Do news organizations sell objectivity? Should they?
The Washington Post's Twitter crackdown has created a lot of debate. At the heart of it: whether it's okay for journalists to express their opinions publicly through social media outlets.
It's an interesting debate and there are a lot of ways to approach it. A central issue -- whether or not expressing an opinion jeopardizes a news organization's journalistic credibility -- is a fascinating subject. After all, most news organizations like to present themselves as objective sources who deliver truth and fact. But the debate over online postings that show their journalists and employees to (gasp) have opinions raises interesting questions: do news organizations even sell 'objectivity'? Should they?
Subscriptions preferred over micropayments in the UK: report
What the future of news online looks like has a lot to do with payment models. As publishers push ahead with their plans to go from 'free' to 'paid', how consumers are asked to pay for news content will play a significant role in determining which publishers succeed and which fail.
Despite lots of talk about micropayments, a newly-released paidContent:UK/Harris Interactive poll found that over half (53%) of British consumers would prefer to purchase a subscription to their favorite news site.
Google Fast-Flip can help media brands. But will it stick?
Google has long been trying to dissuade publishers that it is a parasite leeching revenue off of their hardwork. And this fall, the company is putting its money where its mouth is.
Last week Google announced a micropayment system that could help publishers monetize content. And this week, the search giant has introduced its first revenue sharing agreement with publishers: Google Fast Flip.
The new format will start aggregating content from about 40 publishers in a format reminiscent of offline reading — and share the advertising proceeds with content creators.
This is a big shift for Google, but it makes sense for the company to create new ways of viewing news online. Publishers are frustrated with their lack of revenue online and eager to change the business model of sharing Internet content.
If newspapers succeed in their reboot and come up with a successful way to make money off the web, Google wants to get a piece of the action. It's just unclear what model will actually stick.
What the Internet Manifesto gets right and wrong
The 15 German journalists and bloggers behind the Internet Manifesto have a message for mainstream media organizations: the internet is here and you had better adapt.
The Manifesto, which has now been widely-circulated and discussed by some of the very organizations it speaks to, contains 17 declarations about "how journalism works today".
Newspapers get hip to duplicate content issues
Duplicate content can be a real SEO killer. For obvious reasons, search engines pay close attention to duplicate content and online publishers risk having duplicate content 'filtered' out.
While Google and other search engines are pretty good at identifying original sources and widespread acceptance of the canonical tag should eventually help, for online publishers who syndicate prolifically, dealing with duplicate content issues can be a challenge.
25 things journalists can do to future-proof their careers
I know a number of journalists who are growing increasingly concerned about the sustainability of their careers. Those working for offline publications tend to worry more than most, and with good reason, given the tide of bad news in this space.
But despite the problems with business models, there will always be a need for journalists. It isn’t game over for journalism, not by a stretch, it's just that the game is changing. Old media journalists will need to learn some new skills and adapt mindsets to accommodate changes in their industry.
Q&A: Rex Hammock, Founder & CEO of Hammock Inc.
There's a lot of talk about the future of magazines, and print media in general, because there's a lot to talk about. When it comes to discussing what the future holds, Rex Hammock is one of the guys you want to speak to.
He's a veteran "magazine guy" who co-founded the Custom Publishing Council, served as a director of the American Business Media trade association and is today the CEO of custom media firm Hammock Inc. His recent guest column in Publishing Executive entitled "9 Things I've Learned About Magazines by Blogging" piqued my interest so I decided to ask Rex about the state of the magazine industry, what the internet means to print publishers today, the pay walls that are coming up and what blogging might look like a decade from now.
The five biggest paid content myths
There's a lot of talk about paid content these days for obvious reasons and there's only going to be more of it now that Rupert Murdoch has announced plans for News Corp. to go all in.
One of the reasons there's so much debate over paid content is that there are a lot of misconceptions and myths about paid content. As someone who has run paid content websites for years, I thought I'd share the five biggest paid content myths I frequently hear mentioned in discussions about paid content.
Daily Mail's new comment moderation will increase engagement
The Daily Mail has decided to stop pre-moderation of comments on its website, a move which should see an explosion in the number of comments left on the site.
Concerns have been raised, such as the possibility that advertisers may object to their ads may appear next to questionable content, but I think it''s a smart move, which should increase engagement on the site and raise the number of page views.
Murdoch CAN charge for content online, but can anyone else?
Commentators have queued up to tell Rupert Murdoch that his plan to charge for online content is wrong. But I think it's obvious that he can charge.
Murdoch's got the will to charge, access to value-add content, and has a lot of experience selling subscription products in the UK. The question is not whether he can charge - it's whether his competitors can match his content and experience.
Holiday shopping forecast 2009: a lot like 2008, with more coupons
The NLA explains why it is going after the news aggregators
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
