The New Economics of News

Journalism Principles and Practices

Economic and Editorial Models

● Impermeable paywall● Leaky paywall● Metered system● Free, ad supported via lots of page views● Free, curated network● Free, value added● Highly specialized, team with existing media

Economic and Editorial Models, Continued

● De-facto ad agency● Hyperlocal● Social-media oriented● Community funded● One-person operation● Subscription

Impermeable Paywall

● Newsday http://www.newsday.com/● $5 week, $260 a year. Rolled out after $4

million re-design. Subscribers during first three months” 35.

● Not reached by search….at least in part the problem faced by Times Select

Leaky Paywall

● About $150 per year. ● Some is available online, and pretty much

anything can be searched for. By making available for search engines, more page views.

● WJS has seen steady growth.

Metered System

● Financial Times, read a certain amount, then pay. http://www.ft.com/home/uk

● Pretty much same in NYT. Apparently in response to 19% who said they would pay more. Easier to go after those that try to extract from other sources.

● Note that Times Select was not total failure – did generate 227K subscribers and made about $10 million, but Times recognized future was in search

Free, Rely on Revenue from Page Views

● ChicagoNow. http://www.chicagonow.com/● Big collection of bloggers. About 100.● Theory, more pages, more page views. ● Here is mix of new and old media. Brand

name? ● Curated

Two Approaches to Free Curated

Free, Curated network:

Glam http://www.glam.com/

Free, but value added:

Footballoutsiders.comhttp://footballoutsiders.com/link to paid articles, own products

Highly Specialized, Sometimes Nonprofit, Teamed with Existing Media

CircleofBlue.org

● Parallel with magazines in 1950s and 60s● Editorial mission of WSJ when founded in 1889

viewed as crazy – bring market information to people

● Nonprofit, foundations● Says it adheres to NPR, SPJ code of ethics

Highly Specialized, Sometimes Nonprofit, Teamed with Existing Media, Continued...

Propublica.org

● Stories with “moral force”● Teams with other organizations

Highly Specialized, Sometimes Nonprofit, Teamed with Existing Media, Continued...

Minnpost.com

● Political reporters● Some grant money

GlobalPost

● Phil Balboni raised $8 million, ● 70 journalists● In response to increasingly global world where global coverage

is cut● Offers membership deals

Become De-Facto Ad Agency

● Palm Beach Post. ● 40 million page views per month, profits up

with advertising partners across multiple platforms.

● Seminars

Hyperlocal

Everyblock.com

● Many cities● News within a few hundred feet● Aggregates data, including Craigslist, filters to location● Raw information, not edited

Social-Media Oriented

Fwix

● Aggregates blog postings● When cursor is over, automatically provides

options to send to friends on social media networks

Community Funded

Spot.us

● You ID an issue● Community raises money til enough to pay

One-Person Operation

http://garyvaynerchuk.com/http://tv.winelibrary.com/2011/02/08/loire-valley-malbec-tasting-episode-982/

I.F. Stone

Subscription

Thedaily.com

● 39.99 year● Apps – tactile● Hot spots – pull up what want● Integrate twitter feeds into stories● News can break into app

Possible Ideas for Future

● Government subsidy, perhaps from tax on ISPs, cable

● Not entirely new idea: remember tax subsidies, anti-trust exemptions…Ben Franklin

● Micropayments

What’s Holding Us Back?

● Privacy● Payment systems AP

But Will People Pay for It?

● Buy apps● Buy cable TV● Eduardo Porter – The Price of

Everythingo What we pay makes little sense – $3

for bitter coffeeo Less likely to give blood if pay for it

than give for free● Distorted prices steer value wrong way

What is the Value of News?

● Not going to denigrate blogs, but do remember that blogs have to feed on something

● News, the way we’ve come to know it, affects way we think

o Accept serendipity and learn from ito Get out of our high-volume echo chambers, which

not only feed us one view but magnify it

This is the Value of News

● Certainly opinion has its place● Some celebrate the impending death of “elitist” or

“institutional” news● Maybe some relevance, but also some value

o Attributiono Forced to seek out other views – maybe learned that

people who held them weren’t demonso Let’s not marinate in nostalgia, but recognize

considerable valueo Orchestra at full volume