Fernando Samaniego - International New Media Consulting

Newspapers and TVs Could Learn from the Music and Movie Industries (and Part 2)

2010-03-04T14:09:00+04:00

On free content

There is a similarity between the music industry and newspapers in regard to their content. Songs in their basic form are considered by many individuals as free merchandise, the purpose of which is to attract attention to the artist. This belief is reinforced by the artists themselves, by those who are generally less traditional and more innovative in their approach. Take Lil Wayne, ho received the Grammy’s Best Rap Album, for example. He built his fan base by freely giving hours and hours of his music away. The surprise is that, in spite of that, his ‘Tha Carter III’ album was the top-selling album of 2008. In this case, giving away content and being the top seller were not alternative strategies. I am sure his success will inspire others.

Similarly, I believe newspapers will have to attract their readers/users by giving away ‘good’ content while charging for other content that the audience perceives both costs the company and is useful for their lives or their small businesses. Basic news (at least the commodity part of it) will remain free despite all the buzz, while special reports and differential content/services will follow a different track. Fighting the perception of the users is always a risky mission. After all, as Tony Wadsworth, former head of EMI for a decade, says ‘The development of technology has meant music” (you can substitute by ‘news’) “is consumed in more places in more ways than ever before – that is a great thing...; the future business model of this industry might not be based on transactional music sales for much longer. In the space of a year, the proportion of income derived from other sources – live gigs, merchandising, advertising, digital licensing, broadcast – has grown from 11.4% of total revenues in 2007 to 18% in 2008”. To continue with the parallelism, newspapers may have to obtain new sources of income by fulfilling new tasks in their communities.

Cherry Picking

Another similarity between music and news lies in the fact that in the past you had to purchase the whole product even if you just wanted a single song in the CD or just the classifieds section of the newspaper. In the digital world you can choose to acquire a single song and not pay for the unsolicited merchandise. One study says that iTunes-like platforms have cost the music industry more than piracy! We may not like it, we can even say that the user is losing the opportunity to discover unexpected jewels in the package…but the fact is that unbundling is the increasingly preferred option and fighting it is useless. As music is consumed digitally, mixed bundles may be losing their appeal.

Likewise, newspapers may end up charging for specific pieces of content when it’s clearly justified in the eyes of the user. Deciding when to charge or not requires a lot of trial and error as well as sufficient internal expertise in analyzing that information.

“Publishers for the most part have already begun preparing as if this process [unbundling] is irreversible. They are implementing new ways to replace revenues that are lost when customers no longer buy the whole ‘package’. This new repackaging can take many forms. Subscriptions to popular online journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, increasingly offer unique features, including email alerts, user communities, access to unique data sets, and multimedia content designed to make the value proposition of buying the “whole package” greater than the sum of the parts.” Nothing to add.

Conclusion

The music industry has taken too long to learn new tricks and has lost big revenues in the process. Newspapers can learn from the ability of the most adapted labels how to diversify revenues, to relate differently with their environment and how to reach audiences less with recorded content and more with live gigs. Faced with a transformation of this magnitude, change has to affect all and every single area of the company (yes, even accounting) and the profile of the professionals has to evolve. Changes should not be done in one day, but on the other hand, wasting time with excuses is not an option. As I said in a previous blog, save money in legacy activities and invest in exploring new avenues of income.

From the movie studios, newspapers and conventional TV channels should imitate their ability to move (relatively) fast while not discarding any possible way of reaching clients. After all, all legacy content industries share the same basic challenges and the logic of any responses to them.

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

Newspapers and TVs Could Learn from the Music and Movie Industries (Part 1)

2010-03-02T12:50:11+04:00

One decade at a time

One could argue that the perfect storm now affecting the Media and Entertainment industries started around 1982, when the first music CD was sold. But it was in 1985 that CD began to gain popularity in the larger popular and rock music markets (Dire Straits’ album Brothers in Arms was the first one to sell a million copies). At that moment, consumer content became digital. Later on, the compressing capabilities of MP3 and the extension of the internet greatly facilitated file sharing.

As I wrote in a previous post, it was some 10 years later that another digital birth took place that would soon affect the placid businesses of established newspapers. It was Craigslist and its ability to volatize classifieds’ revenue. Lastly, 10 years later, a pre Google YouTube was launched and the lives of incumbent TV channels first, and the film industry later, began simmering. For the last 20-30 years, usually during the middle of each new decade, a new phenomenon has been born, destined to uproot the functioning of complete industries. As a matter of curiosity, does anybody have an idea of what 2015 may bring to us?

First the music industry, then newspapers and magazines, and then finally TVs and movies, they all are struggling to cope with the radical changes. The slowest one to react was the music industry, perhaps because it was the first casualty (forgive me for using the incumbent’s terminology, not the customers’) and there were no examples of how deep, and redefining for the whole industry, the changes brought about by the new digital innovations would be. That the music industry has lost a full decade is evident since its response to these digital challenges has coincided in time with the newspapers’. TV and film industries, casualties of the third wave, may be reacting a little faster.

