a reduced impact upon the environment." Smith says the pub is finding new ways for readers to "interact with the magazine's weekly content."
Lexus Vice President of Marketing Deborah Meyer says the sponsorship "demonstrates the company's commitment to the environment and heightens awareness of Earth Day and the issues that surround it." As part of the arrangement, The Week's special online issue will drive readers to the Lexus site, as well as content concerning the environment and conservation.
Star Cuts Circ
Star, the popular celebrity weekly published by American Media, is cutting its guaranteed circulation by 150,000 to 1.35 million, according to a report in Ad Age. The 10% cut follows a failure to meet its rate-base figures in eight out of 11 issues this year. Although it showed strong subscription growth, in the latest FAS-FAX report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Star's newsstand sales fell 13.9% to 743,349. Newsstand sales now account for about half of its total circulation.
Inc. Invites 5,000 of Its Closest Friends
There'd better be plenty of room at the Downtown Chicago Hilton, because Inc. has invited reps from all 5,000 companies in its list of America's fastest-growing private companies to the Inc. 500 Conference and Awards on September 6-8. The ceremony will recognize the 500 fastest-growing enterprises--which, over the past 25 years, have included Domino's Pizza, Microsoft and Timberland. Edward Sussman, president of Mansueto Digital, the publisher of Inc.com, noted: "With more companies participating in the event, the opportunity for entrepreneurs to network and learn will increase substantially." The deadline for entry in the 5,000 list is April 15.
TV Guide Names Bautz Online EIC
Gemstar-TV Guide International has named Mark Bautz as editor in chief of TV Guide Online, where he will direct all editorial and broadband video content for the publication's online properties, including www.TVGuide.com. In this role, he will work closely with Ian Birch, the chief content officer and editor-in-chief of the print publication. Previously, Bautz served as editor-in-chief of Time Inc.'s People.com. He also held an editorial position at EW.com.
Penton Media Names Sweeney EIC of Business Finance
Penton Media has appointed John Sweeney editor in chief of Business Finance magazine. In this role, Sweeney will direct all editorial content for both the print and online editions of the publication. Business Finance targets senior finance executives with content covering key finance issues, strategies, trends and technologies. Prior to the hire, Sweeney served as editor-in-chief of Kennedy Information's Magazine Media Group.
by Erik Sass, Friday, Apr 6, 2007 7:45 AM ET
The Week Goes Green
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=58321
The Week, the popular compendium of the best of various media in magazine form, is showing a green side. It's publishing a special bonus issue on the Web, sponsored by Lexus, which is devoted to the environment. The online-only issue will become available April 20 to regular subscribers and include all the magazine's regular features. The Lexus sponsorship serves to highlight the company's line of "luxury hybrid" vehicles, such as the RX 400h luxury utility vehicle, the GS 450h performance sedan and the LS 600h L flagship sedan.
Justin Smith, president of The Week, said: "In partnership with Lexus, we are able to bring our readers an online issue with all of The Week's regular editorial features, but with a reduced impact upon the environment." Smith says the pub is finding new ways for readers to "interact with the magazine's weekly content."
Lexus Vice President of Marketing Deborah Meyer says the sponsorship "demonstrates the company's commitment to the environment and heightens awareness of Earth Day and the issues that surround it." As part of the arrangement, The Week's special online issue will drive readers to the Lexus site, as well as content concerning the environment and conservation.
Star Cuts Circ
Star, the popular celebrity weekly published by American Media, is cutting its guaranteed circulation by 150,000 to 1.35 million, according to a report in Ad Age. The 10% cut follows a failure to meet its rate-base figures in eight out of 11 issues this year. Although it showed strong subscription growth, in the latest FAS-FAX report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Star's newsstand sales fell 13.9% to 743,349. Newsstand sales now account for about half of its total circulation.
Inc. Invites 5,000 of Its Closest Friends
There'd better be plenty of room at the Downtown Chicago Hilton, because Inc. has invited reps from all 5,000 companies in its list of America's fastest-growing private companies to the Inc. 500 Conference and Awards on September 6-8. The ceremony will recognize the 500 fastest-growing enterprises--which, over the past 25 years, have included Domino's Pizza, Microsoft and Timberland. Edward Sussman, president of Mansueto Digital, the publisher of Inc.com, noted: "With more companies participating in the event, the opportunity for entrepreneurs to network and learn will increase substantially." The deadline for entry in the 5,000 list is April 15.
TV Guide Names Bautz Online EIC
Gemstar-TV Guide International has named Mark Bautz as editor in chief of TV Guide Online, where he will direct all editorial and broadband video content for the publication's online properties, including www.TVGuide.com. In this role, he will work closely with Ian Birch, the chief content officer and editor-in-chief of the print publication. Previously, Bautz served as editor-in-chief of Time Inc.'s People.com. He also held an editorial position at EW.com.
Penton Media Names Sweeney EIC of Business Finance
Penton Media has appointed John Sweeney editor in chief of Business Finance magazine. In this role, Sweeney will direct all editorial content for both the print and online editions of the publication. Business Finance targets senior finance executives with content covering key finance issues, strategies, trends and technologies. Prior to the hire, Sweeney served as editor-in-chief of Kennedy Information's Magazine Media Group.
Rodale may focus on men's homes
Rodale may focus on men's homes
It's considering a Men's Health magazine spinoff giving house-related advice.
By Kurt Blumenau Of The Morning Call
Emmaus publisher Rodale has done well talking to men about their health. Now, it's going to tell them a few things about their living rooms and bathrooms, as well.The company is considering a spin-off title of its Men's Health magazine, to be called Men's Health Living. The new publication would focus on home improvements and home-related advice.
Industry magazine Advertising Age reported last month that Men's Health Living will appear in September as a special standalone issue. Rodale will consider more issues if the first one does well, Ad Age reported.Paul Reader, a Men's Health spokesman, confirmed Thursday that Rodale officials are looking at the concept. He said details are being worked out, and Rodale is not committing to a September print date.''It's kind of a work in progress,'' Reader said. ''It may happen sooner, it may happen later. It might not happen at all.''Last month, Men's Health Editor in Chief Dave Zinczenko told Ad Age the new title is ''a natural extension'' of the magazine he heads.''Just like Men's Health empowers men to seize control of their bodies, Men's Health Living will empower men to take control of their environment,'' Zinczenko said.Also, Men's Health Publisher Jack Essig told Ad Age that men are becoming more involved in the designs, colors and outfitting of the places where they live.Men's Health Living, while new to the United States, is in print elsewhere.
A magazine with the same name and concept is produced in South Africa by Touchline Media, a publishing company that also publishes international versions of Rodale titles Men's Health and Runner's World.Front-cover headlines in the most recent South African issue of Men's Health Living include ''Easy Money: How To Play The Property Market,'' ''Future-Proof Your Home'' and ''Come Clean: Your New Bathroom Is Here.''Ad Age identified only one possible U.S. rival to Men's Health Living: This Old House, a Time Inc. home-improvement publication inspired by the long-running TV show of the same name.Sarah Garvey, a spokeswoman for This Old House, said the magazine's research indicates home decisions are made by both men and women. This Old House does not specifically target either sex, she said.''We're excited for them,'' Garvey said of Rodale. ''We'll be interested to see where they fit'' into the magazine market.The new magazine would represent another effort by Rodale to extend its highly successful and award-winning Men's Health, which launched in 1986 and has been called one of the most successful rollouts in industry history.
The company unveiled a Women's Health magazine in October 2005 after publishing several trial issues. Rodale also attempted a spin-off magazine called MH18, aimed at younger readers, which is no longer published.Men's Health had paid circulation of 1.8 million copies at the end of last year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The newer Women's Health closed the year with circulation of about 650,000.Other magazines published by Rodale include Prevention and Bicycling. The company also publishes general-interest books such as Al Gore's ''An Inconvenient Truth'' and Dr. Arthur Agatston's ''The South Beach Diet.''Rodale is privately held and employs about 730 people in the Valley, as well as about 300 in New York City.
It's considering a Men's Health magazine spinoff giving house-related advice.
By Kurt Blumenau Of The Morning Call
Emmaus publisher Rodale has done well talking to men about their health. Now, it's going to tell them a few things about their living rooms and bathrooms, as well.The company is considering a spin-off title of its Men's Health magazine, to be called Men's Health Living. The new publication would focus on home improvements and home-related advice.
Industry magazine Advertising Age reported last month that Men's Health Living will appear in September as a special standalone issue. Rodale will consider more issues if the first one does well, Ad Age reported.Paul Reader, a Men's Health spokesman, confirmed Thursday that Rodale officials are looking at the concept. He said details are being worked out, and Rodale is not committing to a September print date.''It's kind of a work in progress,'' Reader said. ''It may happen sooner, it may happen later. It might not happen at all.''Last month, Men's Health Editor in Chief Dave Zinczenko told Ad Age the new title is ''a natural extension'' of the magazine he heads.''Just like Men's Health empowers men to seize control of their bodies, Men's Health Living will empower men to take control of their environment,'' Zinczenko said.Also, Men's Health Publisher Jack Essig told Ad Age that men are becoming more involved in the designs, colors and outfitting of the places where they live.Men's Health Living, while new to the United States, is in print elsewhere.
A magazine with the same name and concept is produced in South Africa by Touchline Media, a publishing company that also publishes international versions of Rodale titles Men's Health and Runner's World.Front-cover headlines in the most recent South African issue of Men's Health Living include ''Easy Money: How To Play The Property Market,'' ''Future-Proof Your Home'' and ''Come Clean: Your New Bathroom Is Here.''Ad Age identified only one possible U.S. rival to Men's Health Living: This Old House, a Time Inc. home-improvement publication inspired by the long-running TV show of the same name.Sarah Garvey, a spokeswoman for This Old House, said the magazine's research indicates home decisions are made by both men and women. This Old House does not specifically target either sex, she said.''We're excited for them,'' Garvey said of Rodale. ''We'll be interested to see where they fit'' into the magazine market.The new magazine would represent another effort by Rodale to extend its highly successful and award-winning Men's Health, which launched in 1986 and has been called one of the most successful rollouts in industry history.
The company unveiled a Women's Health magazine in October 2005 after publishing several trial issues. Rodale also attempted a spin-off magazine called MH18, aimed at younger readers, which is no longer published.Men's Health had paid circulation of 1.8 million copies at the end of last year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The newer Women's Health closed the year with circulation of about 650,000.Other magazines published by Rodale include Prevention and Bicycling. The company also publishes general-interest books such as Al Gore's ''An Inconvenient Truth'' and Dr. Arthur Agatston's ''The South Beach Diet.''Rodale is privately held and employs about 730 people in the Valley, as well as about 300 in New York City.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Scholastic, Target Rev Summer Reading
Scholastic, Target Rev Summer Reading
Target gets on page with Scholastic to keep kids sharp over summer
Scholastic and Target Stores are ramping up a summer reading program that rewards kids and engages teachers and parents.
The four-month program, called Scholastic Summer Reading Buzz!, breaks on May 15 with a dedicated Web site, classroom materials, and a sweepstakes awarding a family trip to Orlando.
The goal is to get millions of kids to read at least four books over the summer, to keep their reading skills sharp while school is out.
Kids register at the site, Scholastic.com/SummerReading, then log in book titles each time they finish reading one. For every four books read, Scholastic will donate one book to Reading is Fundamental (RIF), up to 50,000 books. Non-profit RIF will distribute Scholastic’s donated books to underprivileged kids.
