Niche products supported by corporate sponsorships instead of advertising may be the future of journalism, a group of Georgia journalists said at a national press convention in Atlanta on Oct. 14.
Many news organizations -- both print and broadcast -- are struggling during this all-time-low advertising drought to remain profitable, but public broadcasting networks thrive because a community invests in them, thus removing the need for advertising.
"A large part of what is now commercial journalism will hae to be supproted by foundations or organized more along the lines of public broadcasting," said Cynthia Tucker, editorial page editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I don't see any reason why newspapers can't adopt a corporate sponsorship model much like public broadcasting."
Cutting overall advertising may compromise objectivity of a media outlet as the outlet would no longer be self-sufficient and reliant upon its own advertising revenue.
But Ken Middleton, head of the University of Georgia's journalism department, said such a move may be the best thing for newspapers since classified advertising revenue has plummeted and since newspapers are in considerable debt because of over expansion in the last 20 years.
Read more about the topics discussed at the National Press Club Centennial Forum in Atlanta here.
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LA Times to overturn longstanding policy and endorse candidate
Post's Downie: Costly investigative journalism should soon evolve from beat reporting
Tribune's Adams scoffs at government bailout idea of newspapers
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Newspapers' online advertising revenue stalls
Online advertising for newspaper Web sites, hailed as the fix for a failing industry, fell this past quarter after 17 months of growth.
The second-quarter total of $777 million, a 2.4-percent decline compared to this time last year, is only year-over-year drop for online revenue drop since 2003, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
Many newspapers had begun expanding their Web sites to include multimedia and more localized pages in hopes of expanding advertisers. The news of slowing online advertising revenue comes as bad news to many of these companies, especially with many papers struggling to stay financially afloat as more readers turn to the Internet for news, which has caused print advertising revenue to plummet.
“It’s still a situation where if advertisers even perceive they can reach your audience, they might be inclined to go with a network, and that’s a concern I have with networks,” said Steve Stup, vice president for sales at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive.
It's not all bad news, though. Overall online advertising grew 7.6 percent in the second quarter, according to the TNS Media Intelligence, and The New York Times Company's online revenue grew 13 percent in the same period.
Read more about trends in newspaper online revenue here.
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NY Times columnist wins Nobel Prize
Only five newspapers travel with presidential candidates
Newspapers mired in debt before economic crisis
The second-quarter total of $777 million, a 2.4-percent decline compared to this time last year, is only year-over-year drop for online revenue drop since 2003, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
Many newspapers had begun expanding their Web sites to include multimedia and more localized pages in hopes of expanding advertisers. The news of slowing online advertising revenue comes as bad news to many of these companies, especially with many papers struggling to stay financially afloat as more readers turn to the Internet for news, which has caused print advertising revenue to plummet.
“It’s still a situation where if advertisers even perceive they can reach your audience, they might be inclined to go with a network, and that’s a concern I have with networks,” said Steve Stup, vice president for sales at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive.
It's not all bad news, though. Overall online advertising grew 7.6 percent in the second quarter, according to the TNS Media Intelligence, and The New York Times Company's online revenue grew 13 percent in the same period.
Read more about trends in newspaper online revenue here.
--
NY Times columnist wins Nobel Prize
Only five newspapers travel with presidential candidates
Newspapers mired in debt before economic crisis
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Controversy over Oklahoman cartoonist's "retirement"
After 58 years as The Oklahoman's editorial cartoonist, Jim Lange, 82, penned his last cartoon for Sunday's edition.
But the paper insinuated Lange's retirement was voluntary while Lange's wife reports that it was part of the recent round of voluntary buyouts. She reportedly told dailycartoonist.com "He liked what he did, and didn't really want to retire."
No distinction was made in both the Oklahoman's front-page story about Lange nor in editorial dedicated to the cartoonist.
This last round of Oklahoman layoffs was announced Sept. 4. According to that article, David Thompson, the paper's publisher, met with 102 employees at least 55 and older and with at least 15 years at the paper on Sept. 3 to discuss early retirement.
It is unknown whether the Oklahoman will hire another cartoonist. No mention was made in any story. It was reported earlier this year that the number of cartoonists at newspapers has shrunk from about 350 to 78.
--
Total of war reporters dramatically smaller in '08
USA Today to increase price of newspaper
Hearst folds Cosmogirl magazine
But the paper insinuated Lange's retirement was voluntary while Lange's wife reports that it was part of the recent round of voluntary buyouts. She reportedly told dailycartoonist.com "He liked what he did, and didn't really want to retire."
No distinction was made in both the Oklahoman's front-page story about Lange nor in editorial dedicated to the cartoonist.
This last round of Oklahoman layoffs was announced Sept. 4. According to that article, David Thompson, the paper's publisher, met with 102 employees at least 55 and older and with at least 15 years at the paper on Sept. 3 to discuss early retirement.
It is unknown whether the Oklahoman will hire another cartoonist. No mention was made in any story. It was reported earlier this year that the number of cartoonists at newspapers has shrunk from about 350 to 78.