The Film Industry, the Last to Feel the Pinch

From observing the film industry, newspapers can learn the determination to reach audiences however the consumer wants it, in almost any possible format... Even though things are just starting, we can legally get films online, - rented, purchased or free with advertising, - via multiple devices. Hundreds of web sites offer movies (Netflix, iTunes, Hulu, Babelgum, Joos t, The Auteurs…and long etc). Other established players in the digital arena have also become digital retailers: Xbox Live and PlayStation Store, Amazon Video on Demand...etc. You can even watch a movie on your smart phone. Of course, you can still buy or rent DVDs and watch films thanks to the growing VOD offer of cable and digital platform operators. Lastly, you can enjoy a film in the most traditional outlet of the business, movie theaters.

Digital delivery has been growing SO FAST that film studios have identified 250 digital formats. Yes, two hundred and fifty! And now they are trying to reduce costs by agreeing on an interoperable digital master format (IMF) which will also help promote their digital business. Are studios moving fast enough? Perhaps the answer is no, but in any case they are moving faster than the music industry and newspapers did. Now, in how many formats are papers reaching their readers and delivering their content? Are they expanding their new media reach at a proper speed? Whatever the answer, newsrooms have to develop their own open technical architecture and be ready to deliver in more vehicles (unfortunately, sales departments are frequently the laggards and end up delaying the whole experiment, but this is another topic).

Lessons from the music industry

On one hand, any internet novice can download songs and bypass the incumbents’ structure to collect royalties. To add insult to injury, the record industry has had to face the stampede of brand-name artists moving away from them (remember Madonna leaving the Warner for Live Nation, a live-events and concert promotion company?) Many others have followed. In their quest for a proper set of business answers, labels are gathering experience with paid downloads, ad-supported streaming, subscription services, ad-supported and ad-integrated P2P download services…etc. But perhaps most relevant is the music industry’s fierce determination to redefine its role and its artists while at the same time creating links with audiences.

In the past, the record industry was strategically placed in between audiences and artists and supposedly had the talent and experience to decide in the name of the audience which songs/artists had the quality to be recorded. That paradigm has changed. Many artists are flying solo. Instead of focusing on getting the attention of the labels’ execs in order to be chosen to record songs and sell CDs, artists are now getting more focused on getting the attention of their potential fans in order to be able to sell tickets to their shows, to license songs…etc. Multiple companies and web sites have started to “provide online music business lessons, exclusive video interviews and advice, career and business planning tools and thousands of hand-picked resources designed to help you achieve success in the new music industry” (about us, Music Power Network).

Closer to the audience

The incumbents have understood that revenue from recorded music will continue decreasing and that their activity cannot be limited to seeking out the best singers and bands to sign. Instead, they have to learn new skills, such as mentoring artists to develop their performing style, and hone their public skills to better connect with their potential audiences. They are becoming business advisors, career planners as well as permanent managers of organized tours and all kinds of live performances, which represent the fastest growing source of income in the industry.

The exhibitionist and theatrical Lady Gaga has learned to be closer to her fan base and be coherent in all her public appearances. Her dominance in the charts has proven her right. When she received five Grammy Nominations she did not thank anyone other than her “Little Monsters”, aka her fan base. On the scenario, as in any digital format, she has established a solid link with her audience. To them, she offered her own DNA (some follicles) in her GaGa Fame Monster Bundle, as well as a collectible puzzle, pullout posters, a paper doll collection and a personal note for USD115.

Other artists are finding their own unorthodox methods of reaching audiences’ attention and pockets.

Newspapers need to address new ways of getting to their audiences and interacting with them. From the early formula of posting a comment to a piece of news, to the way the most advanced players are trying to harness the traffic and commercial potential of local bloggers, there is an array of possibilities.

As I have written before, the main strategic areas in a newspaper or a TV are brand/image and content. From each one of those two areas they have to persevere in reading the consumer’s interest. The old journalism days of waiting for agencies’ content is (partially) over. Now, the journalist’s network, his/her roots in the community and ability to scan what the community is interested in, are required skills to add value and differentiate the final product from other local players. Following readers’ interest, via marketing tools, as well as discovering what interests them via social web sites, is a new skill media companies have to turn into a habit. (End of Part 1)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

Newspapers and Televisions should go the Low Cost Way

2010-02-23T10:49:40+04:00

One shouldn’t deceive oneself into thinking that we are simply in the middle of a crisis caused by the irrational behavior of our financial institutions since there may be other causes. Even though Asia has been bringing costs down for decades, many countries and industries have ignored the potential threat of these lower costs and have chose instead to maintain their cost structures. The generalizations of internet and broadband have extended the competitiveness of the new players (“the world is flat,” according to Thomas Friedman). Not to be mistaken, this financial crisis is a cause as well as a catalyst of the current turmoil brought about by this ‘Asian price’ and this new local and world competition facilitated by broadband.

