Mini-Newsosaur

Non-profit news ventures go big time

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:01:15 -0400

First of two partsThe founder of the Chi-Town Daily News, a pioneering grassroots journalism project, happened to phone last week shortly before word got out that a wealthy businessman had donated $5…

Size matters in non-profit news

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:01:15 -0400

Size matters in non-profit news:

Second of two parts. The first part is here. The five-member staff of the Chi-Town Daily News was laid off after Labor Day when its founder could not raise the $300,000 necessary to fund the balance…

Only 5% in UK would pay for web news

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:20:33 -0400

Only 5% in UK would pay for web news:

U.S. publishers planning to erect pay walls may want to take note of a new poll that found only 5% of newspaper site readers in the United Kingdom would be willing to pay for interactive content.In a…

S.F. gets biggest-ever local news non-profit

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:20:33 -0400

S.F. gets biggest-ever local news non-profit:

A $5 million grant from a single philanthropist will fund the launch in the San Francisco area of the most ambitious project yet to build a non-profit news organization to fill the growing vacuum…

‘It will take unions to save newspapers’

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:16:32 -0400

‘It will take unions to save newspapers’:

A number of readers disagreed sharply with my suggestion that newspaper unions may be losing their relevance. One of them was Andy Zipser, the editor of The Guild Reporter, the official publication…

Are newspaper unions becoming irrelevant?

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:02:56 -0400

Are newspaper unions becoming irrelevant?:

Union members at the Sun-Times Media Group never have been more powerful than they are today, but the power they wield is a weapon of mass self-destruction.The unions can continue voting – as they…

The paper that ‘invented’ foreign news

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:47:24 -0400

The paper that ‘invented’ foreign news:

In a captivating and inspiring new book, John Maxwell Hamilton, a former foreign correspondent who now is dean of the Manship School of Mass Communications at Louisiana State University, gives a…

Inflated traffic stats cloud pay-wall plans

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:27:05 -0400

Inflated traffic stats cloud pay-wall plans:

Newspapers trying to assess the financial impact of potential paid-content schemes are starting with a wildly inflated sense of the size of their online audience that could come back to bite them in…

Ideal pay-wall fee may be less than you think

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:10:30 -0400

Ideal pay-wall fee may be less than you think:

If the willingness of consumers to pay for online news turns on how much it will cost, a bit of early research suggests the ideal price may be less than some pay-wall proponents might hope.In work…

Only 51% of pubs think pay walls will fly

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:19:54 -0400

Only 51% of pubs think pay walls will fly:

A bare 51% of the newspaper publishers in the United States believe they can charge successfully for access to their interactive content, according to a survey released today. The other 49% of…

ViewPass update

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:19:53 -0400

ViewPass update:

After the New York Times last week dubbed the ViewPass project “dormant,” a number of people have asked what happened to my proposal for an industry-owned solution to do a better job of monetizing…

AP didn’t have to run dying Marine’s photo

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:10:37 -0400

AP didn’t have to run dying Marine’s photo:

While I defend the right of the Associated Press to distribute the controversial picture of a mortally wounded Marine in Afghanistan, I can’t support its decision to do so.The controversy came to…

Sun-Times can be saved, says CEO

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:18:29 -0400

Sun-Times can be saved, says CEO:

The money-losing Sun-Times Media Group can be turned into a modestly profitable business by the end of 2011, says the chief executive who took the company into bankruptcy court and plans to stick…

Can latest savior save the Sun-Times?

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:38:43 -0400

Can latest savior save the Sun-Times?:

More cuts, more drama and more trauma almost certainly lie ahead for the Sun-Times Media Group now that a civic-minded businessman has stepped forward to buy a company that probably could not…

Yelp: Don’t leave home without it

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:33:22 -0400

Yelp: Don’t leave home without it:

I just got back from my first fully Yelp-enabled vacation and it was the best ever. As the late, great Karl Malden said in his American Express pitch: Don’t leave home without it.Although tens of…

Zell straps on his dancing shoes again

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:51:37 -0400

Zell straps on his dancing shoes again:

Sam Zell may (or may not) be headed for the exit as head of the Tribune Co., where he personally lost $325 million as the result of his recklessly financed acquisition of the company. But it looks…

Newspaper ads tracking to $10B sales drop

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:16:41 -0400

Newspaper ads tracking to $10B sales drop:

In round numbers, total newspaper advertising sales are likely to drop by $10 billion in 2009, which would put them roughly one-third lower than they were in the prior disastrous year.Based on the…

How publishers can make web content pay

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:16:30 -0400

How publishers can make web content pay:

Third of three parts. Parts one and two. If publishers are blocked for the most part from charging for content in the inherently open and unruly interactive marketplace, then what can they do? Go…

What stops publishers from charging for news

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:56:40 -0400

What stops publishers from charging for news:

Second of three parts. Part one is here. Fear, in a word, is the reason why publishers are treading so cautiously when it comes to charging for the valuable interactive content they have been giving…

Why aren’t we paying for news?

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:09:03 -0400

Why aren’t we paying for news?:

First of three parts With their backs against the wall, 2009 was going to be the year that newspaper publishers finally got together to charge for the content they have been giving away for free for…