Greg Horowitz at the Digitalists raises an often-overlooked question about the impact of micropayments on the journalists who write the stories. He fears that news companies, armed with data about which articles brought in the most revenue, will increasingly adapt their coverage based on what sells. Journalists themselves may be rewarded or let go based on their ability to spur micropayments, and they may start to couch their pieces in more attention-grabbing styles. All of these developments, Horowitz argues, would be bad for journalism. Read the Digitalist post — May 13, 2009. ……Continue Reading Will micropayments hurt journalists?
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Skepticism over micropayments as a business model
Not everyone is convinced the Wall Street Journal's announcement that it will start charging micropayments will prove successful. Mike Mansick at TechDirt argues that charging micropayments actually decreases the value of the content for its users: These days, many people value content for the ability to engage with it, comment on it and share it with others. Micropayments take away that ability, and thus decrease the value of the content, Mansick says. You can read Mansick's argument at TechDirt here…….Continue Reading Skepticism over micropayments as a business model
Geffen’s offer to buy newspaper may be civic-minded
Business Week discusses why David Geffen, the Hollywood billionaire who once chaired the Dreamsworks studio, would make an offer to buy a stake in the New York Times. It is, after all, no secret that the paper is in financial trouble. Geffen certainly understands this, and therefore likely sees his offer as a civic investment rather than a business venture. Geffen tried to buy the Los Angeles Times in 2006. You can read the article in Business Week here…….Continue Reading Geffen’s offer to buy newspaper may be civic-minded
Wash State supports newspapers with tax break
Washington state has agreed to provide its newspapers with a tax break, granting the industry a 40 percent reduction in the state's main business tax. The cut is similar to ones bestowed upon Boeing Co. and the timber industry in the past. The tax reduction plan is receiving a mixed reaction. The Business Insider, for one, remains critical. You can read the opposing viewpoints in the article in the Seattle Times and also theblog post on the Business Insider's website…….Continue Reading Wash State supports newspapers with tax break
MarketWatch seeks to keep the news free
MarketWatch, a financial website published by Dow Jones, has redesigned its website. Along with adding new features and emphasizing original content, MarketWatch launched the new site in an effort to boost online advertising sales. Even as its competitors like Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal require subscriptions for content, and as its parent company NewsCorp looks into charging for online content, MarketWatch is hoping that the redesign will allow them to keep providing business news for free. You can read the Reuters article here…….Continue Reading MarketWatch seeks to keep the news free
Social network sites boost Telegraph traffic
Through innovation and newsroom changes, Britain's Telegraph receives 8 percent of its traffic, translating into 75,000 daily unique visitors, from news aggregators and social networking sites. The Telegraph cites a variety of changes — instituting a new technology lab, merging the print and digital operations — with strengthening its traffic. The Telegraph relies on its readers to recommend their articles to others via Digg, Delicious, Reddit and others. You can read the post on the Editors' Weblog here…….Continue Reading Social network sites boost Telegraph traffic
Bullish: Investigative reporting nonprofits
You needn't look far to find skepticism about the potential of foundations and philanthropists to bankroll the work that newspapers have long done. Conventional wisdom is that funders of nonprofits can make only a marginal difference, that the real answers will come from private sector innovators. But these skeptics aren't much found in evidence at the nation's leading investigative reporting nonprofits. The Center for Public Integrity (CPI), ProPublica and the Center for Investigative Reporting are all on the move, all seeing growing opportunities for nonprofit investigative work, all hopeful about future funding…….Continue Reading Bullish: Investigative reporting nonprofits
Past newspaper strike may give glimpse of the future
Jack Shafer in Slate discusses the 1962-1963 New York newspaper strike, and considers it a case study in what people do when the newspapers shut down. He argues that, despite today's oft-stated assumption, democracy and government did not appear to suffer too much under the 114-day strike. Instead, people turned to other news sources for information — television, news magazines and books. Meanwhile, the circulation of newspapers not involved in the strike rose dramatically. You can read the Slate article on their website here…….Continue Reading Past newspaper strike may give glimpse of the future
MediaNews revamps its online strategy
The MediaNews Group has set up its new strategy to revitalize its newspapers. The company's vision includes three major changes: First, MediaNews will begin to charge for its online news. Subscribers to the physical newspaper will have free online access, but all others will be directed to a pay vehicle. Second, the company will move to differentiate the newspaper from its online version. It will continue to utilize material from its printed source but "will also have user-generated content, community involvement and third party content." Finally, it will create a locus of local information with various resources, including shopping information……Continue Reading MediaNews revamps its online strategy
Twitter surpasses newspapers in traffic
Perhaps because of all the media hype, Twitter had more unique visitors in the month of April than did the online versions of the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. Twitter had 19.4 million visitors, compared with 15.6 and 12.2 million for the newspapers, respectively. These findings are consistent with previous announcements that Twitter gained 5 million new users in March. You can read the Huffington Post article here…….Continue Reading Twitter surpasses newspapers in traffic