Many companies have understood this new scenario. Airlines, for one, may offer extremely low ticket prices and absolutely no-frills, but at the same time they may charge for extras like food and drink, seat allocation, baggage...etc. The increasing penetration of low cost and no-frills products and services has carved a position in the mind of consumers and now marketers know very well that people frequently trade up and trade down; they can go for rock bottom prices (below the consumer’s standard of income and living) in order to afford small luxuries, which may appear beyond their reach. By shopping in discount supermarkets, a couple may afford a long haul vacation, no frills, in their dream destination.

One cannot downplay the significant effect that these economic and societal changes are having on our audiences (readers, spectators, users). The bad news is that they now expect basic merchandise to be free, but at the same time they are learning to pay, albeit minimally, for new content. Changes like these have permanent effects in our businesses.

Many newspapers and TV stations are taking too long to adapt their legacy cost structure to the new reality and to get rid of the unnecessary dead weight and the internal obstacles which prevent them from making their companies more nimble. The basic operation has to be a very lean one, enough to put forward the basic offer to the audience. Too many examples are showing us that if that effort is not made constantly and in an orderly way it will have to be done traumatically. Media incumbents should save lots of money on the repetitive tasks of their current operation in order to achieve three basic purposes:

First, to maintain profitability and operations while the company moves forward. Second, these legacy media need those savings to project themselves into the future, in order to explore and develop new media opportunities to further increase their reach. Lastly, parts of those savings have to be addressed at investing in those activities which create brand and differentiate them from the rest. I am referring to investigative journalism, special reports, event creation, exploiting local databases…etc. That is, developing their own content which equals the frills the airlines are able to charge and which makes the difference for audiences and advertisers. It also may open new avenues of profitability. After all, is there anything as vital for a medium as (differential) content and marketing (brand)?

There is no way to cross successfully into the future if cost cutting in legacy activities is not an active policy implemented constantly by newspapers and television companies. Proper cost cutting is not a reactive decision; it’s a fundamental part of our future building strategy. Do not be apologetic about it. (Just don’t cut corners in brand image and differential content creation).

Newspapers and TV stations are taking a long time to adapt to this new situation, as if time wasn’t an issue.”

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego.

Newspapers's Potential in Local Database Management (and 2)

2010-01-20T11:15:00+04:00

Following Rob Curley’s Trail

When offering communities results based on databases from the local market, I have always thought Rob Curley has led the way and has often been imitated by others. The following examples, taken from newspapers where he has worked, may have not been developed by him or his team directly, but I’m sure his vision has had a strong influence.

While working in Kansas for the Lawrence Journal he developed the Kusports site and reinforced the use of statistics as content but also as a complement to regular information. He always found the right way to place unexpected data in the middle of information, be it driving tickets, weather…etc. And the audience rewarded him with a big increase in traffic, and revenues. No local database was foreign to him: births, weddings, deaths, schedules of anything…etc. Sports and Arts and Entertainment info was always stored as elements of an ever growing local database to be permanently reused. Even though some years went by, the Ljworld.com site still retains some of that philosophy.

Later in Naples, Florida Rob addressed a more mature and affluent audience in the site Naplesnews by offering any info relevant to a community frequently interested in the weather and the water (Naples is on the West Florida coast): rainfall, air and water temperature, tides…etc. Current as well as historical data were offered directly by the site or by linking to the sources. Presented in a user friendly way, boating, golfing, fishing or just walking became a little easier. Naplesnews received an Eppy Award for Best Internet News Service in 2006. In that same year his new vision on covering high school sports in Bonitanews received a NAA Digital Edge award for "Most Innovative Multimedia Storytelling".

From Naples, Rob moved to a much larger organization, The Washington Post, and left two years later probably “because I wasn't the best fit with the organization”. I am sure his vision on local matters had an influence beyond the specific projects he managed.

The national and international roles of the Post may hide to many its local flavor. On one hand there is the local section of the paper which includes a plethora of information and some resources such as dog parks, farmers market… as well as links to full-fledged projects like the Going Out Guide which features an Events Calendar in which all the information, including text for reviews, has been databased for easier repurposing.
On the other hand, the Local Explorer is more than just a map. It also includes facts and figures, local news, classifieds and upcoming events that will help take the user further inside the community. In fact it’s one of those blueprint projects one should follow when dealing with local communities. A complete array of information is arranged in four categories (Places in the Area, Recent Home Sales, Schools, Crime) welcomes the users upon giving their exact location. As a complementary new way of exploiting its arsenal of data the Post has created products like this which organize business information in many different ways (e.g. revenues by sector, largest employers, new companies…frequently mapped for easier usability).