The site also invites kids to submit reviews and “buzz” about the books they’ve enjoyed, and hosts book lists in English and Spanish, for parents and teachers. The sweepstakes runs on the site, too.
At the same time, teachers in 250,000 classrooms will get Reading Buzz materials, including book logs that kids take home to keep track of their reading offline. (Books tallied in those logs trigger donations to RIF, too). The classroom kits also include age-appropriate books, reading activities, and a $1 coupon for children’s books at Target.
Scholastic will promote Reading Buzz in materials for its in-school Book Clubs and Book Fairs as well as its Spanish-language vehicle Lectorum. Branded pencils and bookmarks will be given away at education conferences and reading events this spring and summer to raise awareness of the program.
This is the second year that Scholastic has run Reading Buzz, but Target is a new partner this year. Last year, Scholastic tapped Woman’s Day magazine to reach moms and support the program.
Target gets on page with Scholastic to keep kids sharp over summer
Scholastic and Target Stores are ramping up a summer reading program that rewards kids and engages teachers and parents.
The four-month program, called Scholastic Summer Reading Buzz!, breaks on May 15 with a dedicated Web site, classroom materials, and a sweepstakes awarding a family trip to Orlando.
The goal is to get millions of kids to read at least four books over the summer, to keep their reading skills sharp while school is out.
Kids register at the site, Scholastic.com/SummerReading, then log in book titles each time they finish reading one. For every four books read, Scholastic will donate one book to Reading is Fundamental (RIF), up to 50,000 books. Non-profit RIF will distribute Scholastic’s donated books to underprivileged kids.
The site also invites kids to submit reviews and “buzz” about the books they’ve enjoyed, and hosts book lists in English and Spanish, for parents and teachers. The sweepstakes runs on the site, too.
At the same time, teachers in 250,000 classrooms will get Reading Buzz materials, including book logs that kids take home to keep track of their reading offline. (Books tallied in those logs trigger donations to RIF, too). The classroom kits also include age-appropriate books, reading activities, and a $1 coupon for children’s books at Target.
Scholastic will promote Reading Buzz in materials for its in-school Book Clubs and Book Fairs as well as its Spanish-language vehicle Lectorum. Branded pencils and bookmarks will be given away at education conferences and reading events this spring and summer to raise awareness of the program.
This is the second year that Scholastic has run Reading Buzz, but Target is a new partner this year. Last year, Scholastic tapped Woman’s Day magazine to reach moms and support the program.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Time Warner Shares Gain on Positive View
Time Warner Shares Gain on Positive View
Tuesday April 3, 4:01 pm ET
Time Warner Shares Up After Analyst Reiterates 'Buy' Rating, Citing Strength After Spinoff
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares in media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. rose Tuesday after Citigroup said investors are undervaluing the stock after the company spun off its cable operations.
Time Warner comprises online unit AOL, Warner Bros. studios, cable networks such as HBO and CNN, and publishing properties including Sports Illustrated and Time magazines. Last month, the company broke off its cable operations, giving investors the chance to place a value on Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable operator in the country, independent of the conglomerate's other assets.
Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet said Time Warner's remaining assets are "inexpensive," and predicts the stock can add about 20 percent in the next year. He rates it "Buy" and assigns a price target of $24.
Time Warner shares rose 44 cents, or 2.2 percent to close at $20.51 on the New York Stock Exchange. In the past year, the stock has ranged from $15.70 to $23.15. Before Tuesday's trading, the stock was off about 20 percent from its 52-week high.
"To our surprise, the pull back in Time Warner shares is almost exclusively tied to movements in Time Warner Cable," Bazinet wrote. "In effect, Time Warner is trading just like a cable stock."
While Time Warner still owns 85 percent of the cable company, those assets comprise just 40 percent of the company's enterprise value, which adds equity value, or market capitalization, to debt.
The analyst argued that, based on calculations of debt, equity value and free cash flow, the implied value of the company's stock is $11 per share, well below his price target.
Time Warner Cable stock closed up 20 cents, at $37.25 on the NYSE.
Tuesday April 3, 4:01 pm ET
Time Warner Shares Up After Analyst Reiterates 'Buy' Rating, Citing Strength After Spinoff
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares in media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. rose Tuesday after Citigroup said investors are undervaluing the stock after the company spun off its cable operations.
Time Warner comprises online unit AOL, Warner Bros. studios, cable networks such as HBO and CNN, and publishing properties including Sports Illustrated and Time magazines. Last month, the company broke off its cable operations, giving investors the chance to place a value on Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable operator in the country, independent of the conglomerate's other assets.
Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet said Time Warner's remaining assets are "inexpensive," and predicts the stock can add about 20 percent in the next year. He rates it "Buy" and assigns a price target of $24.
Time Warner shares rose 44 cents, or 2.2 percent to close at $20.51 on the New York Stock Exchange. In the past year, the stock has ranged from $15.70 to $23.15. Before Tuesday's trading, the stock was off about 20 percent from its 52-week high.
"To our surprise, the pull back in Time Warner shares is almost exclusively tied to movements in Time Warner Cable," Bazinet wrote. "In effect, Time Warner is trading just like a cable stock."
While Time Warner still owns 85 percent of the cable company, those assets comprise just 40 percent of the company's enterprise value, which adds equity value, or market capitalization, to debt.
The analyst argued that, based on calculations of debt, equity value and free cash flow, the implied value of the company's stock is $11 per share, well below his price target.
Time Warner Cable stock closed up 20 cents, at $37.25 on the NYSE.
Sorrell: Only 50% Of Ad Money Targets Traditional Media
WPP's Sorrell: Mobile and New Media to Lead Ad Spend
By Enid Burns | April 2, 2007
“Start experimenting with mobile, test, refine, repeat,” was the advice offered by Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive at WPP, at the Mobile Entertainment and Advertising Summit held by the GSM Association.
Sorrell reported about half of WPP-owned media buying agency GroupM's business in advertising is spent on traditional media, while the other half is spent on outdoor, new media, market research and public relations. “Those other areas are growing by and large faster than those traditional media,” he said.
Newspaper is the media most threatened by new media, followed by radio and TV, though “cable and satellite give more flexibility,” he said. “Probably the least affected is outdoor and cinema, though the question is raised as to how we’re all going to consume films [in the future].”
New media, and especially emerging channels like mobile, must define standards and reporting practices. “For good or evil, clients are going to not make big decisions in media unless they have measurable data to back it,” Sir Martin said.
A forecast released by GroupM late last year places mobile ad spending in the U.K. at £30 million, or $59 million, for 2007. Mobile is becoming a priority for the larger Internet companies like Yahoo, Google and eBay. “Today there are twice as many mobile phones as Internet connections,” said Sir Martin.
He added growth will be driven by the decline of mobile data costs, adoption of mobile search, and higher data speeds enabled by 3G networks. The opportunity for marketers lies in finding ways to lower the cost of data services through advertising.
On a global scale, growth in the ad spend will come from developing countries, Sorrell said, adding that he prefers to classify the identified countries as quickly-growing markets. He said to look beyond the "BRIC" nations -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- to “neo-BRIC” countries like Pakistan, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. “We’ve seen mobile developments in Africa and elsewhere,” he said. “Latin America and Africa, those two will become not just politically important, but economically important.”
By Enid Burns | April 2, 2007
“Start experimenting with mobile, test, refine, repeat,” was the advice offered by Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive at WPP, at the Mobile Entertainment and Advertising Summit held by the GSM Association.
Sorrell reported about half of WPP-owned media buying agency GroupM's business in advertising is spent on traditional media, while the other half is spent on outdoor, new media, market research and public relations. “Those other areas are growing by and large faster than those traditional media,” he said.
Newspaper is the media most threatened by new media, followed by radio and TV, though “cable and satellite give more flexibility,” he said. “Probably the least affected is outdoor and cinema, though the question is raised as to how we’re all going to consume films [in the future].”
New media, and especially emerging channels like mobile, must define standards and reporting practices. “For good or evil, clients are going to not make big decisions in media unless they have measurable data to back it,” Sir Martin said.
A forecast released by GroupM late last year places mobile ad spending in the U.K. at £30 million, or $59 million, for 2007. Mobile is becoming a priority for the larger Internet companies like Yahoo, Google and eBay. “Today there are twice as many mobile phones as Internet connections,” said Sir Martin.
He added growth will be driven by the decline of mobile data costs, adoption of mobile search, and higher data speeds enabled by 3G networks. The opportunity for marketers lies in finding ways to lower the cost of data services through advertising.
On a global scale, growth in the ad spend will come from developing countries, Sorrell said, adding that he prefers to classify the identified countries as quickly-growing markets. He said to look beyond the "BRIC" nations -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- to “neo-BRIC” countries like Pakistan, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. “We’ve seen mobile developments in Africa and elsewhere,” he said. “Latin America and Africa, those two will become not just politically important, but economically important.”
News Corp., Offline, Online Content King
Start spreading the News (Corp.)
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has been the best performing media stock this year and analysts expect the Fox and MySpace owner to remain ahead of the pack.
By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
April 2 2007: 1:09 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Some TV critics are wondering if the continued success of Sanjaya Malakar, the woefully out of tune contestant on Fox's "American Idol," will be what finally causes ratings for the hit show to tank.
Yet, investors in Fox's parent company don't seem to be too worried that "Idol's" popularity has peaked. Shares of News Corp (Charts)., which owns the Fox television and movie studios and social networking site MySpace, are up about 10 percent this year.
By way of comparison, shares of rivals Walt Disney (Charts) and Viacom (Charts) are unchanged, CBS (Charts) is down about 2 percent and Time Warner's (Charts) stock has fallen 9 percent. (Time Warner is the parent company of CNNMoney.com)
Analysts say the ratings surge at Fox, which went from fourth place in the 18-49 year-old ratings race at the end of 2006 to leading in the advertiser-coveted demographic since "Idol" rejoined Fox's primetimes schedule in January, is a key reason behind the success in News Corp.'s stock.
News Corp. now appears poised to win the 18-49 ratings crown for the third straight season. And the company's network television unit accounts for about 20 percent of total revenue.
"As long as 'American Idol' stays strong, things will continue to work fine for News Corp.," said Alan Gould, an analyst with Natexis Bleichroeder.
But there's more to News Corp. than Fox, analysts say. Gould said that under chairman Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. has been perhaps the most successful of all the major media companies in terms of embracing digital media.
News Corp. bought MySpace parent company Intermix Media in 2005 for $580 million, a price that's now considered a steal.
"Strategically, Murdoch has been ahead of everybody. He's been looking at everything from a more global perspective than anyone else in the media business," Gould said.
David Joyce, an analyst with Miller Tabak & Co., said News Corp. should see a big boost in revenue and profits in its Fox Interactive Media unit, which includes MySpace, over the next few years, as an advertising revenue sharing agreement with search engine leader Google (Charts) kicks in.
Joyce added that he's not concerned that News Corp.'s recent decision to form an online video joint venture with GE-owned NBC Universal that will compete against Google's YouTube video sharing subsidiary will derail the partnership between MySpace and Google.
Analysts also said that News Corp.'s move to get out of the U.S. satellite television business was a wise one. News Corp. agreed late last year to swap its controlling interest in DirecTV (Charts) to Liberty Media, the conglomerate controlled by mogul John Malone, in exchange for Liberty's approximately 16 percent stake in News Corp.
News Corp. shareholders are set to vote on this transaction on April 3 and it is widely expected that they will approve the deal.
