An idea worth reflecting upon.
Back to the future: What if the ‘mass media’ era was just an accident of history?
We are used to thinking of a “mass media” market made up of large newspapers and TV networks as the normal state of affairs in media, but what if that was just a historical anomaly?
This article about Reuters redesign touches a very important point: Reuters doesn’t have a legacy of print metaphors (using the traditional print section as the main navigation tool online seems to me a big mistake most news sites make).
Every page is your homepage: Reuters, untied to print metaphor, builds a modern river of news
Reuters, as a wire service, has the concept of a minute-by-minute stream of news deep in its DNA. So it’s natural that its digital presence would echo that — a flowing river of information, where moving from story to story feels unencumbered.
In this piece about Huffington Post’s expansion to Germany, the site’s technology is mentioned three times (lesson: traditional media companies didn’t invest enough in their digital platforms and know-how):
“We are taking the HuffPo editorial and technology DNA everywhere”
“Each international outpost (…) is set up as a joint venture, where the Huffington Post contributes its technology system”
“Executives at Tomorrow Focus and Le Monde (…) said that they decided to link up with the Huffington Post rather than go it alone so that they could tap into the new media group’s tech knowhow”
Huffington Post rolls out in Germany
The Huffington Post is planting its flag in Germany, striking a partnership with Burda’s Tomorrow Focus to bring its mix of news, blogging and social commenting to readers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Essential reading. The press doesn’t determine anymore what gets attention and what doesn’t. So journalists should work to explain (and not ignore) all the information and misinformation that will inevitably be seen by everyone.
The Media Doesn’t Own The Story Anymore
The media’s new and unfamiliar job is to provide a framework for understanding the wild, unvetted, and incredibly intoxicating information that its audience will inevitably see — not to ignore it. (…) Reporting is no longer a question of whether or not to dignify new and questionable information with attention — it’s about predicting which of it will influence the story, and explaining, debunking, or contextualizing it the best we can. That is, incidentally, what our readers want.
Newspapers must worry with this piece of information from Google results: cost-per-click on ads is steadily declining. Google can make up for that with volume. But most media can’t.
Albeit being alienated from the rest of the world is not a good thing, there are many valid arguments in this article (especially because the media tend to produce a lot of irrelevant noise).
News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier
News is bad for your health. It leads to fear and aggression, and hinders your creativity and ability to think deeply. The solution? Stop consuming it altogether
Very good article on how Portugal is eager to see himself in foreign media coverage.
The impact of the international press in Portugal
As the international press fixes its gaze on Portugal once again, it seems to do so with little awareness of its disproportional impact in that country’s opinion- and policy makers. Portuguese journalists, pundits and politicians closely monitor each reference to the country’s situation.
Very smart move. Feedly, the RSS reader that got a lot of attention after the news Google Reader was going to be closed, is working with publishers to become a content store for subscription and paywalled content: “Feedly has been working with publishers on efforts that would allow its users to discover, purchase and access premium content, such as those behind “paywalls,” or only available on a subscription basis”
Now With 3 Million New Users, Google Reader’s Heir Apparent Feedly Relaunches On iOS & Android, Reveals How It Plans To Make Money
Feedly, the RSS feed-reading client that is rapidly becoming the one to beat following the planned Google Reader shutdown, is today launching new versions of its Feedly Mobile client for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android phones and tablets.
Google is drawing a line between advertising and journalism. That says something about the journalism industry, doesn’t it?
A reminder about promotional and commerce journalism
Credibility and trust are longstanding journalistic values, and ones which we all regard as crucial attributes of a great news site.
This is almost becoming an industry standard. Won’t work for all, but is probably a good fit for those with a large audience.
Telegraph to put up metered paywall
The Daily Telegraph is going to charge for access to its website, becoming the first British general interest newspaper to employ the metered paywall model.
Looking up at the NY Times’ editorial practices is one thing. But when we’re talking about business, this is completely true: “Practically speaking, there are very few meaningful lessons other newspapers can learn from the New York Times.” It’s just another league and what works there won’t work on a small/medium sized newspaper.
The “barbell problem” in media: The ends are fine, but the middle is getting squeezed
Some of the larger traditional brands in journalism will probably wind up prospering in the new digital era, and some hyper-local ones will as well — but what happens to the players in the middle? Their future remains uncertain.
A very good piece on how journalist’s sources are reaching the audience directly, bypassing reporters. It’s happening since the surge of blogs and is an essentially overlooked phenomenon that has deep impacts in the journalism business and should have deep impact in the newsroom practices if newsrooms were willing to change with the times.
Revenge of the sources
An uncomfortable fact for journalists is that we’ve been profiting off people working for “exposure” for a very long time. But now the tables are beginning to turn.