--
Total of war reporters dramatically smaller in '08
USA Today to increase price of newspaper
Hearst folds Cosmogirl magazine
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Spokesman-Review names new editor
Gary Graham will be the new editor of The Spokesman-Review, the newspaper announced Wednesday. Graham was promoted from managing editor.
Graham replaces Steven A. Smith who resigned last week. Smith's resignation coincided with announcements that the paper would cut 27 staffers from its editorial department. Smith later told Knight Digital Media Center's Michele McLellan on Oct. 2. that he stepped down because he wasn't able to practice the kind of journalism that "is important to me."
Graham has been a managing editor for 11 years in Binghamton, N.Y., and now in Spokeane, and he shares similar journalism philosophies as Smith.
“In many ways, Steve and I share the same values,” said Graham, who worked with Smith in Wichita, Kan. “He and I didn’t really differ philosophically.”
The task is perhaps more difficult for Graham as he will overtake a newsroom that is about to lose one third of its staff, which is coupled with a soon-to-be-launched redesign of S-R's Web site and the upcoming presidential election.
Read more about Graham's hire here.
--
CUNY professor rebukes claim that newspapers' decline isn't journalists' fault
NY Times closes International Herold Tribune's Web site
Rather asks to expand suit, add claims against CBS
Graham replaces Steven A. Smith who resigned last week. Smith's resignation coincided with announcements that the paper would cut 27 staffers from its editorial department. Smith later told Knight Digital Media Center's Michele McLellan on Oct. 2. that he stepped down because he wasn't able to practice the kind of journalism that "is important to me."
Graham has been a managing editor for 11 years in Binghamton, N.Y., and now in Spokeane, and he shares similar journalism philosophies as Smith.
“In many ways, Steve and I share the same values,” said Graham, who worked with Smith in Wichita, Kan. “He and I didn’t really differ philosophically.”
The task is perhaps more difficult for Graham as he will overtake a newsroom that is about to lose one third of its staff, which is coupled with a soon-to-be-launched redesign of S-R's Web site and the upcoming presidential election.
Read more about Graham's hire here.
--
CUNY professor rebukes claim that newspapers' decline isn't journalists' fault
NY Times closes International Herold Tribune's Web site
Rather asks to expand suit, add claims against CBS
Monday, October 6, 2008
New York magazine releases piece on NY Times' Sulzbergers
New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. struggles with wanting to maintain the prestige of the national newspaper while battling plummeting revenue, poor investment decisions and who will succeed him at the paper, according to a 5,000-word article published in New York magazine today.
The article, which doesn't contain any interviews with Sulzberger, focused largely on the legacy on the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has controlled the Times since Adolph Simon Ochs bought the Times in 1896, and which of the current family members, if any, will succeed Sulzberger.
Sulzberger has been the publisher since 1992 and, according to the article, has made several costly business decisions, including using the paper's excess money in the '90s to buy back its own stock, which has dropped from $45 to $15 since 2000. Sulzberger called it the "stupidest thing" he has done, but associates said passing on a pre-public financing opportunity of Google was the worst decision.
But by and large, the family remains devoted to the paper despite its losses.
“The quality of the paper,” said a friend of the Ochs-Sulzberger family, “is the one reason for the family to put up with the financial part.”
No apparent heir is in line to replace Sulzberger, the article states, but some Times employees said they thought David Perpich, Sulzerberg's nephew and Harvard M.B.A., is the best possible choice while others like Sulzberger's son, Arthur Gregg, who is a one of the top reporters at the Oregonian.
Read the article here.
--
LA Times to lose 75 more in the newsroom
Sante Fe New Mexican to print The New York Times
Tribune columnist receives 'vicious and threatening' messages after writing negative Palin piece
The article, which doesn't contain any interviews with Sulzberger, focused largely on the legacy on the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has controlled the Times since Adolph Simon Ochs bought the Times in 1896, and which of the current family members, if any, will succeed Sulzberger.
Sulzberger has been the publisher since 1992 and, according to the article, has made several costly business decisions, including using the paper's excess money in the '90s to buy back its own stock, which has dropped from $45 to $15 since 2000. Sulzberger called it the "stupidest thing" he has done, but associates said passing on a pre-public financing opportunity of Google was the worst decision.
But by and large, the family remains devoted to the paper despite its losses.
“The quality of the paper,” said a friend of the Ochs-Sulzberger family, “is the one reason for the family to put up with the financial part.”
No apparent heir is in line to replace Sulzberger, the article states, but some Times employees said they thought David Perpich, Sulzerberg's nephew and Harvard M.B.A., is the best possible choice while others like Sulzberger's son, Arthur Gregg, who is a one of the top reporters at the Oregonian.
Read the article here.
--
LA Times to lose 75 more in the newsroom
Sante Fe New Mexican to print The New York Times
Tribune columnist receives 'vicious and threatening' messages after writing negative Palin piece
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Former Spokesman-Review editor explains departure
Former Spokesman-Review editor Steven A. Smith said one of the main reasons he left his post was because "the journalism that's important to me is no longer possible," Smith told Knight Digital Media Center's Michele McLellan on Oct. 2.