Joseph Bonner, an analyst with Argus Research, said getting rid of DirecTV accomplishes two things for News Corp. that shareholders should like. First, it allows News Corp. to exit the cutthroat U.S. satellite and cable TV market.
DirecTV has had difficulty competing with large cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which are able to offer more services, such as Internet access and phone service, than the satellite TV providers.
News Corp. remains a big player in the global satellite TV market though, with a 39 percent stake in British Sky Broadcasting and full ownership of Sky Italia.
In addition, Bonner said Murdoch and other News Corp. executives no longer need to worry about meddling from Malone, who some feared would seek greater control over the company.
"The Liberty-DirecTV deal removes an ongoing issue about what was going to happen with News Corp. stock and control of the company. That cloud has lifted. News Corp. can move forward and not have more of management's time devoted to this," Bonner said.
Bonner added that News Corp. should also benefit from contract renegotiations with cable providers regarding its Fox News Channel. News Corp. was able to receive increased carriage fees from major cable companies due to the ratings success of Fox News Channel. Bonner said this should boost results in News Corp.'s cable programming unit, which accounts for 13 percent of overall sales and 26 percent of operating income.
Nonetheless, there are some concerns about News Corp. going forward. The company's movie business, which had a strong 2006 thanks to box office hits such as the "Borat" movie as well as sequels in the "X-Men" and "Ice Age" franchises, will face tougher comparisons this year.
This summer, News Corp. is releasing a "Fantastic Four" sequel, a fourth "Die Hard" film (and first since 1995) and the long-awaited movie based on Fox's long-running cartoon hit "The Simpsons." Gould said he's not sure if any of these films will be monster blockbusters.
News Corp. also faces a tough environment in some of its slower-growth "old media" businesses such as its newspaper and magazines divisions and HarperCollins book publishing unit.
Still, analysts said News Corp. should continue to outperform its media brethren. "They are the best of the media conglomerates," said Miller Tabak's Joyce.
Gould adds that even though the stock trades at a premium to its rivals on both a price-to-earnings and price to earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) basis, the higher valuation is justified because of MySpace's growth potential.
To be sure, MySpace and other online assets are still a small part of News Corp. The company said in February when it reported fiscal second quarter results that Fox Interactive Media posted a slight loss in the quarter even though sales rose 70 percent from a year ago.
But News Corp. president and COO Peter Chernin vowed during the call that Fox Interactive Media would not only be profitable in 2008, but that operating margins should be about 20 percent.
"The key thing to watch will be the evolution of MySpace and Fox Interactive Media and how quickly those profits ramp up," Gould said.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has been the best performing media stock this year and analysts expect the Fox and MySpace owner to remain ahead of the pack.
By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
April 2 2007: 1:09 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Some TV critics are wondering if the continued success of Sanjaya Malakar, the woefully out of tune contestant on Fox's "American Idol," will be what finally causes ratings for the hit show to tank.
Yet, investors in Fox's parent company don't seem to be too worried that "Idol's" popularity has peaked. Shares of News Corp (Charts)., which owns the Fox television and movie studios and social networking site MySpace, are up about 10 percent this year.
By way of comparison, shares of rivals Walt Disney (Charts) and Viacom (Charts) are unchanged, CBS (Charts) is down about 2 percent and Time Warner's (Charts) stock has fallen 9 percent. (Time Warner is the parent company of CNNMoney.com)
Analysts say the ratings surge at Fox, which went from fourth place in the 18-49 year-old ratings race at the end of 2006 to leading in the advertiser-coveted demographic since "Idol" rejoined Fox's primetimes schedule in January, is a key reason behind the success in News Corp.'s stock.
News Corp. now appears poised to win the 18-49 ratings crown for the third straight season. And the company's network television unit accounts for about 20 percent of total revenue.
"As long as 'American Idol' stays strong, things will continue to work fine for News Corp.," said Alan Gould, an analyst with Natexis Bleichroeder.
But there's more to News Corp. than Fox, analysts say. Gould said that under chairman Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. has been perhaps the most successful of all the major media companies in terms of embracing digital media.
News Corp. bought MySpace parent company Intermix Media in 2005 for $580 million, a price that's now considered a steal.
"Strategically, Murdoch has been ahead of everybody. He's been looking at everything from a more global perspective than anyone else in the media business," Gould said.
David Joyce, an analyst with Miller Tabak & Co., said News Corp. should see a big boost in revenue and profits in its Fox Interactive Media unit, which includes MySpace, over the next few years, as an advertising revenue sharing agreement with search engine leader Google (Charts) kicks in.
Joyce added that he's not concerned that News Corp.'s recent decision to form an online video joint venture with GE-owned NBC Universal that will compete against Google's YouTube video sharing subsidiary will derail the partnership between MySpace and Google.
Analysts also said that News Corp.'s move to get out of the U.S. satellite television business was a wise one. News Corp. agreed late last year to swap its controlling interest in DirecTV (Charts) to Liberty Media, the conglomerate controlled by mogul John Malone, in exchange for Liberty's approximately 16 percent stake in News Corp.
News Corp. shareholders are set to vote on this transaction on April 3 and it is widely expected that they will approve the deal.
Joseph Bonner, an analyst with Argus Research, said getting rid of DirecTV accomplishes two things for News Corp. that shareholders should like. First, it allows News Corp. to exit the cutthroat U.S. satellite and cable TV market.
DirecTV has had difficulty competing with large cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable, which are able to offer more services, such as Internet access and phone service, than the satellite TV providers.
News Corp. remains a big player in the global satellite TV market though, with a 39 percent stake in British Sky Broadcasting and full ownership of Sky Italia.
In addition, Bonner said Murdoch and other News Corp. executives no longer need to worry about meddling from Malone, who some feared would seek greater control over the company.
"The Liberty-DirecTV deal removes an ongoing issue about what was going to happen with News Corp. stock and control of the company. That cloud has lifted. News Corp. can move forward and not have more of management's time devoted to this," Bonner said.
Bonner added that News Corp. should also benefit from contract renegotiations with cable providers regarding its Fox News Channel. News Corp. was able to receive increased carriage fees from major cable companies due to the ratings success of Fox News Channel. Bonner said this should boost results in News Corp.'s cable programming unit, which accounts for 13 percent of overall sales and 26 percent of operating income.
Nonetheless, there are some concerns about News Corp. going forward. The company's movie business, which had a strong 2006 thanks to box office hits such as the "Borat" movie as well as sequels in the "X-Men" and "Ice Age" franchises, will face tougher comparisons this year.
This summer, News Corp. is releasing a "Fantastic Four" sequel, a fourth "Die Hard" film (and first since 1995) and the long-awaited movie based on Fox's long-running cartoon hit "The Simpsons." Gould said he's not sure if any of these films will be monster blockbusters.
News Corp. also faces a tough environment in some of its slower-growth "old media" businesses such as its newspaper and magazines divisions and HarperCollins book publishing unit.
Still, analysts said News Corp. should continue to outperform its media brethren. "They are the best of the media conglomerates," said Miller Tabak's Joyce.
Gould adds that even though the stock trades at a premium to its rivals on both a price-to-earnings and price to earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) basis, the higher valuation is justified because of MySpace's growth potential.
To be sure, MySpace and other online assets are still a small part of News Corp. The company said in February when it reported fiscal second quarter results that Fox Interactive Media posted a slight loss in the quarter even though sales rose 70 percent from a year ago.
But News Corp. president and COO Peter Chernin vowed during the call that Fox Interactive Media would not only be profitable in 2008, but that operating margins should be about 20 percent.
"The key thing to watch will be the evolution of MySpace and Fox Interactive Media and how quickly those profits ramp up," Gould said.
Zillow.com Offers Do-It-Yourself 'EZ Ads'
Zillow.com Offers Do-It-Yourself 'EZ Ads'
by Judy Warner, Wednesday, Apr 4, 2007 6:00 AM ET
THE WEB SITE THAT A year ago was the buzz of cocktail parties, office meetings and cab rides will today introduce a bevy of new features intended to draw home buyers and sellers to its ad-supported site.
Zillow.com today launches "EZ Ads" among other features to attract user-generated content to its real estate site, increase visitation, and generate revenue. Zillow's do-it-yourself ad capability allows anyone to create an ad and then purchase space locally by geography or ZIP code.
Another buzz-worthy addition to the site is a question-and-answer function that allows anyone to pose a question and view answers from anyone who chooses to respond. Visitors can then rate answers as "helpful" or "not helpful," and each contribution links back to a user's profile page--telling visitors, for example, if the question was answered by a local agent, or if the contributor frequently answers questions within the Zillow community.
"Today, some of the most colorful and important information about homes and real estate is trapped inside the heads of local experts--agents, homeowners and neighbors," says Lloyd Frink, Zillow president. "By allowing people to freely ask questions and share information online about homes, we hope to unlock, for the community as a whole, a powerful vault of data, such as an agent sharing insight into a neighborhood, or a potential buyer asking the shortest commute route downtown."
The Kelsey Group's Matt Booth, an analyst who covers interactive local media and was given a preview of the site enhancements, predicts that the EZ Ad tool in particular will prove popular because it depends on "self enrollment" and will attract buyers of local ads with credit card in hand. Inexpensive and simple to use, Booth predicts the feature will take off.
"I can see someone going in right away and buying up all the really good ZIP codes. If you're selling in Beverly Hills you want to be there and in the surrounding areas."
Seattle-based Zillow was launched a year ago by former Expedia.com executives. Its "Zestimate" valuation tool allows anyone anywhere to type in an address and find out what that home is worth. So far, interest in the site has exceeded expectations. Company founders had projected 1 million unique visitors by August, and instead saw 5 million unique visitors in just three weeks.
What has made the site attractive to advertisers such as Lendingtree, Washington Mutual, Bank of America and dozens of others is the quality of its visitors: 84% own a home, most are affluent, and they're concentrated on both coasts.
Last month, according to data compiled by Hitwise, Zillow ranked No. 7 in share of market for site visits in the real estate category. Judy Warner covers financial services. She can be reached via email at jwarner@comave.org.
by Judy Warner, Wednesday, Apr 4, 2007 6:00 AM ET
THE WEB SITE THAT A year ago was the buzz of cocktail parties, office meetings and cab rides will today introduce a bevy of new features intended to draw home buyers and sellers to its ad-supported site.
Zillow.com today launches "EZ Ads" among other features to attract user-generated content to its real estate site, increase visitation, and generate revenue. Zillow's do-it-yourself ad capability allows anyone to create an ad and then purchase space locally by geography or ZIP code.
Another buzz-worthy addition to the site is a question-and-answer function that allows anyone to pose a question and view answers from anyone who chooses to respond. Visitors can then rate answers as "helpful" or "not helpful," and each contribution links back to a user's profile page--telling visitors, for example, if the question was answered by a local agent, or if the contributor frequently answers questions within the Zillow community.
"Today, some of the most colorful and important information about homes and real estate is trapped inside the heads of local experts--agents, homeowners and neighbors," says Lloyd Frink, Zillow president. "By allowing people to freely ask questions and share information online about homes, we hope to unlock, for the community as a whole, a powerful vault of data, such as an agent sharing insight into a neighborhood, or a potential buyer asking the shortest commute route downtown."
The Kelsey Group's Matt Booth, an analyst who covers interactive local media and was given a preview of the site enhancements, predicts that the EZ Ad tool in particular will prove popular because it depends on "self enrollment" and will attract buyers of local ads with credit card in hand. Inexpensive and simple to use, Booth predicts the feature will take off.
