As recently as one year ago, it would have been laughable to discuss a "Facebook strategy" for legacy news media companies.
As of early 2010 Facebook became, by membership, equivalent to the fourth-largest country in the world. Mainstream media aren't laughing anymore.
In April, Facebook rolled out a new set of social plug-in tools. These widgets offer media companies the chance to deliver their news "where the audience is".
One example is this embeddable "LIKE" box, which can be placed on a news web site and used to encourage visitors to "like" the media company. Why does a media company care? Once someone on Facebook "likes" your content, you can then post news stories to your company's Facebook page and those stories will be automatically "published" onto the page of every single person who is a "fan" of or likes your news site.
For example, KGW.com in Portland Oregon now has more than 3,500 'fans.' Every news story published onto the site's Facebook page is instantly added into the feed of those 3,500 fans. Each one of them has anywhere from 100 to 300 friends with whom they can choose to "share" the story. Those 3,500 can exponentially turn into 350,000 simply by a station's "fans" assigning value to the content.
That is the power of using social media not merely as a marketing platform but also as a news publishing platform.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Mobility of News
There was a time when the news came once a day. It landed on your doorstep, in your driveway, or through the mailbox. After the morning paper arrived, you'd have to wait until the next morning for the next round of news.
Radio meant no waiting for news. TV meant seeing the news. And getting it more often: Mornings, noon, at dinner and late night. Miss a newscast? No problem. There will be another in 3-5 hours.
The internet changed all that. Anyone at a computer with an internet connection could get the news in real time.
Mobile technology is poised to complete this transformation by enabling access to and consumption of news anywhere, anytime - for everyone.
A recent study of (web-enabled) "smart phone" users found they would rather lose their car keys, wallet or purse...than lose their smart phone. For most owners, the smart phone has quickly become the single most indispensable piece of technology in their lives. What's shocking is the speed of penetration of this latest disruptive innovation.
The implications of ubiquitous "smart phones" for legacy media are profound. The web-enabled mobile device is both the greatest threat, and the greatest opportunity, for legacy media companies.
The threat is already visible. Newspaper and TV companies who've already seen their core news product cannibalized by migration to the web now must face the fact that even their own web sites will be diluted by migration to mobile. Each time the screen shrinks - for example from TV to TV station web site to TV station mobile site - so do the ad dollars. That is the threat.
Mobility is also opportunity. Someone must create the content that will populate these mobile devices. Today, legacy media outlets have an advantage: They are already creating vast quantities of daily, fresh news content that is trusted in their markets. Any new entrants must compete with their strong existing brand, established processes for finding and reporting news, and the volume of content they generate. In many ways, legacy media outlets are in the lead position to own the news space on mobile. As news consumers migrate from more traditional platforms to their new smart phones, they are likely to take with them the trusted brands from those bigger "screens".
The only question is: Will legacy media companies have the courage to take the plunge and invest in their mobile news platform before they lose their head start?
Radio meant no waiting for news. TV meant seeing the news. And getting it more often: Mornings, noon, at dinner and late night. Miss a newscast? No problem. There will be another in 3-5 hours.
The internet changed all that. Anyone at a computer with an internet connection could get the news in real time.
Mobile technology is poised to complete this transformation by enabling access to and consumption of news anywhere, anytime - for everyone.
A recent study of (web-enabled) "smart phone" users found they would rather lose their car keys, wallet or purse...than lose their smart phone. For most owners, the smart phone has quickly become the single most indispensable piece of technology in their lives. What's shocking is the speed of penetration of this latest disruptive innovation.
The implications of ubiquitous "smart phones" for legacy media are profound. The web-enabled mobile device is both the greatest threat, and the greatest opportunity, for legacy media companies.
The threat is already visible. Newspaper and TV companies who've already seen their core news product cannibalized by migration to the web now must face the fact that even their own web sites will be diluted by migration to mobile. Each time the screen shrinks - for example from TV to TV station web site to TV station mobile site - so do the ad dollars. That is the threat.
