Category: News

The Rubicon Project is currently the third-largest online advertising company, after Google and Yahoo!. The Los Angeles based company is now promising that their ad-optimization technology could increase online revenue for news outlets by 60 percent. Frank Addante, the company's founder, suggests that technology that can adapt ads to the particular article in more sophisticated ways will increase profits for news outlets, eventually making up for the loss of advertising on the print side. You can read the Los Angeles Times article in its entirety here…….Continue Reading Saving newspapers through ad optimization?

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that non-profit magazine Mother Jones has recently been fielding phone calls about their funding and operations. The investigative news magazine takes in money from advertising and circulation, but half of its funding comes from contributions. In this climate, some are looking to this magazine as a model for others. You can read the article in the San Francisco Chronicle here…….Continue Reading Mother Jones may be the model

The director of the Journalism Initiative at the Carnegie Corporation, Susan King, discusses the difficulties in foundation-funded journalism. She cites the different measures that foundations and journalism use for successful work as one example. Journalists typically view a story's success by the number of people who heard or read the story, while her foundation is more focused on engagement and impact. You can read the Nieman Journalism Lab summary on foundation based journalism, as well as the PDF of King's article …….Continue Reading Carnegie: Challenges of foundation-funded journalism

GlobalPost, an online site devoted to international reporting, is launching Passport, a section of the site available only for paid subscribers. The site currently offers international news articles for free, but Passport will offer participants access to the GlobalPost correspondents, including the ability to suggest stories and receive email alerts from the journalists. This is the third prong of the GlobalPost business strategy; its free content is supported by advertising and other media outlets who pay to use GlobalPost content. You can read the entire New York Times article here…….Continue Reading GlobalPost launches paid site

In a small Colorado town called Carbondale, residents lost their local paper at the end of 2008. Deprived of vital local happenings, a group of volunteers has started their own, non-profit newspaper. The team consists of seven volunteers with one editor, the only paid member of the staff. The news site relies on local advertisers for funding. Hyperlocal at its best! You can read the full Los Angeles Times article here…….Continue Reading Citizens start their own news site

The Financial Times has launched a new, business-oriented search engine called Newssift. The engine will focus on relevant databases, international business news outlets, professional sites, and other relevant sources. The search engine will be free to users and will depend on ad revenue for funding. Robin Johnson, CEO of Financial Times Search, says the company could begin charging for the service at a later date. You can read the story in its entirety on the Editors' Weblog. Postscript: As of February 23, 2010, Newssift was removed from the FT website…….Continue Reading Newssift, A search engine for business professionals

Some veterans of the digital news industry are iseeking financial backing for their start-up, currently called Prism. The company's goal is to provide a platform for interested groups–from civic leaders to former journalists–to publish a news Web sites that can offer coverage equivalent to a daily newspaper. Prism will operate on a for-profit, franchise model, and is designed to help franchisees compete in large markets with a combination of original content and news aggregation. You can read the full article about Prism at the Portfolio website…….Continue Reading A start-up seeks to franchise news Web sites

In response to a letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has affirmed his willingness to adjust antitrust policy to protect the newspaper industry. His stance could make it easier for newspapers to merge their non-news operations with one another, which could help them maintain financial viability. You can read the full Reuters piece here…….Continue Reading Holder may adjust antitrust policy for newspapers

John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney, two of the founders of Free Press, make their case for a $200 government tax credit for every American who wishes to subscribe to a newspaper. Though there would be restrictions on the kind of newspapers eligible for the credit (published at least five days a week, with a substantial news hole and less than 50 percent advertising), the tax credit would allow individuals to choose their news source, and give newspapers legs to stand on in the changing world of journalism. You can read the piece on the Nation's website…….Continue Reading Give $200 tax credit, say founders of Free Press

A report released by global marketing firm, JD Power and Associates, found that almost 40 percent of bloggers surveyed would pay for news content, or do already. The bloggers said they preferred a subscription service to other potential models. Said Janet Eden-Harris, vice president of the company's Web Intelligence Division. "Monthly or yearly subscriptions to content appeal to bloggers more than paying by the article, because in contrast to the iTunes model–in which content is licensed for a long period of time–news articles are more transient and lose value quickly." You can read the release fro JD Power and Associates……Continue Reading Many bloggers willing to pay for online news content