I guess the Post wants to take a definitive step in the local-hyperlocal direction and in spite of all the difficulties for a newspaper of its category, we may see new developments happening. Perhaps the final result will/should include more user participation. For comparative purposes I recommend the Cincinavigator by Cincinnati.com.

Databases, geocoded information, all enhanced with content from the editor and from the users seems to be the four legged formula some editors are finding appropriate to address their local challenges. I foresee that we will see more sophisticated developments within this same content architecture.

EveryBlock.com, Yelp, Google (yes, always Google)

“In dense, bustling cities like Chicago, New York and San Francisco, the number of daily media reports, government proceedings and local Internet conversations is staggering. Every day, a wealth of local information is created — officials inspect restaurants, journalists cover fires and Web users post photographs — but who has time to sort through all of that?” This is the spirit of local database management, and that sentence doesn’t belong to me but to EveryBlock, that aims at solving that problem. “We aim to collect all of the news and civic goings-on that have happened recently in your city, and make it simple for you to keep track of news in particular areas. We’re a geographic filter — a 'news feed' for your neighborhood, or, yes, even your block”.

I should add that they are only a team of six people working from Chicago led by Adrian Holovaty, a journalist and Web developer who worked previously as editor of editorial innovations at the Post and developed chicagocrime.org. Given the small size of the team and the tremendous task of covering 15 cities, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the info is a little “dry” or lacks the relevancy that a newspaper could add. But it’s a matter of time before the project gets sufficient funds (MSNBC has bought EveryBlock and additional funding and resources will be provided). Lastly, I find useful their definition of local data: “Civic information — building permits, crimes, restaurant inspections and more; News articles and blog entries — major newspapers, community weeklies, TV and radio news stations, local specialty publications and local blogs; Fun from across the Web — local photos posted to the Flickr photo-sharing site, user reviews of local businesses on Yelp, lost and found postings from Craigslist and more”.

The more a database is complemented and enhanced by users the better it is. In the case of Yelp (a contraction of Yellow Pages) the extensive database has been supposedly fully created by the users, which makes it a different animal to the former examples. What is relevant, though, is that that a business supported exclusively by local advertising was recently the acquisition object of Google at a price north of half a billion dollars. The local editors can breathe at ease because Yelp has rejected the offer, but the sole idea of giant Google having access to the local markets with a local platform like Yelp seems scary to me. By the way, The Weekly Yelp is available in 28 cities with the latest business openings & other happenings and constitutes a first (minor) step to creating a media on local events.

As a summary, in their alternatives for growth the most advanced local editors are learning to use databases to uncover local stories, to enhance news, to relate to their users, to attract new audiences and, not least, to have access to new sources of revenues.

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego.

Newspapers’ Potential in Local Database Management (Part 1)

2010-01-14T10:49:00+04:00

This post highlights the importance that managing data has for newspapers, and local broadcasters, as they struggle to extend their roots in the community. As local media need to maintain digital growth they will have to go beyond news delivery into satisfying further needs of the markets they serve if they want to reach new sources of traffic and revenues. In an environment more story-oriented and not so comfortable with computers, company execs need to plan on mastering the skills to extract useful content from information hidden in local databases.

Importance of managing data among top internet players

While newspaper editors and televisions rely basically on developing or acquiring good content, the Top Ten websites in the world have reached their position mostly by organizing data, i.e. other people’s work. Google, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger.com are websites which organize extremely well third parties’ content. Yahoo! (which appears twice in the list with its Japanese URL) receives big traffic from its search, both from email and from the many services it offers (news aggregator, maps, video sharing, social media web sites). Wikipedia is somehow the exception since it relies on contributions written expressly for the site by its users.

Two players, Baidu and MSN deserve special attention from the TV/papers viewpoint. The Chinese Baidu.com started in 2000 as a generic search engine and now is possibly the most comprehensive website in the world. It includes specialized search capabilities for government sources, postal codes, educational, legal, patent, country statistics, as well as services such as antivirus and safety, maps, dictionary, translation, online community…etc. It also provides links to news sources, a music service with links to top songs for easy downloading, an encyclopedia, an entertainment channel, a finance website in collaboration…etc. Finally, it even offers online shopping for businesses to sell their products and a TV/movies site to watch and download content.

Microsoft and its recently redesigned msn.com relies on plenty of links and content from other sources: MSNBC, of course, as well as Hearst, Fox sports, Hulu, PC World…etc, and is learning to open up to social connectivity giants like Twitter or Facebook. Msn.com does a remarkable job at aggregating content from different sources while pushing its own corporate interests, be it its operating system software, Bing, MSNBC, Xbox360…etc.

One could think that these players are following the steps of the likes of AOL, Terra, Lycos and other horizontal portals but the truth is that these giants (Google, Facebook, Yahoo…) want to retain users longer by offering more services while concentrating less on creating content and more on managing third parties’ content. My point is that local papers and broadcasters will be forced to master those same skills to extend their local influence. The sooner they do it and the more holistic their approach, the better.

