Study finds need for major changes

Although this is probably beating a dead horse, a study finds that newspapers need to make a change in its business model and that the government should get involved. In the story, they offer five models that should be a top priority. Among them are creating tax incentives for newspaper companies and offering a journalism jobs program.

I think these are great ideas, but i wonder if Washington would want to fund this. With the economy the way it is, Obama is going to want to limit spending and i’m not sure that they would do this. In a perfect world, the government would just hand over the money no questions asked, but who knows how much they would be willing to give. Before we “bail” them out, i think we should let them try out some different business models first before running to the government for money. Who knows, they may find something that works.

Wall Street Journal to introduce micro payment plan

Reuters is reporting that the Wall Street plans to start a micro payment system for its website. the WSJ’s managing editor says that they would charge you based on what you read.

I think that if anyone could do it, it’s the WSJ. Their readers already willingly pay for their online content and this allows their readers to only pay for the stuff that they read. They can personalize their payment plan and the WSJ can make even more money off of their online content. It’s kind of amazing that the WSJ is pretty much the only newspaper that has a print edition and still can make money online. I’m not saying they’re in the money or anything but this should be looked at as a successful business model. I don’t think every newspaper can do this, but ones that have specific audiences should take a copy from the WSJ’s book and look at it as an alternative.

Google pulling the plug on automated radio ads

Google’s attempt to sell radio ads on the internet failed when it announced that it would cancel selling automated radio ads online on May 31. According to this story on the Wall Street Journal the reason why it was unsuccessful is because “Google misjudged the capacity of its technology to work beyond the Web, and underestimated the human side of the business.” The article also says that radio stations didn’t want to turn over air time to a computer algorithm and advertisers who would have provided some cash steered away from it.

Google has been very successful in the advertising field so this is just a very small setback for them. I think that they went into this field to see if they could make even more money and it was unsuccessful. I think its safe to say that they’ll live to fight another day.

Google talking to the New York Times and Washington Post about ???

This story by Peter Kafka talks about how Google executives have been in talks with people from the New York Times and the Washington Post. It speculates that maybe Google would put on a Batman costume and swoop in and save the print industry. They did talk to people from Google about it and of course they wouldn’t reveal the juicy details. They just gave the PR answer of “ohh, we’re always looking at opportunities outside of our company” or something of that nature.

That aside, If any newspaper company can strike a deal that would benefit, then they should take it and run as fast as they can to the bank. I don’t know what or how the two would combine forces, but Google is one of the powerhouses of the internet and if they can help newspapers like the NYT improve its online capabilities, then they should not think twice about it. It’ll help Google was well because it may change people’s opinion that Google and other companies like it are killing the newspaper industry.

My idea for journalism

JRN 301 – Presentation notes

Here are the notes that i made for my presentation. Basically, my idea was to start a website that would encompass some of the ideas that we have discussed in class. I see that a lot of newspapers have beefed up their websites in recent times, but they are still burdened with the fixed costs of printing a daily newspaper. I think if they stop printing papers, they can save a whole ton of money.

The question then becomes how do you make money off the internet. I don’t have an exact answer for that (i would be rolling in the dough if i did) but i think that some of these newspapers should take the risk of trying to do that. Everyone is talking about how it’ll be difficult to monotize the internet, but not many companies have tried to do that. I think that the only way to figure this out is through trial and error. You can’t just expect to try it the first time and get it right. There has to be mistakes and failures made in order to figure out what works and what does not. When someone finally figures out how to make this work, it’ll make the future of journalism clearer and better.

U.S lawmakers eye deep packet inspection in bill

Deep Packet inspection article

Here’s a good story that talks about some of the different viewpoints of Deep Packet Inspection. I understand that they are looking out for people’s privacy, but the article says that Internet service providers don’t even use DPI unless its for a security reason. I think they should let the ISPs continue to use that unless it is found that they are invading people’s privacy.

Net Neutrality is in danger in Europe as well

It appears that America isn’t the only place where net neutrality is a heated topic.

Rallies against EU regulations

EU backs telecom companies

It seems like this is a big issue in Europe. I think the arguments on both sides are the same as they are here. I also see that if this legislation passed through, Skype would be greatly affected by the net neutrality laws. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops on the other side of the Atlantic.

Twitter quickly becoming a news gathering tool

Twitter has emerged on the scene as a popular microblogging tool that allows people to write a sentence or two about what’s going on in their lives. But as this story talks about, it is also becoming a tool for journalists to gather news and sources.

RTNDA (The association of electronic journalists) held a panel discussion called “Twitter 101″ which talked about how to look for stories on Twitter and a list of do’s and don’t's.

I think this was a great idea to have a discussion about because it gives current and aspiring journalists advice and ideas on how to use Twitter effectively to find story ideas and sources. More discussions like that one could only help someone who is in the business.

ESPN attempts to reach out to younger viewers

Courtesy of awfulannouncing.com

As TV networks attempt to figure out how too attract younger viewers, ESPN is using something that is in its arsenal. The SportsBusiness Journal reported, ESPN will allow its cable and satellite distributors to replace ESPN Classic, which shows historic games and events from all sports, to ESPNU, the network’s college sports network. This move is an attempt to make the ESPN package more appealing to younger audiences.

I think it’s a surprising move as well because ESPN’s classic channel has been a long stable of the ESPN networks. Many people enjoy reliving classic sports games, such as when the 1980 U.S Olympic hockey team achieved an unlikely victory against the U.S.S.R. The channel also shows recent games that become legendary as well.

The article says that ESPN Classic is offered in more than 63 million homes as compared to the 25 million houses that has ESPNU, so they could say that they want to promote ESPNU more. But i think this move will alienate some of the long-time fans of the classic channel. Many of them may be fans of college sports as well, but i bet that there will be people out there who will not be happy about not being able to watch the classic programming that the channel provides.

In one aspect, i do understand this move because college sports is extremely popular in this country. This past March, hundreds of thousands of people made predictions on who would win the college basketball tournament and they tuned their TVs to the games when it was on. With this channel becoming easier to access, it’ll be a safe haven for people who need to scratch their college sports itch.

Cable networks gain viewership, but concerns remain

According to a study released by the Turner Networks research department, cable networks such as Fox News, MSNBC and ESPN have gained 7% in total viewers this season. While that is an encouraging number, cable and local networks are facing the same problem: how to attract the 18 to 35 year old audience.

The arrival of the internet on the scene has had TV executives scrambling to figure out ways to get back the young audience that they were used to having by the grip of their hands. The internet provides many people with instant gratification of news. They can log onto any news website and get the latest breaking news. They do not have to wait until the 6 P.M, 10 P.M or 11 P.M broadcast of the news to get the latest of what’s going on. As a result of young viewers using the internet more as a source for news, advertisers have been more reluctant to buy ads on their news broadcasts and shows. This forces the networks to sell their ad space to companies that appeal to older audiences, like Viagra.

I think that, much like newspapers, Television will have to adjust to the changes that is happening to journalism. I don’t think it’ll be as severe as print because i think there will always be room for a TV set in the living rooms of America. I don’t think you’ll see that many TV stations go out of business, but i think it’ll be more difficult to get a job in that field. I think there’s going to be a lot of media companies use the internet to get the news to the people who want it. They may or may not make money off of it (it depends on if they can figure out how to gain capital off of the internet) but i think it’ll make people loyal to a small number of websites/news sources.