COMP 2903A5 – Online Salvation

Danny SilverJSOCS, Acadia University

Paul FarhiAmerican Journalism Review, Dec 2007

• General writer with the Washington Post• http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/

articles/paul+farhi/

Think, Pair, Share

• HOW MANY OF YOU READ THE NEWSPAPER (on paper or online)?

• WHY?

• WHY NOT?

CNN News Article

• CNN: The Newspaper Industry in Declinehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9AtkO7eqIk&feature=related

• The Future of News: Panel and Discussion #1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uwVnUjjGgg

Embattled Newpaper Business

Note: About $7B spent per year on news gathering !!

Embattled Newpaper Business

• Newspapers are looking to reinvent themselves on the web

• They were the first in the media to move to the web – easy to do really

• Growth: 2003 = $1.2B, 2006 = $2.6B• Local newspaper websites most popular

source of news and largest source of advertising for local businesses

Embattled Newpaper Business

• But growth has stopped in online Newspaper Website viewers – up only 2.6% in 2007 over 2006

• When web users view they do so for short periods of time – nytimes.com attracts 10% of all such viewers– 35 minutes/month (Oct, 2007) = 68 seconds/day– This is 3 times longer than nearest competitor– < 50% as long as viewers of Google, Yahoo, MS

Embattled Newpaper Business

• Local newspapers are most effected• The advantage of early adopter of the web

has now vanished:– Online ad growth on web newspapers has started to slow– Kijiji rules for classified ads not the Chronicle Herald– TV cable stations have integrated websites for ads– Others?

• Can online ad revenue grow to replace dollars lost on print news ?

“The Vanishing Newspaper”

• Philip Mayer author• Says – both newspapers and advertisers need to

shift to the Internet• Shed the big overhead of print• However, print is still of greater value• CPM = cost to reach one thousand readers– CPM print = 1, CPM online = 10 .. Why? Top right, P.21

• It could take a decade for online revenue to catch print

So Should I Really Consider Journalism ?

• Decline in value of news will mean decline in payment for writers

• Question: Do you see an online business model for newspapers so they can continue to do deep reporting and attracted talented journalists?

• What impact will that have on our news? Politics? Country? Our lives?

Possible Solutions

• Add more – more channels, more content• Find a niche• Do the news better online – not just print and

pictures• Connect with web partners – Yahoo!, job search providers, blogs, classified ad

companies (Advertiser + kijiji)

• Match readers with articles and articles with ads – user modeling

Possible Solutions

• Search engines should better share with News groups their profits

• Stop making news free – make people pay for it => UID/Password for access – Walter Hussman, Jr. – Arkansas Decomrat Gazette– Charges $4.95 per month

• Your final thoughts?