Database editors

First they have to fight the widespread belief that because of Google, the researcher is no longer necessary. In reality, the opposite is true. Because of Google, researchers— a data base editor—will be of critical importance. Randy Covington, Head of IFRA-Newsplex, was talking to me the other day about Hyde Post, the editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s website who argues that a successful media website should be built on four pillars: -Speed , -Community, -Visual energy, -Utility. Utility is an obvious next step for media organizations in their web strategy and refers to a site that wants to be helpful and practical for its audience. Very often users look for sites in order to obtain information they need on some aspect of their lives,-- for example, how do test scores of their children’s school compare with those elsewhere—and a newspaper or broadcast website would be a logical place to find out.

As search engines have promised to organize the vast content on the internet, communities need to organize and make sense of the increasing sources of local information, and newspapers are well positioned to do that. They have local content, local businesses with local advertisers, local journalists and contributors, a local sales force, some local database information…and are in a privileged position to reap the benefits of that local connection. Managing local database content lies in the no man’s land between very large organizations and the small local agents such as bloggers and smaller websites. One may be unable to have access to many of the databases and/or extract their usefulness while the latter lacks the financial resources, at least for a certain time. It is easier for newspapers well rooted in their communities and with well connected organizations to have access to official and private databases.

The Chief Editor and his/her direct team may have to get involved in the first efforts to gain access to that information while the organization learns to do it. To facilitate this first step, the IRE, Investigative Reporters and Editors, trains journalists, even beyond the US, in “using spreadsheets and/or databases for better watchdog stories, obtaining data and public records and making sense of them, storyboarding, planning, and managing investigative stories and projects, building an effective intranet of public records to strengthen your newsroom’s reporting on deadline…etc”. It’s important to have examples to learn the tricks of the new activity.

In a newsroom environment rather experienced at building linear stories and which at the same time is not very computer savvy, getting the skills needed to use data content has to be a planned effort from top execs. Ideally a couple of journalists with that expertise could be brought on board. Alternatively a programmer can be hired and trained to search database content that could enhance regular newsroom output and be used as a new source of content. Some journals have done it and if the person has an open mind, the result can be enlightening. Diversity is hard to manage but very rewarding.

Examples of database usage

Chicagocrime was one of the best and earliest examples of data gathering and presentation (now it's contained in everyblock, recently acquired by MSNBC). Anybody interested in renting or buying a house, starting a business, choosing a school or just visiting the city, as well as the security officers and local politicians became instant users. There are many other examples the local newspaper can provide to answer the questions and needs of its audience. What new businesses have been started in the city, what new permits have been granted to build houses or buildings in general, what are the latest real estate deals, official house valuations, or general property values, home foreclosures, open houses…are clearly types of content that could attract attention immediately, especially if arranged by neighborhood. Later, if the newspaper allows free access to the information, local talent will come up with ideas to complement that information. By studying the trends, links, deviations from national or international patterns,we may shed light on our community in a unique and exclusive way.

Let me use a non local example on presenting a piece of news in a different way, starting from pure data. I refer to the article published by The New York Times on “Jackson’s Billboard Rankings Over Time”, which is just a series of interactive graphs which prove how the King of Pop had really died 20 years ago.

Other cases could attract more consumer attention, but databases are often accessible from the internet but hidden under non intuitive names, or it is hard to make sense out of them, or they are not conceived to be user friendly…etc. Rankings of hospitals and schools, student examination public records, education levels, driving tickets, air and noise pollution, police activity, accidents, fires, traffic incidences…etc, they all are useful. Lastly, there is the need for databases which do not currently exist but which audiences would appreciate if their newspaper put together. A map of gas prices in the region (see screen shot from gaspricewatch.com) or a ranking of supermarket prices based on a small basket of products may facilitate the lives of families on a tight budget who undoubtedly will appreciate the help of “their” newspaper (there may be local projects offering that content, often ready to establish an alliance). In these cases the information gathering may be in the form of a wiki, something the younger audience may appreciate. In any case, those price-maps have to be open to permanent inputs from users.

In all the above cases it’s important that the information is geolocated as precisely as possible if it is to unveil relevant information as well as trends and correlations between apparently unrelated series of data. The community will literally see how their neighborhood follows or deviates from national patterns, or how the official version fits their reality. Those trends and patterns may be discovered by the newsroom and/or by the users themselves. (End of Part 1)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego.

Television Could Learn from Newspapers when Going Online (and 6)

2009-12-16T17:15:01+04:00

To conclude my series of posts on lessons broadcasters could learn from newspapers, I present some comments regarding the human factor.