Mobility is also opportunity. Someone must create the content that will populate these mobile devices. Today, legacy media outlets have an advantage: They are already creating vast quantities of daily, fresh news content that is trusted in their markets. Any new entrants must compete with their strong existing brand, established processes for finding and reporting news, and the volume of content they generate. In many ways, legacy media outlets are in the lead position to own the news space on mobile. As news consumers migrate from more traditional platforms to their new smart phones, they are likely to take with them the trusted brands from those bigger "screens".
The only question is: Will legacy media companies have the courage to take the plunge and invest in their mobile news platform before they lose their head start?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Real-time reactions during Debate webcast
KGW.com (NBC) in Portland, Oregon live web streamed the Republican Gubernatorial Debate from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 21. That's nothing unusual in this age of Digital Media.
What is interesting is kgw.com's partnership with Momentum Market Intelligence, a Portland-based firm specializing in attitude measurement technologies. Working with MMI, KGW.com offered a second version of the debate, streamed with a real-time overlay graphic displaying the reactions of a panel of undecided voters to the candidates' responses.
Here is what the mixed media stream looked like:
What is interesting is kgw.com's partnership with Momentum Market Intelligence, a Portland-based firm specializing in attitude measurement technologies. Working with MMI, KGW.com offered a second version of the debate, streamed with a real-time overlay graphic displaying the reactions of a panel of undecided voters to the candidates' responses.
Here is what the mixed media stream looked like:
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Doom...and Hope for Future Journalists
I spoke to a room full of future journalists at the National High School Journalism Convention on Friday, April 15. The first part of my talk rehashed the all-too-familiar "bad news" about the state of legacy media: Declining newspaper subscriptions and TV news ratings, stagnant or slumping revenues, and layoffs and pay freezes.
The graphic (literally) illustrations of the state of the state of legacy media can be found on Journalism.org in the 2010 report. But to be honest, this is bad news to the journalists who are the age of these kids' parents.The good news for would-be journalists is that a Wild West of new opportunities awaits. Here are some of the examples of the New Journalism that have me excited for this next generation.
Multimedia Storytelling
13 seconds in August (Minn. Star Tribune)
Year in Review (KGW.com)
Citizen Journalism
West Seattle Blog
Niche Content Sites
BikePortland.org
Old Media, Reinvented
Seattlepi.com
New Investigative Journalism
Pro Publica (which just won a Pulitzer )
Social Media
Twitter breaks Mumbai
Cross Platform Journalism
http://www.kgw.com/thesquare (TV & Web)
Monday, September 28, 2009
Journalism layoffs shift power to public relations professionals
Noam Chomsky has proposed a “propaganda model” to describe the function of the mass media. Chomsky (1988) described five filters that drive this propaganda model: concentrated ownership, advertising as the primary revenue source, reliance on public relations bureaucracies, “flak” as a means of disciplining media, and “anticommunism” as a control mechanism. This essay focuses on the influence of public relations bureaucracies and argues that large-scale layoffs in journalism since 2001 have dramatically increased the power of these information bureaucracies to shape news coverage.
According to Forbes (2009), more than 10,000 newspaper journalists have lost work since 2001, which equates to the loss of one in six newspaper journalists nationwide. These losses were far greater than in other job sectors. Editor & Publisher (2009) reported that journalism jobs disappeared at a rate three times higher than the overall loss of jobs during the past year.
Job concerns have also distracted reporters from focusing on quality coverage. A survey by The Pew Research Center for People & the Press (2008) found that journalists were more than twice as concerned about their own industry’s financial problems (55%) as they were about the quality of their coverage (22%). Quality of coverage had been the top concern in both 2004 and 1999. Newsrooms not focused on quality and reduced in size by almost 20% lack the motivation and resources to combat the influence of public relations bureaucracies.
Resource-strapped newsrooms are also more likely to need these bureaucracies because these public relations experts lower the cost of news gathering. According to Chomsky, “the large bureaucracies of the powerful subsidize the mass media, and gain special access by their contributions to reducing the media’s cost of acquiring the raw materials of, and producing, news.” (1988, p. 22).
Resource-strapped newsrooms are also more likely to need these bureaucracies because these public relations experts lower the cost of news gathering. According to Chomsky, “the large bureaucracies of the powerful subsidize the mass media, and gain special access by their contributions to reducing the media’s cost of acquiring the raw materials of, and producing, news.” (1988, p. 22).