"I can see someone going in right away and buying up all the really good ZIP codes. If you're selling in Beverly Hills you want to be there and in the surrounding areas."
Seattle-based Zillow was launched a year ago by former Expedia.com executives. Its "Zestimate" valuation tool allows anyone anywhere to type in an address and find out what that home is worth. So far, interest in the site has exceeded expectations. Company founders had projected 1 million unique visitors by August, and instead saw 5 million unique visitors in just three weeks.
What has made the site attractive to advertisers such as Lendingtree, Washington Mutual, Bank of America and dozens of others is the quality of its visitors: 84% own a home, most are affluent, and they're concentrated on both coasts.
Last month, according to data compiled by Hitwise, Zillow ranked No. 7 in share of market for site visits in the real estate category. Judy Warner covers financial services. She can be reached via email at jwarner@comave.org.
Harper's Establishes Online Archive Going Back 157 Years;
Harper's Establishes Online Archive Going Back 157 Years; Prints Subs Include Access
Posted by David Kaplan
http://www.paidcontent.org/
Tue 03 Apr 2007 06:29 AM Harper’s magazine, which published its first issue in June 1850, is making articles dating back 157 years available in a new online archive, Fishbowl NY reported. So far, the archive is available only to print subscribers of the monthly magazine. Those who pay subscriptions, which start at $16.97, will be able to view PDFs of articles at no extra charge. The Harper’s online database boasts thousands of interlinked topic pages from over a quarter-million page-scans. In addition to maintaining current, non-archived articles and features free on its website, Harper’s says it is looking for a solution for bloggers wishing to link to older Harper’s content.
In gathering all past issues, Harper’s relied on the Cornell University Library, which allowed the magazine use of scans from the publication’s first 49 years.
By putting its archives online, Harper’s takes a different approach than that of the New Yorker, which released its archives on eight DVDs in late 2005. Whereas Harper’s views its archives as an incentive for subscribers, the New Yorker saw a way to increase revenues directly. It’s worth noting that on the bottom of the New Yorker’s home page, under the heading “Coming Soon,” it says the site will offer most New Yorker articles since 2001 and selected pieces from before, as well as a searchable index, with abstracts, of articles since 1925.
Posted by David Kaplan
http://www.paidcontent.org/
Tue 03 Apr 2007 06:29 AM Harper’s magazine, which published its first issue in June 1850, is making articles dating back 157 years available in a new online archive, Fishbowl NY reported. So far, the archive is available only to print subscribers of the monthly magazine. Those who pay subscriptions, which start at $16.97, will be able to view PDFs of articles at no extra charge. The Harper’s online database boasts thousands of interlinked topic pages from over a quarter-million page-scans. In addition to maintaining current, non-archived articles and features free on its website, Harper’s says it is looking for a solution for bloggers wishing to link to older Harper’s content.
In gathering all past issues, Harper’s relied on the Cornell University Library, which allowed the magazine use of scans from the publication’s first 49 years.
By putting its archives online, Harper’s takes a different approach than that of the New Yorker, which released its archives on eight DVDs in late 2005. Whereas Harper’s views its archives as an incentive for subscribers, the New Yorker saw a way to increase revenues directly. It’s worth noting that on the bottom of the New Yorker’s home page, under the heading “Coming Soon,” it says the site will offer most New Yorker articles since 2001 and selected pieces from before, as well as a searchable index, with abstracts, of articles since 1925.
Boomers Hip to Web Technology. Online for Needs, Not Entertainment
Boomers Hip to Web Technology. Online for Needs, Not Entertainment
http://www.centerformediaresearch.com/cfmr_brief.cfm?fnl=070404
According to a new study, by ThirdAge Inc. and JWT BOOM, with over 1,210 adults 40+ years of age, over 72% of ThirdAgers access the Internet from Broadband in their homes, which is significantly more than the national average across all age groups. And, over 82% of all respondents are researching or reading information Online on health and wellness for themselves and for their families.
Sharon Whiteley, CEO of ThirdAge, said "ThirdAgers (baby boomers and mid-lifers generally in their early 40's through mid 60's) are regularly stereotyped as being technophobes and slow to jump on the technology bandwagon. However... not only are they online, they're surprisingly a formidable presence on the Internet."
According to the survey, ThirdAgers spend time on the Internet are to:
Seek out information (92%)
Stay in touch with friends and family (95%)
Shop online (73%)
Browse the Web (95%)
Read articles (91%)
Research products before purchasing offline (86%)
What they're not doing is watching videos, writing blogs, playing games or downloading music, notes the report.
The report includes data that shows that
Close to 108 million people are over the age of 45, more than 40 percent of the population, with the majority of the buying power in the United States
They account for 70 percent of the U.S. net worth, controlling $9 trillion
In the next 15 years, the 50-64 age popular will grow by 50 percent and the 65-plus population will grow 32 percent
Traditionally coveted 18-40 Gen-X and Gen-Y populations will grow only 3 percent combined
Whiteley says "... many marketers... (are not) building a trusted relationship with people who are over 40... These generations have grown up in the information age; they will seek facts, data and peer input..."
Based on survey findings, over 96% share information and details about new discoveries with their family, 84% with their children, 83% with their spouses and 71% among their co-workers making this cohort one of the most active groups in the viral marketplace.
Research results also point to the fact that marketers would do well to understand the value of an integrated media plans when marketing to ThirdAgers as 92 % visit an online Web site after they've read about it in a print article. 89 % typically visit a Web site after seeing a print ad, and 83 % visit a site after seeing a television ad.
Additional topline findings about this market segment:
82% are using a desktop computer to connect online
17% are using laptops
73% are using Broadband to access the Internet from home
82% are using the Internet to seek information around health & wellness
69% get health & wellness information from doctors and medical professionals
79% would respond to promotional e-mails about products and services
92% have read about a Web site in a print article and then visited online
89% have seen a print ad and later visited the online site
83% have seen a Web site advertised on television and later visited it online
65% will visit a Web site address after hearing it on a radio
http://www.centerformediaresearch.com/cfmr_brief.cfm?fnl=070404
According to a new study, by ThirdAge Inc. and JWT BOOM, with over 1,210 adults 40+ years of age, over 72% of ThirdAgers access the Internet from Broadband in their homes, which is significantly more than the national average across all age groups. And, over 82% of all respondents are researching or reading information Online on health and wellness for themselves and for their families.
Sharon Whiteley, CEO of ThirdAge, said "ThirdAgers (baby boomers and mid-lifers generally in their early 40's through mid 60's) are regularly stereotyped as being technophobes and slow to jump on the technology bandwagon. However... not only are they online, they're surprisingly a formidable presence on the Internet."
According to the survey, ThirdAgers spend time on the Internet are to:
Seek out information (92%)
Stay in touch with friends and family (95%)
Shop online (73%)
Browse the Web (95%)
Read articles (91%)
Research products before purchasing offline (86%)
What they're not doing is watching videos, writing blogs, playing games or downloading music, notes the report.
The report includes data that shows that
Close to 108 million people are over the age of 45, more than 40 percent of the population, with the majority of the buying power in the United States
They account for 70 percent of the U.S. net worth, controlling $9 trillion
In the next 15 years, the 50-64 age popular will grow by 50 percent and the 65-plus population will grow 32 percent
Traditionally coveted 18-40 Gen-X and Gen-Y populations will grow only 3 percent combined
Whiteley says "... many marketers... (are not) building a trusted relationship with people who are over 40... These generations have grown up in the information age; they will seek facts, data and peer input..."
Based on survey findings, over 96% share information and details about new discoveries with their family, 84% with their children, 83% with their spouses and 71% among their co-workers making this cohort one of the most active groups in the viral marketplace.
Research results also point to the fact that marketers would do well to understand the value of an integrated media plans when marketing to ThirdAgers as 92 % visit an online Web site after they've read about it in a print article. 89 % typically visit a Web site after seeing a print ad, and 83 % visit a site after seeing a television ad.
Additional topline findings about this market segment:
82% are using a desktop computer to connect online
17% are using laptops
73% are using Broadband to access the Internet from home
82% are using the Internet to seek information around health & wellness
69% get health & wellness information from doctors and medical professionals
79% would respond to promotional e-mails about products and services
92% have read about a Web site in a print article and then visited online
89% have seen a print ad and later visited the online site
83% have seen a Web site advertised on television and later visited it online
65% will visit a Web site address after hearing it on a radio
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Ready or not, digital TV's coming
Ready or not, digital TV's coming
LOS ANGELES, April 2 (UPI) -- The countdown toward the U.S. conversion to digital television is ticking downward, slowly but inexorably.
Statistics show about 20 percent of U.S. households use rabbit ears or rooftop antennae rather than pay for cable or satellite programming. But because federal law mandates the switch from analog to digital in 2009, most of those sets will go dark unless a converter box costing about $50, less any government subsidy, is installed.
A recent poll found 61 percent of people who rely on broadcast TV aren't aware of the coming changes, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. About half of those households have incomes under $30,000, and blacks and Hispanics comprise a higher percentage than whites, according to the survey.
Alex Nogales of the Los Angeles-based National Hispanic Media Coalition told a congressional panel last week: "Am I concerned that our community is going to be left out? Of course."
Nancy Zirkin of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights worries those needing the converter-box coupons will be the last know.
"Like some science-fiction nightmare, the news they watch, the programs that actually keep them company and let them know what is happening in the world, could -- poof -- disappear," she said.
LOS ANGELES, April 2 (UPI) -- The countdown toward the U.S. conversion to digital television is ticking downward, slowly but inexorably.
Statistics show about 20 percent of U.S. households use rabbit ears or rooftop antennae rather than pay for cable or satellite programming. But because federal law mandates the switch from analog to digital in 2009, most of those sets will go dark unless a converter box costing about $50, less any government subsidy, is installed.
A recent poll found 61 percent of people who rely on broadcast TV aren't aware of the coming changes, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. About half of those households have incomes under $30,000, and blacks and Hispanics comprise a higher percentage than whites, according to the survey.
Alex Nogales of the Los Angeles-based National Hispanic Media Coalition told a congressional panel last week: "Am I concerned that our community is going to be left out? Of course."
Nancy Zirkin of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights worries those needing the converter-box coupons will be the last know.
"Like some science-fiction nightmare, the news they watch, the programs that actually keep them company and let them know what is happening in the world, could -- poof -- disappear," she said.
Future Journalists: No Web Skills, No Job
ABM Digital Velocity Panel to
Future Journalists: No Web Skills, No Job
Monday, April 02, 2007
By Marrecca Fiore
http://www.foliomag.com/viewmedia.asp?prmMID=7544
Consultant and publishing industry blogger, Paul Conley spends one month a year working with students embarking, or at least trying to embark, on their own journalism careers.
Conley, speaking last week at American Business Media’s Digital Velocity conference, said his third job has made him come to realize that many future journalists are still Web-challenged. These future employees are walking around with hard copies of their clips (as opposed to having them in an electronic format) and believe that they are going carve out successful print-only careers.
But even more disturbing, said Conley, is the willingness of employers to take those hard-copy clips. “We need to stop looking for people who were like us when we were first looking for jobs,” said Conley, speaking during a panel titled “Empowering Your Workforce for the New Digital Landscape. “We need to look for a very different type of entry-level person. Someone who understand the software culture in which we’re working.”