Online TV skills from outside required

TV broadcasters need a new breed of execs, of content personnel, of technicians, of sales persons…etc. Training internal resources will only work as long as there is a critical mass of sharp online personnel aboard. This means that talent and skills will have to come from outside, especially during the early stages. Later on, the usual flow of TV hires will join the company with that ‘online module’ already built in. One cannot change the taste of a dish without adding some new ingredients. The new hires will also help to mold the TV culture to the new times and needs.

Hire online experts from the best online newspapers teams

Speaking of online skills, web journalists have dealt for many years with many of the issues now affecting broadcasters. They have experience with the problems of traditional media going online, with its cultural, technical and content challenges, plus they know the difficulty that legacy and new platforms have interacting with each other. Online journalists have a good understanding of video challenges and may have even experimented with the concept of online TV. Those managers boast years of practice in handling complex digital operations with massive traffic, especially when compared to the number of unique users of almost any broadcaster. They understand what drives user behavior and can integrate online trends, such as social media, into the content proposition. Lastly, their marketers are experts in using statistical, competitor analysis and general market intelligence tools to gain insight into their operation and that of their competitors. Among their weaknesses, few have relevant experience with DRM (Digital Rights Management). In sum, do not disregard their experience because, at least to a certain degree, they have done this trip before.

Do not try “to own” your online TV team during the early stages

Do not suffocate your team by imposing the dominant TV culture. The existing culture made your channel successful, but it has to be transformed to succeed in the new digital challenges. A top newspaper exec once told me he hired someone just because he wore a gold ring in his ear. This is just an anecdote to illustrate that things will be different in an online environment. Let them act, relate, meet and work as they please, without other preconceptions other than rigorous delivery. Once the team spirit is built, you will have to bring both cultures closer. That said, the new media manager should report to the top exec and, in my opinion, be a member of the Steering Committee ASAP.

Allow for active networkers

I apologize for copying and pasting this point from a previous post, but it fits here beautifully: “…pay attention to the networking that takes place within. The real success of your project will take place if the right networkers are able to operate freely across your established organization. They are the energetic people the organization trusts and relies on. Regardless of their titles, they move around irrespective of the organization chart connecting people and experience, transforming bits of information into added value. They are the energizers. Their enemies are the authority figures who dislike active networkers and hold too high a respect for established channels of communication. By making sure that loose pieces of information are transformed into solutions these employees will increase the possibilities of success of your project. Make sure they are not subdued by your “establishment.” Let there be a certain degree of noise. Total peace belongs in cemeteries.”

Be ready to partner as never before

Historically, the agenda of a newspaper executive did not include meeting a lot of outside companies. Newspaper managers had a simple and consistent work flow. That changed with the Internet and now their agendas are busy with meetings with vendors and interaction with competitors, players and interlocutors of all kinds. The company network is much denser. To offer an example, when newspapers started migrating the businesses included in their papers, they realized that in the case of online employment, they lacked critical mass. Currently, Gannett Co. shares its CareerBuilder web priority with Tribune Co., McClatchy Co. and Microsoft.

Managers need to become more open, more adept at interacting with many different players in a time efficient way. The TV set is not the only platform to keep in mind anymore and for every new device to carry the TV content there are agreements to be negotiated and implemented.

Lastly, newspapers did not have many persons working from the outside. Online changed that. I foresee that broadcasters will have to excel at streamlining their interaction skills to relate with a larger amount of external teams working for them, peers, vendors and clients in order to contribute to the faster and more complex delivery of the online/mobile.

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego.

Television Could Learn from Newspapers when Going Online (Part 5)

2009-11-27T00:28:00+04:00

Newspapers wouldn’t rely on movies to build brand

Could you imagine a leading newspaper in which all the content comes from press agencies? In spite of streamlining, papers have reinforced their core competencies.

For most, it has meant concentrating on anything local or close to the interests of their readers: sports, politics, social events, entertainment…etc. Some regional papers all but overlook international news on their websites because they know they are building their reputation and traffic on local affairs.

When I travel the world and watch TV, I am surprised by the importance movies have in their programming grids. Movies do not create a brand; they are not the pillars on which a leading TV channel can build its brand and future. Movies do not create loyalty, since they are one-off experiences. Instead, other stations are heavily dependent on programs like The Wire, The Sopranos, CSI, House…even The Simpsons, which seems like a smarter option to movies because the broadcaster has the time to build something around them.

Until a few years ago, TV watching was a social activity done with the family. Now it’s an individual activity and if a canned product like a movie can be offered VOD, it will. Leading news programs, live sports and other events may be expensive, but they show the way forward. Reality programs, contests, competitions…are cheaper formats. One can create a series by adapting scripts or formats that have worked in other markets. They will not be perceived as canned and you can create online layers around them. Plus they may allow for mobile participation, product placement and create the kind of loyalty you need at the magical moment the viewer picks up the remote.