Groups like law enforcement, government agencies and large business organizations are well-funded and have large staffs; they understand the deadline requirements of the media and are willing to be accessible; and, they are seen as “objective experts” which protects the media from bias charges.
Chomsky argues these information bureaucracies shape the news. To test that claim, I performed an ethnographic analysis of a typical local TV newsroom “daybook” from a network-affiliate in the northwest. The daybook is the list of potential stories that news managers and reporters review in order to make daily story assignments. On the day in question, there were 47 possible stories listed. Of that total, 66% were press releases from organizations; another 13% were simply stories taken from other local media outlets; only 13% of the stories came from reporter ideas and just 9% came from average citizens not affiliated with any organization.
Since most assigned stories come from this initial pool of potential stories, the fact that two-thirds of the pool came from public relations staffs demonstrates the significant dependence of the media on these sources, and the role that public relations professionals play in shaping the news of the day.
Adding to this power shift is the trend for ex-journalists to become PR professionals. Schneiderman (2009), in an article entitled “change your career from media”, recommends public relations as the most natural replacement job for unemployed journalists. The article quotes career coach Jeff Aulenbach as saying: “Your skills as an effective writer and communicator are well suited for internal or external PR.”
In the new world of reduced staff in mainstream newsrooms across America, fewer reporters are working with less time to independently track down stories. In that model, skilled public relations professionals who understand the needs and limitations of the mainstream media have greater influence and are relied on to an even greater degree.
In the new world of reduced staff in mainstream newsrooms across America, fewer reporters are working with less time to independently track down stories. In that model, skilled public relations professionals who understand the needs and limitations of the mainstream media have greater influence and are relied on to an even greater degree.
Not surprisingly, a study recently completed by the Pew Center (2009) found public perceptions of media accuracy to be at a two-decade low. Only 29% of Americans thought that news organizations generally got the facts straight, a 50% drop since 1985. Only 20% of respondents thought that news organizations were independent of powerful people and organizations, an all-time low score on that survey question.
Perhaps the hidden glimmer of hope in the Pew study is that those surveyed are more skeptical than ever of what they see and read in the news. In this era of sharply reduced newsroom staffs, consumers of news should heed the advice of Romano (1986, p. 78), who wrote: “what the press covers matters less in the end than how the public reads.”
References:
Fitzgerald, M. (2009). Journos losing jobs at three times rate of average workers. Editor & Publisher. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004014096.
Herman, S. and Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. New York: Pantheon Books.
Romano, C. (1986). The grisly truth about bare facts. In R. K. Manhoff & M. Schudson (Eds.), Reading the News. New York: Pantheon Books.
Streib, L. (2009) Journalism Bust, J-School Boom. Forbes. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/06/journalism-media-jobs-business-media-jobs.html .
Schneiderman, M. (2009). Change your career from Media. New York Time Out. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/jobs/77242/change-your-career-from-media#ixzz0SNBxp3dD.
The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, (2008). Financial Woes Now Overshadow All Other Concerns for Journalists. (2008) Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://people-press.org/report/403/financial-woes-now-overshadow-all-other-concerns-for-journalists.
The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, (2009). Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://people-press.org/report/543/.
References:
Fitzgerald, M. (2009). Journos losing jobs at three times rate of average workers. Editor & Publisher. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004014096.
Herman, S. and Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. New York: Pantheon Books.
Romano, C. (1986). The grisly truth about bare facts. In R. K. Manhoff & M. Schudson (Eds.), Reading the News. New York: Pantheon Books.
Streib, L. (2009) Journalism Bust, J-School Boom. Forbes. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/06/journalism-media-jobs-business-media-jobs.html .
Schneiderman, M. (2009). Change your career from Media. New York Time Out. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/jobs/77242/change-your-career-from-media#ixzz0SNBxp3dD.
The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, (2008). Financial Woes Now Overshadow All Other Concerns for Journalists. (2008) Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://people-press.org/report/403/financial-woes-now-overshadow-all-other-concerns-for-journalists.
The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, (2009). Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://people-press.org/report/543/.
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