Conley said employers should be looking to hire people who are willing and eager to learn new skills, as well as people who already have strong computer-related backgrounds with image-scanning, video, blogging, podcasting and even Web-related entrepreneurial skills.
Conley said he was very impressed with a college student he met that had started a blog to let other students know about campus news and events. What impressed Conley was not the blog, but the fact that the student knew enough to sign the blog up for Google AdSense and was earning $40 a year from the program. "It's not the $40," Conley said. "It's the fact that he's ambitious and entrepreneurial and learned to do this on his own."
Jason Brightman, Web director of Harris Publications, publisher of 70 titles including hip hop magazine XXL, said publishers must first be willing to undergo a cultural shift before transforming old media companies into new media companies. “When we transitioned our 70 titles from magazines to the Web, we had to get our employees to realize that we were still a publishing company," he said. "It’s just that we were thinking about publishing in a different way.”
Still, Harris initially had two problems, said Brightman. One, it needed to find new talent with Web expertise. And two, it needed to train its existing employees to publish on the Web. “We all know that online publishing is different than publishing in print,” he said. “It does require different writing skills. For XXL, there were already a lot of established hip hop blogs out there so we invited them to blog on our site. We got their content and their built-in audience. And they got to associate their blogs with our brand. And we were big enough that, at first, (the bloggers) would do it for free.”
For its existing employees, Harris appealed to their egos by telling them that Web journalism would expand their reach and expand the number of times their bylines would appear on search engines like Google. “We also needed to get them to look at it not as though we were replacing their jobs and the magazines, but that we were expanding our products to improve the brand,” he added.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...
Future Journalists: No Web Skills, No Job
Monday, April 02, 2007
By Marrecca Fiore
http://www.foliomag.com/viewmedia.asp?prmMID=7544
Consultant and publishing industry blogger, Paul Conley spends one month a year working with students embarking, or at least trying to embark, on their own journalism careers.
Conley, speaking last week at American Business Media’s Digital Velocity conference, said his third job has made him come to realize that many future journalists are still Web-challenged. These future employees are walking around with hard copies of their clips (as opposed to having them in an electronic format) and believe that they are going carve out successful print-only careers.
But even more disturbing, said Conley, is the willingness of employers to take those hard-copy clips. “We need to stop looking for people who were like us when we were first looking for jobs,” said Conley, speaking during a panel titled “Empowering Your Workforce for the New Digital Landscape. “We need to look for a very different type of entry-level person. Someone who understand the software culture in which we’re working.”
Conley said employers should be looking to hire people who are willing and eager to learn new skills, as well as people who already have strong computer-related backgrounds with image-scanning, video, blogging, podcasting and even Web-related entrepreneurial skills.
Conley said he was very impressed with a college student he met that had started a blog to let other students know about campus news and events. What impressed Conley was not the blog, but the fact that the student knew enough to sign the blog up for Google AdSense and was earning $40 a year from the program. "It's not the $40," Conley said. "It's the fact that he's ambitious and entrepreneurial and learned to do this on his own."
Jason Brightman, Web director of Harris Publications, publisher of 70 titles including hip hop magazine XXL, said publishers must first be willing to undergo a cultural shift before transforming old media companies into new media companies. “When we transitioned our 70 titles from magazines to the Web, we had to get our employees to realize that we were still a publishing company," he said. "It’s just that we were thinking about publishing in a different way.”
Still, Harris initially had two problems, said Brightman. One, it needed to find new talent with Web expertise. And two, it needed to train its existing employees to publish on the Web. “We all know that online publishing is different than publishing in print,” he said. “It does require different writing skills. For XXL, there were already a lot of established hip hop blogs out there so we invited them to blog on our site. We got their content and their built-in audience. And they got to associate their blogs with our brand. And we were big enough that, at first, (the bloggers) would do it for free.”
For its existing employees, Harris appealed to their egos by telling them that Web journalism would expand their reach and expand the number of times their bylines would appear on search engines like Google. “We also needed to get them to look at it not as though we were replacing their jobs and the magazines, but that we were expanding our products to improve the brand,” he added.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...
Targeting: Google's Got The Key
Targeting: Google's Got The Key
by Mark Green
We swim in a sea of data. Focus groups, transactions, all sorts of surveys, Web traffic, assorted non-sale responses, TV meters, portable meters, mall intercepts, and contests - and that's just to name a few. But what matters, and what's the value? These are becoming strategic questions for many companies.
Answers lie in what metrics can be used to run your business. Management uses key business indicators that are as close as possible to the operational decisions they can control.
Imagine if your metrics guaranteed specific sales for each media unit purchased. The decision of how much to spend on that media unit becomes academic. On the flip side, with sufficient information across industry verticals, these metrics also illuminate the value of the media unit to the broadcasters.
The Google model invites prospective customers to bid for responses to keywords. Google makes dollars per response delivered, using Ad Sense algorithms to estimate how many responses it can deliver per bid to decide who wins the bid. But just because company A bids $2 per response and company B bids $1 does not mean that company A wins. If Ad Sense predicts that company B would get three times as many responses as A, then company B wins. And so does Google, by optimizing the monetary value of its search words.
Imagine the capitalization of the company that replaces Google's pay-per-click response model with a pay-per-inquiry/visit/sale response model. It's just a matter of time before someone corrals our increasingly electronic world and delivers this.
The simple solution is to collect everything in a single panel of consumers. The traditional barriers have always been the cost of specialized measurements to track different things and their consequent strains on maintaining cooperation in a representative panel. The traditional answer has been vertical specialization to manage for panel "burn-out" and measurement costs.
However, as technology evolves, these economics may change. Measurements may become increasingly passive, minimizing cooperation burn-out, and more similar in nature, driving costs down.
A key in the evolution of measurement might be audio signals. They can emanate from anything. The Apollo Project, an ROI measurement system from Arbitron and Nielsen, measures proprietary audio signals encoded by broadcasters of TV, radio, and Internet video. Wal-Mart has been testing universal audio signals emanating from RFID chips to manage inventory and expedite checkout without having to scan UPC barcodes. If privacy issues subside, imagine unique RFID signatures emitting from cash registers at all sorts of retailers. Not only do you know that Johnny with his personal RFID listening device went to McDonald's, but by synching up with the store's time-stamped data, you know he bought a Big Mac, large order of fries, and small Diet Coke.
What do manufacturers, retailers, and service companies want responses to? If McDonald's wants store traffic or even specific purchases, the innovative Data Company could provide that by synchronizing its panel of RFID listeners with all the retailer's cash register databases. In each case of goods, there will be an abundant number of chips to listen for, as many predict RFID chips will replace barcodes. In the interim, much can be made by synchronizing RFID listening data with cash register data.
This evolution in response data may finally break the age-old CPM model, as a new Google model could transcend broadcast media. Advertisers would bid for inventory and pay-per-response. Google-like intermediaries or the broadcasters themselves will pick winners based on the value of the bid times the anticipated response rate. Optimizing the value of media units by predicting response rates will be the next war of algorithms.
Google is aggressive and ambitious. It wants to organize the world's information, and it's actively experimenting in managing ad placement to finance its ambition.
Will broadcasters become serious about optimizing the monetary value of their media units, or will they let themselves be co-opted by distributors such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, or possibly Comcast? Or will broadcasters and advertisers hire their own algorithm specialists and work through an independent exchange to process these transactions? Only time will tell.
by Mark Green
We swim in a sea of data. Focus groups, transactions, all sorts of surveys, Web traffic, assorted non-sale responses, TV meters, portable meters, mall intercepts, and contests - and that's just to name a few. But what matters, and what's the value? These are becoming strategic questions for many companies.
Answers lie in what metrics can be used to run your business. Management uses key business indicators that are as close as possible to the operational decisions they can control.
Imagine if your metrics guaranteed specific sales for each media unit purchased. The decision of how much to spend on that media unit becomes academic. On the flip side, with sufficient information across industry verticals, these metrics also illuminate the value of the media unit to the broadcasters.
The Google model invites prospective customers to bid for responses to keywords. Google makes dollars per response delivered, using Ad Sense algorithms to estimate how many responses it can deliver per bid to decide who wins the bid. But just because company A bids $2 per response and company B bids $1 does not mean that company A wins. If Ad Sense predicts that company B would get three times as many responses as A, then company B wins. And so does Google, by optimizing the monetary value of its search words.
Imagine the capitalization of the company that replaces Google's pay-per-click response model with a pay-per-inquiry/visit/sale response model. It's just a matter of time before someone corrals our increasingly electronic world and delivers this.
The simple solution is to collect everything in a single panel of consumers. The traditional barriers have always been the cost of specialized measurements to track different things and their consequent strains on maintaining cooperation in a representative panel. The traditional answer has been vertical specialization to manage for panel "burn-out" and measurement costs.
However, as technology evolves, these economics may change. Measurements may become increasingly passive, minimizing cooperation burn-out, and more similar in nature, driving costs down.
A key in the evolution of measurement might be audio signals. They can emanate from anything. The Apollo Project, an ROI measurement system from Arbitron and Nielsen, measures proprietary audio signals encoded by broadcasters of TV, radio, and Internet video. Wal-Mart has been testing universal audio signals emanating from RFID chips to manage inventory and expedite checkout without having to scan UPC barcodes. If privacy issues subside, imagine unique RFID signatures emitting from cash registers at all sorts of retailers. Not only do you know that Johnny with his personal RFID listening device went to McDonald's, but by synching up with the store's time-stamped data, you know he bought a Big Mac, large order of fries, and small Diet Coke.
What do manufacturers, retailers, and service companies want responses to? If McDonald's wants store traffic or even specific purchases, the innovative Data Company could provide that by synchronizing its panel of RFID listeners with all the retailer's cash register databases. In each case of goods, there will be an abundant number of chips to listen for, as many predict RFID chips will replace barcodes. In the interim, much can be made by synchronizing RFID listening data with cash register data.
This evolution in response data may finally break the age-old CPM model, as a new Google model could transcend broadcast media. Advertisers would bid for inventory and pay-per-response. Google-like intermediaries or the broadcasters themselves will pick winners based on the value of the bid times the anticipated response rate. Optimizing the value of media units by predicting response rates will be the next war of algorithms.
Google is aggressive and ambitious. It wants to organize the world's information, and it's actively experimenting in managing ad placement to finance its ambition.
Will broadcasters become serious about optimizing the monetary value of their media units, or will they let themselves be co-opted by distributors such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, or possibly Comcast? Or will broadcasters and advertisers hire their own algorithm specialists and work through an independent exchange to process these transactions? Only time will tell.
Mexico City to be one, giant Wi-Fi hotspot by 2008: mayor
All of Mexico City will be one free, wireless Internet hotspot by 2008, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced Monday.
The project "will accelerate the technological development of the city," Ebrard said after signing a contract with the Chinese telecoms and networking giant ZTE.
The project began as a hook-up for security cameras around the Mexican capital, he said.
"Why connect 4,000 cameras with fiber (optic cable) if everyone has wireless?" he said.
"If we are going to deploy 4,000 (security) cameras, I want them to be Wi-Fi," Ebrard said.
The project "will accelerate the technological development of the city," Ebrard said after signing a contract with the Chinese telecoms and networking giant ZTE.
The project began as a hook-up for security cameras around the Mexican capital, he said.
"Why connect 4,000 cameras with fiber (optic cable) if everyone has wireless?" he said.