The fate of free movie channels seems unpromising. Shrinking audiences, stable cost structure, increasing VOD offerings and decreasing digital costs of transmission will play against them. In the future, they will be less significant because they lack the ability to generate traffic or interaction. For outside content to be successful, it must integrate with the channel’s own programming.

Make live events live by creating ‘content around content’

Live events suit perfectly the new TV. They have to be seen live, advertisers love them, sponsorships are possible and product placement, if you own the event, can contribute to the bottom line. The bad thing is that it’s getting harder/more expensive to land international rights for major events, but there are national and local rights which can also fulfill the needs of some channels.

I cited two examples from the world of sports because sports excel at attracting a loyal crowd of followers. Gavin O'Malley comments that “among the key age segments of 18-24 years and 25-34 years, the Internet far outweighs both local and national TV coverage as the primary source of sports news and information”. Sports franchises are moving quickly into new media and their experiences could be good case studies for those seeking ways to leverage other live events.

Clearly, a TV organization should try to build on recurring events as much as possible. It’s a lot easier that one time only events. While securing the rights is hard, once we have them it is absolutely necessary to build content and interest around them. It is a waste of effort to broadcast an event life as if it is simply a parenthesis in the programming grid. Only the meticulous generation of a complete environment around the F1 allowed Telecinco to grow its audience. Likewise, that same “wrapping around the event” approach has to be developed in the online.

First personal note in my blog: I was born in Bilbao an industrial city in the north of Spain, same as Miguel de Unamuno, an essayist and novelist who said that “history could best be understood by looking at the small histories of anonymous people, rather than by focusing on major events such as wars…” The official history for which you pay for rights is the jewel in the crown, but events also need the “intrahistory” (he used that word), the making of, the interviews and smaller content that maintain the focus and anticipate and prolong the experience. Around traditional TV and around the website/mobile there has to be a microcosm all along the season, or the time’s length. Thanks to this multichannel approach. broadcasters and advertisers have the chance to better impact their target audience. There is a Nike ad, which takes full advantage of this “content around content.” Once again, this is something you cannot buy and which sets you apart from the rest.

Connected TV as a blender

Only a few posts ago, I described the effort of Samsung and Yahoo! to achieve the active coexistence of TV and online. The time when consumers will have internet-enabled TVs is not near, but experiments will abound to grasp the potential of the new sets. Just recently, Sony has announced its intention to offer a movie (Cloudy with a Change of Meatballs) for $24.95 available to consumers directly through internet-enabled TV sets. In the future when such sets are more common, Sony will try to bypass cable and satellite companies with its own VOD services.

Forrester estimates that Internet sets will be in more than one-third of European TV households by 2014 with more than 150 million potential European users in 2014. Advertisers and content providers will have to plan for the transformation of the TV experience to one that blends broadcast and broadband. There is time, but are most TV channels exploring the merger of traditional and Internet TV?

And now take a glimpse at the future

Three months ago, nobody imagined a search engine could offer videos from over a thousand sources in a properly categorized way, facilitating a consumer’s immediate access to hundreds of thousands of episodes, movies, web originals, music videos. Today, that dream can be accomplished via the net. Forget Google. The complete guide to the Internet is already available under the name Clicker.com, which does a superlative job of facilitating an infinite world of on-demand choices. “Thousands of episodes from thousands of shows are housed on thousands of different sites, mixed among billions of random clips and videos.”

Clicker doesn't actually host any of this content, but it provides links to the sources. Its service is free, but it intends to develop premium features as imdb did. It anticipates the future of convergence and though it poses hundreds of questions, one thing is certain: the time to watch online TV in the living room is constricting. Is your company ready for this? Are your shows properly described and categorized online, with complete cast and complementary info? Are they fully searchable under the right tags? Is your advertising well developed to take benefit from this? Is there a payment method in place? Do you have the right approach to SEO? Can you offer differential videos?

Of course, your programming can be seen on your website, but distribution, or the ability of getting traffic to your content through different doors, is something you have to explore. Clicker is one more door to your house; the largest social networks are other ones. As editors have learned, try them. I recommend that your new media team get acquainted with Clicker.com, “the complete guide to Internet Television”, as it is very relevant to your online video business. (End of Part 5)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

Television Could Learn from Newspapers when Going Online (Part 4)

2009-11-25T10:15:08+04:00

Downsizing and ratio of market shrinkage

Painful downsizing of TV incumbents is likely, as revenues will not rebound to pre crisis equivalents and online video watching becomes more prevalent. After decades of easy life, newspapers discovered that the percentage of costs spent in their news operations was a relatively small proportion of the total and for 10 years they have reduced other costs to keep alive. Eventually, the newsrooms have been affected by the cuts (too often beyond logic). Similarly, TV channels will have to zero in on all non-essential costs because they are doomed to do more with less. Revenues will be lower, so costs have to be reduced. The companies that streamline early will be in more control of their destiny, gaining time to focus on their core tasks.