With thousands of employees on the editorial side of newspapers being laid off or bought out in recent months, Smith -- the Spokesman-Review's editor since July 2002 -- becomes yet another high-ranking newspaperman to step down. Various editors and publishers across the country have relinquished their positions for various reasons, but many stem from the diminishing product, which can largely be attributed to the high price of newsprint and an advertising drought.
Smith's resignation was effective Oct. 3. Smith, who was in journalism for 36 years, told McLellan two of the main reasons he stepped down was because of the effects layoffs and cutbacks had on the quality of journalism and because he didn't feel able to speak out about these problems.
"I simply wasn't willing to stand up and tell people things would be better or even OK," Smith told McLellan. "And our publisher needs someone who can do that.
"It is time to stop standing behind our salaries, our bonuses and our pensions and stand up and say what needs to be said," Smith continued, referring to cutbacks and stop-gap measures to keep the newspaper in the black, which he said are "dooming our organizations to irrelevance and causing irreparable harm to our systems and society without consideration of the larger loss."
Spokesman-Review publisher W. Stacey Cowles said in a statement released to the newsroom Oct. 1 that the newspaper's workforce will be down to 470 in 2009; 60 down from its current level in 2008. No successor was named, according to the statement.
--
LA Mayor: If Dodgers lose, Zell must sell LA Times
Star business reporter jumps from PiPress to Strib
LA Times reports its September Web traffic up 84 percent from last year
With thousands of employees on the editorial side of newspapers being laid off or bought out in recent months, Smith -- the Spokesman-Review's editor since July 2002 -- becomes yet another high-ranking newspaperman to step down. Various editors and publishers across the country have relinquished their positions for various reasons, but many stem from the diminishing product, which can largely be attributed to the high price of newsprint and an advertising drought.
Smith's resignation was effective Oct. 3. Smith, who was in journalism for 36 years, told McLellan two of the main reasons he stepped down was because of the effects layoffs and cutbacks had on the quality of journalism and because he didn't feel able to speak out about these problems.
"I simply wasn't willing to stand up and tell people things would be better or even OK," Smith told McLellan. "And our publisher needs someone who can do that.
"It is time to stop standing behind our salaries, our bonuses and our pensions and stand up and say what needs to be said," Smith continued, referring to cutbacks and stop-gap measures to keep the newspaper in the black, which he said are "dooming our organizations to irrelevance and causing irreparable harm to our systems and society without consideration of the larger loss."
Spokesman-Review publisher W. Stacey Cowles said in a statement released to the newsroom Oct. 1 that the newspaper's workforce will be down to 470 in 2009; 60 down from its current level in 2008. No successor was named, according to the statement.
--
LA Mayor: If Dodgers lose, Zell must sell LA Times
Star business reporter jumps from PiPress to Strib
LA Times reports its September Web traffic up 84 percent from last year
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Oklahoman launches redesigned Web site
The Oklahoman launched its redesigned Web site today, newsok.com, which coincides with the newspaper's redesign that debuted Monday.
The site changed from its front page, which previously had a centerpiece-rotating picture that viewers could click on for stories. Photos, stories and headlines are now listed on the left side of the page with top stories and multimedia in the center.
Many had complained about both the Oklahoman's print and online presentation, noting the newspaper's bland design and the difficulty in navigating the Web site. Both have been dramatically changed. The newspaper shrunk to a 44-inch web and has many more graphics and photos; and the site has much more "white space" on the pages and is much easier to browse.
"I think most people are really going to like it," said Rob Wescott, vice president of audience development for the The Oklahoma Publishing Co. "It has a very clean look. It really is more than a redesign. We’ve rebuilt NewsOK.com from the ground up."
Chris Reen, OPUBCO executive vice president of OPUBCO, said the company expects Internet traffic on newsok.com to grow by 50 percent by early next year because of the redesign.
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Star-Ledger: 200 have signed up for buyouts
Palin: Journalism ethics have changed since I received my degree
Washington Post editor says newspapers warned of economic problems long ago
The site changed from its front page, which previously had a centerpiece-rotating picture that viewers could click on for stories. Photos, stories and headlines are now listed on the left side of the page with top stories and multimedia in the center.
Many had complained about both the Oklahoman's print and online presentation, noting the newspaper's bland design and the difficulty in navigating the Web site. Both have been dramatically changed. The newspaper shrunk to a 44-inch web and has many more graphics and photos; and the site has much more "white space" on the pages and is much easier to browse.
"I think most people are really going to like it," said Rob Wescott, vice president of audience development for the The Oklahoma Publishing Co. "It has a very clean look. It really is more than a redesign. We’ve rebuilt NewsOK.com from the ground up."
Chris Reen, OPUBCO executive vice president of OPUBCO, said the company expects Internet traffic on newsok.com to grow by 50 percent by early next year because of the redesign.
--
Star-Ledger: 200 have signed up for buyouts
Palin: Journalism ethics have changed since I received my degree
Washington Post editor says newspapers warned of economic problems long ago
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