"If we are going to deploy 4,000 (security) cameras, I want them to be Wi-Fi," Ebrard said.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Big bonuses for Time Warner chiefs
Big bonuses for Time Warner chiefs
World's largest media firm gives big bonuses to Dick Parsons and Jeff Bewkes; Motorola CEO Ed Zander plans to not run for re-election to Time Warner's board.
March 30 2007: 6:28 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Time Warner, the world's largest media company, disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that chairman and chief executive officer Dick Parsons received annual compensation of $22.5 million last year, up from $16 million in 2005.
Parsons, who led Time Warner (Charts) through a tumultuous 2006 that saw the company fend off a challenge from activist shareholder Carl Icahn, increase its stock buyback to $20 billion and announce an overhaul of the struggling AOL Internet unit, received a $1.5 million salary last year, the same as 2005. (Time Warner is the parent company of CNNMoney.com.)
Time Warner chairman and CEO Dick Parsons received a bigger bonus last year...
...as did Time Warner COO Jeff Bewkes.
But Parsons' bonus increased from $7.5 million to $8.5 million. In addition, his options and restricted stock grants were worth $11.9 million last year, up from $6.56 million in 2005.
Time Warner's stock rose 26 percent in 2006, joining in a media stock rally that also lifted shares of competitors News Corp. (Charts), Walt Disney (Charts) and CBS (Charts).
In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Time Warner said that Parsons' bonus "should be clearly linked to the company's financial performance" and added that he "also effectively addressed challenges facing the company during 2005 and 2006 through significant efforts to reach out to investors, regulators and the business community."
Time Warner also completed its joint acquisition of bankrupt cable provider Adelphia with Comcast (Charts) last year, setting the stage for Time Warner to sell a stake in its Time Warner Cable (Charts) unit to the public this year.
Will Jeff Bewkes be Time Warner's next CEO?
In addition, Time Warner disclosed that president and COO Jeff Bewkes, who is widely expected to succeed Parsons as CEO when Parsons' contract runs out in May 2008, also received a boost to his overall compensation package last year.
Bewkes saw his salary increase from $1 million in 2005 to $1.25 million last year while his annual bonus rose to $7.5 million from $6 million. Overall, Bewkes' total compensation last year, which includes stock options, restricted stock and other compensation, was $18.7 million, compared to $12.5 million in 2006.
Shares of Time Warner slid 13 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $19.72 a share in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange Friday. The stock has fallen 9 percent year-to-date.
Separately, Time Warner disclosed that Ed Zander, the CEO of embattled cell phone maker Motorola (Charts), would not seek re-election for Time Warner's board of directors at the Time Warner's next annual shareholder meeting on May 18.
Zander, who just joined the Time Warner board in January, will serve as a director until the board meeting. Time Warner said in a filing that Zander decided not to run for Time Warner's board again "in light of the increased challenges facing Motorola, Inc. and the additional time commitments associated with his position at that company."
Motorola is now facing pressure from Icahn to boost shareholder returns
World's largest media firm gives big bonuses to Dick Parsons and Jeff Bewkes; Motorola CEO Ed Zander plans to not run for re-election to Time Warner's board.
March 30 2007: 6:28 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Time Warner, the world's largest media company, disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that chairman and chief executive officer Dick Parsons received annual compensation of $22.5 million last year, up from $16 million in 2005.
Parsons, who led Time Warner (Charts) through a tumultuous 2006 that saw the company fend off a challenge from activist shareholder Carl Icahn, increase its stock buyback to $20 billion and announce an overhaul of the struggling AOL Internet unit, received a $1.5 million salary last year, the same as 2005. (Time Warner is the parent company of CNNMoney.com.)
Time Warner chairman and CEO Dick Parsons received a bigger bonus last year...
...as did Time Warner COO Jeff Bewkes.
But Parsons' bonus increased from $7.5 million to $8.5 million. In addition, his options and restricted stock grants were worth $11.9 million last year, up from $6.56 million in 2005.
Time Warner's stock rose 26 percent in 2006, joining in a media stock rally that also lifted shares of competitors News Corp. (Charts), Walt Disney (Charts) and CBS (Charts).
In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Time Warner said that Parsons' bonus "should be clearly linked to the company's financial performance" and added that he "also effectively addressed challenges facing the company during 2005 and 2006 through significant efforts to reach out to investors, regulators and the business community."
Time Warner also completed its joint acquisition of bankrupt cable provider Adelphia with Comcast (Charts) last year, setting the stage for Time Warner to sell a stake in its Time Warner Cable (Charts) unit to the public this year.
Will Jeff Bewkes be Time Warner's next CEO?
In addition, Time Warner disclosed that president and COO Jeff Bewkes, who is widely expected to succeed Parsons as CEO when Parsons' contract runs out in May 2008, also received a boost to his overall compensation package last year.
Bewkes saw his salary increase from $1 million in 2005 to $1.25 million last year while his annual bonus rose to $7.5 million from $6 million. Overall, Bewkes' total compensation last year, which includes stock options, restricted stock and other compensation, was $18.7 million, compared to $12.5 million in 2006.
Shares of Time Warner slid 13 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $19.72 a share in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange Friday. The stock has fallen 9 percent year-to-date.
Separately, Time Warner disclosed that Ed Zander, the CEO of embattled cell phone maker Motorola (Charts), would not seek re-election for Time Warner's board of directors at the Time Warner's next annual shareholder meeting on May 18.
Zander, who just joined the Time Warner board in January, will serve as a director until the board meeting. Time Warner said in a filing that Zander decided not to run for Time Warner's board again "in light of the increased challenges facing Motorola, Inc. and the additional time commitments associated with his position at that company."
Motorola is now facing pressure from Icahn to boost shareholder returns
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Internet takes bite out of Canadian magazine readership
Internet takes bite out of Canadian magazine readership
Media landscape increasingly fractured as rivals fight to maintain audiences
GRANT ROBERTSON
MEDIA REPORTER
Readership of several Canadian magazines is falling amid competition from the Internet, while some titles are cutting back circulation to focus on more lucrative subscribers.
Reader's Digest, the country's largest magazine with a circulation of 986,000 copies an issue, maintained the highest readership in the country with 7.08 million readers over age 12, according to data released yesterday by the PMB Print Measurement Bureau.
However, those numbers were down 1.7 per cent from last year's report. The PMB studies readership of magazines and newspapers over two-year periods. The latest numbers span the period from Oct. 1, 2004, to Sept. 30, 2006, and are compared with the same period spanning 2003-2005.
Canadian Geographic, which moved into the second spot in readership rankings, was a rarity in the industry as it boosted readership by 7.3 per cent, to 4.4 million.
Magazines are battling a migration of their readers to the Internet and are competing in an increasingly fractured media landscape where television, radio and newspapers are each vying to maintain their audiences in the face of competition from the Web.
And like the newspaper industry, which has seen some publications reducing the number of discounted copies they print to focus on paying subscribers who are more valuable to advertisers, some magazines are cutting back circulation.
That has also contributed to a drop in readers at some titles, said Bill Shields, editor of Masthead magazine, which tracks the industry.
Maclean's, which saw its overall readership rise 5.2 per cent in the last PMB numbers, fell 5.4 per cent this time around, to slightly more than 2.75 million readers. However, the magazine has been one of the more aggressive titles in cutting back its circulation since it relaunched.
Some magazines have sought to cull so-called junk subscribers, which generally cost more to pursue, in favour of their core market, Mr. Shields said.
"A junk subscriber is someone who has to be pestered eight or nine times before they renew and the cost of sending eight or nine renewal notices through first-class mail to someone often exceeds the money you get from the subscription."
The PMB tabulates readership by multiplying the number of readers per copy, determined in its surveys, by circulation. However, the magazine industry saw a broader decline in the number of readers per copy.
The industry trend shows readers per copy dropped from 5.5 in last year's report to 5.0 this year, which reflected the drop in readership numbers at dozens of titles.
In the business category, Report on Business Magazine had the highest readership with 1.37 million readers, down 5.3 per cent, while Financial Post Business dropped 6.3 per cent to 1.22 million readers. Canadian Business had 984,000 readers, down 9.2 per cent, according to PMB.
Several newspapers were tracked in the study. The Globe and Mail had more than 1.32 million readers on weekdays, which was up 0.2 per cent, and more than 1.24 million readers on Saturdays, down 1.9 per cent. The National Post had 813,000 readers on weekdays, down 3.2 per cent, and 659,000 readers on Saturdays, down 6.9 per cent.
Media landscape increasingly fractured as rivals fight to maintain audiences
GRANT ROBERTSON
MEDIA REPORTER
Readership of several Canadian magazines is falling amid competition from the Internet, while some titles are cutting back circulation to focus on more lucrative subscribers.
Reader's Digest, the country's largest magazine with a circulation of 986,000 copies an issue, maintained the highest readership in the country with 7.08 million readers over age 12, according to data released yesterday by the PMB Print Measurement Bureau.
However, those numbers were down 1.7 per cent from last year's report. The PMB studies readership of magazines and newspapers over two-year periods. The latest numbers span the period from Oct. 1, 2004, to Sept. 30, 2006, and are compared with the same period spanning 2003-2005.
Canadian Geographic, which moved into the second spot in readership rankings, was a rarity in the industry as it boosted readership by 7.3 per cent, to 4.4 million.
Magazines are battling a migration of their readers to the Internet and are competing in an increasingly fractured media landscape where television, radio and newspapers are each vying to maintain their audiences in the face of competition from the Web.
And like the newspaper industry, which has seen some publications reducing the number of discounted copies they print to focus on paying subscribers who are more valuable to advertisers, some magazines are cutting back circulation.
That has also contributed to a drop in readers at some titles, said Bill Shields, editor of Masthead magazine, which tracks the industry.
Maclean's, which saw its overall readership rise 5.2 per cent in the last PMB numbers, fell 5.4 per cent this time around, to slightly more than 2.75 million readers. However, the magazine has been one of the more aggressive titles in cutting back its circulation since it relaunched.
Some magazines have sought to cull so-called junk subscribers, which generally cost more to pursue, in favour of their core market, Mr. Shields said.
"A junk subscriber is someone who has to be pestered eight or nine times before they renew and the cost of sending eight or nine renewal notices through first-class mail to someone often exceeds the money you get from the subscription."
The PMB tabulates readership by multiplying the number of readers per copy, determined in its surveys, by circulation. However, the magazine industry saw a broader decline in the number of readers per copy.
The industry trend shows readers per copy dropped from 5.5 in last year's report to 5.0 this year, which reflected the drop in readership numbers at dozens of titles.
In the business category, Report on Business Magazine had the highest readership with 1.37 million readers, down 5.3 per cent, while Financial Post Business dropped 6.3 per cent to 1.22 million readers. Canadian Business had 984,000 readers, down 9.2 per cent, according to PMB.
Several newspapers were tracked in the study. The Globe and Mail had more than 1.32 million readers on weekdays, which was up 0.2 per cent, and more than 1.24 million readers on Saturdays, down 1.9 per cent. The National Post had 813,000 readers on weekdays, down 3.2 per cent, and 659,000 readers on Saturdays, down 6.9 per cent.
Web news readers have greater attention span: U.S. study
Web news readers have greater attention span: U.S. study
By Belinda Goldsmith
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - People who use the Internet to read the news have a greater attention span than print readers, according to a U.S. study that refutes the idea that Web surfers jump around and don't read much.
The EyeTrack07 survey by the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, found online readers read 77 percent of what they chose to read while broadsheet newspaper readers read an average of 62 percent, and tabloid readers about 57 percent.
