David Carr of The New York Times shares a quaint story about a small newspaper making its way in the world with no help whatsoever from the web. TriCityNews of Monmouth County, N.J., is prospering precisely because it aggressively ignores the Web. "Why would I put anything on the Web?" asked Dan Jacobson, the publisher and owner of the newspaper. "I don't understand how putting content on the Web would do anything …
Word Press For The Win
The media business is a train wreck. In Denver, the people running the train have decided to make a platform for those who would gawk. We meet in this strange place in a noble effort to save the Rocky Mountain News. And if we can't save the Rocky, we can, at minimum, make some noise before we go. Since the day the proposed sale of the Rocky was announced, we've been waiting for the odd billionaire to join our cause. …
If You Publish A Newspaper Today, You’re A Change Agent
Katharine Weymouth, Publisher of The Washington Post sent out a company wide email yesterday, titled "The Road Forward." Here's an excerpt: To expand our revenue base and diversify our business model, we must look for opportunities to create new products, especially in the areas where business and policy intersect. These may include the hosting of specialized conferences for business decision makers with a stake in …
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Figure Out How To Boost Newspaper Revenue, Become King.
What does it feel like to be a tycoon? Does one feel all powerful, or is it just the opposite? Does one let their large pile of money become a 24-7 distraction? We could ask Samuel Zell, but he's kind of busy right now. You see, the media company he purchased in 2007 isn't doing well at all. In fact, The Tribune Company--owner of Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, several other newspapers, local TV …
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Today In Twitterverse: Reporters Report
@brianstelter of The New York Times took note of @onemoreryan's tweets last week as they related to CNN's proposal to offer an alternative wire service to newspapers across the country. Apparently, The Spokesman-Review editor was using Twitter to "broadcast" his opinions from inside CNN headquarters, a practice that Stetler (and presumably CNN) questioned. CNN, a division of Time Warner, invited several dozen …
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Have Data? Display It For Maximum Benefit.
New York Times Sunday Magazine writer, Virginia Heffernan, examines what it means to be a content creator in today's suddenly democratized media environment. We have to develop content that metamorphoses in sync with new ways of experiencing it, disseminating it and monetizing it. This argument concedes that it's not possible to translate or extend traditional analog content like news reports and soap operas into …
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Drive Traffic Or End Up On Barry’s Chopping Block
Barry Diller owns Web sites. Nick Denton owns Web sites. They both like to dissolve their non-liquid assets. According to Ad Age, Diller is analyzing some of his weaker performing sites, assessing the potential size of their markets, and factoring whether IAC "should we bother with it." Word is the cuts won't affect Mr. Diller's latest start-up, Tina Brown's "The Daily Beast," College Humor or the personal finance …
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Banner Up
With ROI ever-looming over CMOs shoulders, Mike Shields at Mediaweek slices and dices the varying discussions happening today on the effectiveness of online banner advertising. Personally, I believe the problem with leaning too heavily on cost-per-click analysis, is the fact that banners can work for the brand without being clicked. Their presence is still there, being felt, like a print ad in a magazine. Here's what …