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The Columbia Journalism Review published a report yesterday which was summarized in the NY Times. It caught my eye for some reasons I’ll explain and I think if you have any interest in digital media you’ll find it a good read. You can download the entire report (all 146 pages!) at this link but the story in the Times is far briefer and gives you the gist of the findings. In a few words, newspapers need to embrace digital media and that journalists “gain a fuller appreciation for how advertisers now reach their customers via social media, new-media ads and search engine optimization,” and that larger news organizations should consider creating or re-creating separate digital staffs, “particularly on the business side.” Right on!
I’ve written before about how I don’t believe the Henny Penneys who believe the entirety of the print media is doomed because of outdated, expensive production. The reality is that a ton of what we read on the web and elsewhere originates from a traditional, print-based entity and the demand for that content isn’t going away. However, as this report captures beautifully, some new thinking is required with respect to business models and operations.
They’ll do a better job of explaining what they mean:
- Digital journalism has created significant opportunities for news organizations to rethink the way they cover their communities.
- Digital platforms have been treated too often by traditional news organizations as just another opportunity to publish existing content. Many sites are filled with “shovelware”—content that amounts to little more than electronic editions of words and pictures from traditional platforms. But, as we have seen, publishers can build economic success by creating high-value, less-commoditized content designed for digital media.
- Media companies ought to rethink their relationships with advertisers.This doesn’t mean allowing them to dictate coverage or news priorities. It does mean understanding that advertisers now have many more ways to reach customers than they used to and that some of these methods, such as social media, can be cheap and effective.
- News and marketing companies should develop alternatives to the impression-based pricing system (that is, pricing by CPM, or cost per thousand) that dominates online advertising.
- We are likely to see a world of more, and smaller, news organizations, the most successful of which will leverage their staffs and audience by using aggregation, curation and partnerships with audiences to provide content of genuine value.
History is filled with businesses that wouldn’t adjust to changing market conditions or consumer tastes and are no longer around. For the reasons I mentioned above, I don’t necessarily believe newspapers will go that route but obviously, as recent events show, many will. If they read and act on this report, that likelihood is diminished.
Any comments?
Consult Keith 