Sara Quinn, director of the Poynter EyeTrack07 project, said this was the first large public study internationally to compare the differences between how people read the news online and in newspapers.
She said they were surprised to find that such a large percentage of story text was read online as this exploded the myth that Web readers had a shorter attention span.
"Nearly two-thirds of online readers, once they chose a particular item to read, read all of text," Quinn told Reuters on Thursday at the American Society of Newspaper Editors' annual conference where the study was released.
"That speaks to the power of long-form journalism."
The study also found that people paid more attention to items written in a question and answer format or as lists, and preferred documentary news photographs to staged or studio pictures.
The study involved testing nearly 600 readers in four U.S. markets -- readers of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, The St. Petersburg Times in Florida, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, and the Philadelphia Daily News.
The test subjects, who were 49 percent women and 51 percent men aged between 18 and 60, were asked to read that day's edition in either print or online over 30 publication days.
Two small cameras were mounted above the subject's right eye to monitor what they were reading. They were allowed to read whatever they liked.
The study found about 75 percent of print readers were methodical compared to half of online readers.
Methodical readers tend to read from top to bottom without much scanning around the page, read in a two-page view when reading in print, and re-read some material.
But whether online readers were methodical or scanners, they read about the same volume of story text.
Quinn said a prototype test also found that people answered more questions about a news item correctly if the information had been presented in an alternative manner rather than traditional narrative.
This could have been a question and answer format, a timeline, short sidebar or a list.
"Subjects paid an average of 15 percent more attention to alternative story forms than to regular story text in print. In broadsheet, this figure rose to 30 percent," the study said.
Large headlines and photos in print were looked a first but online readers went for navigation bars and teasers.
Quinn said more findings from the study would be released at the Poynter conference in April.
By Belinda Goldsmith
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - People who use the Internet to read the news have a greater attention span than print readers, according to a U.S. study that refutes the idea that Web surfers jump around and don't read much.
The EyeTrack07 survey by the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism school, found online readers read 77 percent of what they chose to read while broadsheet newspaper readers read an average of 62 percent, and tabloid readers about 57 percent.
Sara Quinn, director of the Poynter EyeTrack07 project, said this was the first large public study internationally to compare the differences between how people read the news online and in newspapers.
She said they were surprised to find that such a large percentage of story text was read online as this exploded the myth that Web readers had a shorter attention span.
"Nearly two-thirds of online readers, once they chose a particular item to read, read all of text," Quinn told Reuters on Thursday at the American Society of Newspaper Editors' annual conference where the study was released.
"That speaks to the power of long-form journalism."
The study also found that people paid more attention to items written in a question and answer format or as lists, and preferred documentary news photographs to staged or studio pictures.
The study involved testing nearly 600 readers in four U.S. markets -- readers of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, The St. Petersburg Times in Florida, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, and the Philadelphia Daily News.
The test subjects, who were 49 percent women and 51 percent men aged between 18 and 60, were asked to read that day's edition in either print or online over 30 publication days.
Two small cameras were mounted above the subject's right eye to monitor what they were reading. They were allowed to read whatever they liked.
The study found about 75 percent of print readers were methodical compared to half of online readers.
Methodical readers tend to read from top to bottom without much scanning around the page, read in a two-page view when reading in print, and re-read some material.
But whether online readers were methodical or scanners, they read about the same volume of story text.
Quinn said a prototype test also found that people answered more questions about a news item correctly if the information had been presented in an alternative manner rather than traditional narrative.
This could have been a question and answer format, a timeline, short sidebar or a list.
"Subjects paid an average of 15 percent more attention to alternative story forms than to regular story text in print. In broadsheet, this figure rose to 30 percent," the study said.
Large headlines and photos in print were looked a first but online readers went for navigation bars and teasers.
Quinn said more findings from the study would be released at the Poynter conference in April.
Superstar Smackdown: BoSacks vs. Mr. Magazine
Superstar Smackdown: BoSacks vs. Mr. Magazine
Posted by Patrick Henry on March 11th, 2007
http://printceoblog.wordpress.com/2007/03/11/superstar-smackdown-%e2%80%9cbosacks-vs-mr-magazine%e2%80%9d/#comments
It may sound a bit like a matchup from the card of a WWE event, but it actually was the title of more elevated clash between two print media experts at the Publishing Executive/Book Business conference and expo in New York City last week.
BoSacks is Bob Sacks (www.bosacks.com), the iconoclastic publishing consultant and commentator. Mr. Magazine is Dr. Samir Husni (www.mrmagazine.com), chair of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi and chronicler of the magazine industry for the last 21 years. They went to the mat over their views of the future of magazines, with Dr. Husni asserting their vitality and Sacks warning of negative trends undercutting them.
Dr. Husni, whose specialty is tracking the launches of new titles, insisted that the best hope for magazine publishing lies in ink on paper and not in digital alternatives. Magazines, he said, continue to exert a visual and physical appeal that consumers find irresistible. How else, he asked, are we to explain the enduring popularity of People, which hasn’t seen fit to change its format or editorial despite all of the competitive pressure that the Internet has brought to bear?
He said the launch of 926 new titles last year demonstrates that entrepreneurs are still willing to bet the farm on periodicals despite “horrifying stories of magazines that failed”—60 percent of them within their first year of publication. Magazines are so attractive to readers, Dr. Husni added, that newspapers are “committing suicide” by failing to be more like them in tone, style, and content.
Sacks acknowledged that magazines still have an edge over digital media when it comes to things like portability and ease of use. But he said their user-friendliness can’t hide the fact that overall magazine circulation growth “stopped dead” years ago or that a legendarily dysfunctional single-copy distribution system routinely discards up to 70 percent of some titles as unsold returns.
According to Sacks, postal rate increases and rising manufacturing costs threaten to price magazines and other printed matter out of the reach of most readers. Like the horse—once the universal service animal but now a plaything exclusively for the wealthy—the printed periodical faces the prospect that “20 years from now, only the rich are going to be able to afford a magazine or a book.” Sacks also talked about steady progress in e-paper, a digital alternative that may well give conventionally printed products a run for their money in the user-friendliness department.
The friendly smackdown between BoSacks and Mr. Magazine was a reminder that facts alone can’t explain why print survives or predict how it will be impacted by alternative media.
If magazines can’t increase circulation and decrease waste, it’s hard to think of them as anything but withering relics of a medium with a great future behind it. On the other hand, no matter how horrendous some of its inefficiencies may appear, the magazine industry still manages to put hundreds millions of copies into the hands of loyal readers who don’t know and probably wouldn’t care that seven of every 10 copies may be headed for the landfill. And while technologies like e-paper sooner or later will claim their share of the periodical market, no one has yet managed to sell a right-hand page to an advertiser in the e-paper equivalent of a conventional magazine.
Of course, perspicacious magazine publishers are covering both bets by shifting some of their activity away from print and into digital properties. During the Q&A, an executive of a well known b-to-b magazine publishing house mentioned that his company now derives $30 million of its $250 million in annual revenues from online sources. The company would have been in trouble had it not jumped on the digital bandwagon when it did, the executive said.
Posted by Patrick Henry on March 11th, 2007
http://printceoblog.wordpress.com/2007/03/11/superstar-smackdown-%e2%80%9cbosacks-vs-mr-magazine%e2%80%9d/#comments
It may sound a bit like a matchup from the card of a WWE event, but it actually was the title of more elevated clash between two print media experts at the Publishing Executive/Book Business conference and expo in New York City last week.
BoSacks is Bob Sacks (www.bosacks.com), the iconoclastic publishing consultant and commentator. Mr. Magazine is Dr. Samir Husni (www.mrmagazine.com), chair of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi and chronicler of the magazine industry for the last 21 years. They went to the mat over their views of the future of magazines, with Dr. Husni asserting their vitality and Sacks warning of negative trends undercutting them.
Dr. Husni, whose specialty is tracking the launches of new titles, insisted that the best hope for magazine publishing lies in ink on paper and not in digital alternatives. Magazines, he said, continue to exert a visual and physical appeal that consumers find irresistible. How else, he asked, are we to explain the enduring popularity of People, which hasn’t seen fit to change its format or editorial despite all of the competitive pressure that the Internet has brought to bear?
He said the launch of 926 new titles last year demonstrates that entrepreneurs are still willing to bet the farm on periodicals despite “horrifying stories of magazines that failed”—60 percent of them within their first year of publication. Magazines are so attractive to readers, Dr. Husni added, that newspapers are “committing suicide” by failing to be more like them in tone, style, and content.
Sacks acknowledged that magazines still have an edge over digital media when it comes to things like portability and ease of use. But he said their user-friendliness can’t hide the fact that overall magazine circulation growth “stopped dead” years ago or that a legendarily dysfunctional single-copy distribution system routinely discards up to 70 percent of some titles as unsold returns.
According to Sacks, postal rate increases and rising manufacturing costs threaten to price magazines and other printed matter out of the reach of most readers. Like the horse—once the universal service animal but now a plaything exclusively for the wealthy—the printed periodical faces the prospect that “20 years from now, only the rich are going to be able to afford a magazine or a book.” Sacks also talked about steady progress in e-paper, a digital alternative that may well give conventionally printed products a run for their money in the user-friendliness department.
The friendly smackdown between BoSacks and Mr. Magazine was a reminder that facts alone can’t explain why print survives or predict how it will be impacted by alternative media.
If magazines can’t increase circulation and decrease waste, it’s hard to think of them as anything but withering relics of a medium with a great future behind it. On the other hand, no matter how horrendous some of its inefficiencies may appear, the magazine industry still manages to put hundreds millions of copies into the hands of loyal readers who don’t know and probably wouldn’t care that seven of every 10 copies may be headed for the landfill. And while technologies like e-paper sooner or later will claim their share of the periodical market, no one has yet managed to sell a right-hand page to an advertiser in the e-paper equivalent of a conventional magazine.
Of course, perspicacious magazine publishers are covering both bets by shifting some of their activity away from print and into digital properties. During the Q&A, an executive of a well known b-to-b magazine publishing house mentioned that his company now derives $30 million of its $250 million in annual revenues from online sources. The company would have been in trouble had it not jumped on the digital bandwagon when it did, the executive said.
It's All in the Delivery
It's All in the Delivery
In 25,000 years, nothing has really changed except the method of sharing content.
No matter how far back in history you go, humans have captured the moment and written it down, somewhere. Whether you look at the 25,000-year-old Ishango baton from the Congo that recorded a six-month lunar calendar, which was the first known non-cerebral memory device, now called a book … or the cave paintings of France … or the scrolls of the Library of Alexandria … or the retooled olive press of Mr. Gutenberg, you couldn’t find a more interesting and complex period of our industry, of information distribution, than now. OK, maybe Mr. Gutenberg’s era was pretty exciting too.
From the moment movable type was invented till just a few years ago our path was crystal clear and unavoidable. Gutenberg created movable type from soft metal, and an industry was born from the rapid distribution of information.
Did you know he swore his printing partners to secrecy? And upon their deaths, the contract read that the “idea and process” of movable type defaulted back to Gutenberg and his heirs. Nice try, Johannes. Too bad that he died in poverty. Imagine that—the man who invented the world’s first real mass-information distribution system dies in poverty.
An Irresistible Force
The growth of the printing press and the distribution of information was an irresistible force, whose only combatant at the time was ignorance and what seems to us now extremely limited technology.
Of course that limitation is only apparent to us as we look back with tremendous hindsight. The technology of that day was nothing less than amazing, as is our reaching out to the stars. It took a single scribe over a year to copy a single book. Did you know that it took 200 to 300 sheepskins to make a bible? And there was no “preflighting” and “spell checking” to make sure that the scribe got it right.
But Gutenberg could turn out hundreds of books in a week, each one identical to the next. So it is not hard to envision the exponential growth of … well, everything. You no longer needed old wise men to learn from. You didn’t need to be an apprentice. You could learn anything and everything from a book.
Well, we all know the story of how the first book was a bible. But do you know what the very next books were? The topics were exactly the same things that are popular today. Craft books, then scientific books, then the explosion of thought and free thinking.
The printing press reduced the cost of books, increased their availability and encouraged the spread of literacy. It helped alter the economic, scientific and ideological outlooks for the next five centuries. It must have spread something like a virus, and the net result was that it democratized knowledge. And that is no small thing. Yes, that is the business Gutenberg was in, and so are you.
From Storytellers to E-tellers
We have gone from the storytellers of the oral tradition and cave paintings to memory devices like batons and parchment scribed by hand. We have gone from the printing press to new forms of electronic communication. Each new development in the history of communication has always further democratized the delivery of information. Nothing has really changed, except the method of delivery.
So if you think about it, printing on dead trees is no longer the only way of reproducing books and magazines. The process of reading, however, has not changed an iota; it is the same as it has always been.
We are still reading exactly the same way we did 25,000 years ago—we are still mentally interpreting written symbols. We are exploring new ways to do the same things the Ishango shaman did. Capturing ideas, storing it outside of the brain, and passing it on to other humans. Nothing has changed in 25,000 years except the method of delivery. PE
Bob Sacks (aka BoSacks) is a consultant to the printing/publishing industry and president of The Precision Media Group (www.BoSacks.com). He is publisher and editor of a daily, international e-newsletter, Heard on the Web. Sacks has held posts as director of manufacturing and distribution, senior sales manager (paper), chief of operations, pressman, cameraman and corporate janitor.
In 25,000 years, nothing has really changed except the method of sharing content.
No matter how far back in history you go, humans have captured the moment and written it down, somewhere. Whether you look at the 25,000-year-old Ishango baton from the Congo that recorded a six-month lunar calendar, which was the first known non-cerebral memory device, now called a book … or the cave paintings of France … or the scrolls of the Library of Alexandria … or the retooled olive press of Mr. Gutenberg, you couldn’t find a more interesting and complex period of our industry, of information distribution, than now. OK, maybe Mr. Gutenberg’s era was pretty exciting too.
From the moment movable type was invented till just a few years ago our path was crystal clear and unavoidable. Gutenberg created movable type from soft metal, and an industry was born from the rapid distribution of information.
Did you know he swore his printing partners to secrecy? And upon their deaths, the contract read that the “idea and process” of movable type defaulted back to Gutenberg and his heirs. Nice try, Johannes. Too bad that he died in poverty. Imagine that—the man who invented the world’s first real mass-information distribution system dies in poverty.
An Irresistible Force
The growth of the printing press and the distribution of information was an irresistible force, whose only combatant at the time was ignorance and what seems to us now extremely limited technology.
Of course that limitation is only apparent to us as we look back with tremendous hindsight. The technology of that day was nothing less than amazing, as is our reaching out to the stars. It took a single scribe over a year to copy a single book. Did you know that it took 200 to 300 sheepskins to make a bible? And there was no “preflighting” and “spell checking” to make sure that the scribe got it right.
But Gutenberg could turn out hundreds of books in a week, each one identical to the next. So it is not hard to envision the exponential growth of … well, everything. You no longer needed old wise men to learn from. You didn’t need to be an apprentice. You could learn anything and everything from a book.
Well, we all know the story of how the first book was a bible. But do you know what the very next books were? The topics were exactly the same things that are popular today. Craft books, then scientific books, then the explosion of thought and free thinking.
The printing press reduced the cost of books, increased their availability and encouraged the spread of literacy. It helped alter the economic, scientific and ideological outlooks for the next five centuries. It must have spread something like a virus, and the net result was that it democratized knowledge. And that is no small thing. Yes, that is the business Gutenberg was in, and so are you.
From Storytellers to E-tellers
We have gone from the storytellers of the oral tradition and cave paintings to memory devices like batons and parchment scribed by hand. We have gone from the printing press to new forms of electronic communication. Each new development in the history of communication has always further democratized the delivery of information. Nothing has really changed, except the method of delivery.
So if you think about it, printing on dead trees is no longer the only way of reproducing books and magazines. The process of reading, however, has not changed an iota; it is the same as it has always been.
We are still reading exactly the same way we did 25,000 years ago—we are still mentally interpreting written symbols. We are exploring new ways to do the same things the Ishango shaman did. Capturing ideas, storing it outside of the brain, and passing it on to other humans. Nothing has changed in 25,000 years except the method of delivery. PE
Bob Sacks (aka BoSacks) is a consultant to the printing/publishing industry and president of The Precision Media Group (www.BoSacks.com). He is publisher and editor of a daily, international e-newsletter, Heard on the Web. Sacks has held posts as director of manufacturing and distribution, senior sales manager (paper), chief of operations, pressman, cameraman and corporate janitor.
Monday, December 25, 2006
How to Keep Your Job in Today’s Changing Publishing World
BoSacks: How to Keep Your Job in Today’s Changing Publishing World
The last thing anyone wants during this unique transition period in publishing is to be downsized and out of work. Yet, it is an ongoing trend for publishers to minimize the workforce and still publish on a regular periodic time table. So, I offer you some tips on how to not only stay employed, but to prosper and grow.
I’m not going to lecture you on the niceties of corporate cubicle etiquette, ridiculous office romances, chronic corporate complaining or the needs of showering before you go to work. If you have any of those problems, put this magazine down now and start to clean out your desk, because there is nothing I or anyone else can do to help you. On the other hand, if you have the desire to grow, learn and thrive in publishing, listen up. There are some simple rules that will have positive long-term career results.
In this world of ours, everything is layered like an onion, and no man is an island. By that, I mean that you have at least two lives, not one: your home life and your work life. In the work world you also have two lives: the one you have now and the one you will have in the future. In 21st-century publishing, it is highly unlikely that you will retire from the job you have today. So your two jobs are trying to keep the one you have now and preparing for the one you will have in the future. Think of the work you do today as preparation for the work you will do at you next job.
You have three choices. Stagnate and stay in the position you have (those people get fired first), keep your eye on your immediate supervisor’s position, or get a job elsewhere.
What you really want for your next job is a promotion. That might mean that you want your boss’s job. What do you need to know to do your boss’s job? Remember that all bosses also either get their boss’s job, get fired or get laid off. And as nature hates a vacuum, you must be in the right spot with the correct credentials, willing and able to take the opening spot on the roster.
2 Tips for keeping your job and advancing your career
1Understand that publishing is a process. It has a beginning, middle and an end. Where are you in that process? Do you fully understand it? Do you know what happens before and after your involvement?
Take the blinders off and complete your education of the entire publishing process. Editors, do you understand production? Ad sales, do you have a clue about the manufacturing process? Production people, do you understand circulation? (OK, that was a trick question—nobody understands circulation, including circulators.)
To excel in your career, you should at least be familiar with the languages of the other departments with which you work. The industry is changing. We are putting out more and more magazines with fewer and fewer people. Publishing personnel and the various departments are multitasking and blending. Columnists are now writers, typesetters and editors. Artists need to understand production page specifications and sometimes act as production people. Editors sometimes do page make-up and Web development. Good production personnel speak all publishing languages. We are a growing group of skill-blended professionalism.
I really believe that knowledge is power. Industry knowledge is employment power.
Imagine yourself on your next interview. If you can speak knowledgeably of the entire process, you are a more desirable candidate. Knowing what the other departments actually do is important. Inter-department communication and knowledge facilitates successful and efficient teamwork.
2Network and join professional organizations. If your company won’t pay for it, pay for it yourself. As I mentioned, your current job is only a part of your career. A good professional group has the collective intelligence of the entire industry. They are a tremendous resource. If you have a question or stumble upon an unfamiliar situation, someone in that group knows the answer. If you ever get that pink slip, they know where the new jobs are. Professional organizations are important on many levels, not the least of which is exposure with your contemporaries.
Essentially, you have either a job or a career. Career people stay employed. You must always be working on your career. Stay alert and continue to educate yourself about your industry.
The last thing anyone wants during this unique transition period in publishing is to be downsized and out of work. Yet, it is an ongoing trend for publishers to minimize the workforce and still publish on a regular periodic time table. So, I offer you some tips on how to not only stay employed, but to prosper and grow.
I’m not going to lecture you on the niceties of corporate cubicle etiquette, ridiculous office romances, chronic corporate complaining or the needs of showering before you go to work. If you have any of those problems, put this magazine down now and start to clean out your desk, because there is nothing I or anyone else can do to help you. On the other hand, if you have the desire to grow, learn and thrive in publishing, listen up. There are some simple rules that will have positive long-term career results.
In this world of ours, everything is layered like an onion, and no man is an island. By that, I mean that you have at least two lives, not one: your home life and your work life. In the work world you also have two lives: the one you have now and the one you will have in the future. In 21st-century publishing, it is highly unlikely that you will retire from the job you have today. So your two jobs are trying to keep the one you have now and preparing for the one you will have in the future. Think of the work you do today as preparation for the work you will do at you next job.
You have three choices. Stagnate and stay in the position you have (those people get fired first), keep your eye on your immediate supervisor’s position, or get a job elsewhere.
What you really want for your next job is a promotion. That might mean that you want your boss’s job. What do you need to know to do your boss’s job? Remember that all bosses also either get their boss’s job, get fired or get laid off. And as nature hates a vacuum, you must be in the right spot with the correct credentials, willing and able to take the opening spot on the roster.
2 Tips for keeping your job and advancing your career
1Understand that publishing is a process. It has a beginning, middle and an end. Where are you in that process? Do you fully understand it? Do you know what happens before and after your involvement?
Take the blinders off and complete your education of the entire publishing process. Editors, do you understand production? Ad sales, do you have a clue about the manufacturing process? Production people, do you understand circulation? (OK, that was a trick question—nobody understands circulation, including circulators.)
To excel in your career, you should at least be familiar with the languages of the other departments with which you work. The industry is changing. We are putting out more and more magazines with fewer and fewer people. Publishing personnel and the various departments are multitasking and blending. Columnists are now writers, typesetters and editors. Artists need to understand production page specifications and sometimes act as production people. Editors sometimes do page make-up and Web development. Good production personnel speak all publishing languages. We are a growing group of skill-blended professionalism.
I really believe that knowledge is power. Industry knowledge is employment power.
Imagine yourself on your next interview. If you can speak knowledgeably of the entire process, you are a more desirable candidate. Knowing what the other departments actually do is important. Inter-department communication and knowledge facilitates successful and efficient teamwork.
2Network and join professional organizations. If your company won’t pay for it, pay for it yourself. As I mentioned, your current job is only a part of your career. A good professional group has the collective intelligence of the entire industry. They are a tremendous resource. If you have a question or stumble upon an unfamiliar situation, someone in that group knows the answer. If you ever get that pink slip, they know where the new jobs are. Professional organizations are important on many levels, not the least of which is exposure with your contemporaries.
Essentially, you have either a job or a career. Career people stay employed. You must always be working on your career. Stay alert and continue to educate yourself about your industry.
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