Unfortunately at the end of the process, the size of the market will be reduced. The total money spent on digital classifieds is much smaller today than the amount previously collected by newspapers. Let’s not get deceived and think that the pie is just redistributed. It simply doesn’t work like that. A good part of the revenues will vanish, contributing, as with many industries in the past, to greater efficiency of the economic system, more precisely to the benefit of the users (I’m trying to see the bright side of things).

If we believe Laura Martin, video online is a $700 million market, while "The market cap of the television value chain is $330 billion." I have never read any reports on the ratio of market destruction in the case of newspapers, i.e. how many digital cents (plus whatever is left in print) are left in the market for every newspaper dollar there was there before it all started. As a pure unscientific and wild guess let me say, until better-documented reports say otherwise, that perhaps no less than one third of the market has vanished into thin air (some of my colleagues put it closer to 50%). If that same 1:3 ratio of reduction repeats itself in the case of broadcasting, the pain will be felt by many. For others it will be lethal. Be ready for that estimate to be right and rebuild your P&L with the new revenue estimate. Depressing? If it happens overnight, yes. If you have some time to react, just challenging.

Payment needed

Rupert Murdoch said that putting together good content and offering it for free is bad business. Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, put it very simply: we are “exchanging analog dollars for digital pennies”. If online advertising cannot offset the damage caused by the Internet to print, we can only imagine the suffering broadcasters will go through in a few years. Their video content is more expensive and advertising will clearly not be enough, at least from today’s perspective.

Advertising will evolve, but simple forms of payment also need to be explored, something editors have been talking about for a long time. A patent application issued in April regarding micropayments suggests Google will soon be able to process small payments starting from a penny, a good complement to its Checkout payment system. This is one of those developments a broadcaster has to follow and play with as soon as it becomes available.

Murdoch declared “we’d rather have fewer people come to the website and pay. It costs us a lot of money to put together good newspapers and good content. No news websites anywhere in the world are making large amounts of money” but the truth is that we may not have to choose between the two, high traffic or charging for content. The fact that mass media need to remain massive is a tautology. Media have it built into their genetic code. In his WSJ, Murdoch delivers both free and premium content, but a proper micropayment system instead of a subscription fee may be the answer for many websites.

When a media exec talks about charging for content, don’t be too critical

Given that across time and media, audience has always being a powerful indicator of the potential of a product, it’s only natural that at the onset, new projects overlook the need for revenue. From what I understand, the iPlayer doesn’t require proof of license of payment. Likewise, Hulu is Hulu is doing exactly what Murdoch complained about, delivering good and expensive merchandise for free. Those projects are honing skills to learn how to deliver the right merchandise the right way. But at some time, those and other sites need to extract some economic benefits from their audiences. When someone experiments with charging for content, my recommendation is that the industry support those steps, because it will mean that a TV business is trying to find its future economic model. All will benefit. Even if the formula doesn’t work, criticism is not beneficial. This could be one more lesson from the newspaper industry.

The crusade led by some, Murdoch included, to charge for content is reaping some fruit. Ofcom published recently a report that “more UK adults than before believe that file sharing through downloading shared copies of copyright music and films should be illegal (42%) than believe it should not be illegal (33%), and 25% are unsure. Young people 16-24 are more likely to say that such content should not be illegal (55%)”.

If video content is not easily available and/or easily payable, users will pirate it. Broadcasters have to realize that the price users are willing to pay for an episode will be a low, I repeat, a small amount of money, something similar to a micropayment. Premium and live content, such as a football match, will be a different story. Since Hulu is one of the players exploring how to charge for content, it is one case to earmark for Google alerts. (End of Part 4)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

Television Could Learn from Newspapers when Going Online (Part 3)

2009-11-24T00:24:00+04:00

Video, mobile, social media, as advertising trends

There seems to be a consensus that there will be new winners in advertising revenue. Social media is beginning to get its share of the pie and it will likely increase. On the other hand, the fast evolution of smart phones since the arrival of the iPhone guarantees that mobiles will become a ubiquitous device and an excellent vehicle for advertisers. Finally, video, heralded for so many years, is starting to live up to its expectations.

If advertising gurus have it right, the wind seems to be blowing in the right direction for broadcasters because they can benefit from three trends. The first is video, where the strength of broadcasters is obvious. The second is mobile and there’s not much to say, since the medium is some time away from supporting streaming video. The third is social media. Broadcasters will have to work harder in this area and regardless, they are not likely to challenge Facebook. Still, they have the marketing power of their conventional channels. If used to promote good series, sports events or other appealing programs, broadcasters have the ability to assemble online content communities. In summary, broadcasters will need to keep these three key components of new media in mind if they wish to position themselves for the ad dollars other media players are fighting for.

Most newspapers were light years away from knowing anything about video, but in the last few years, they have adopted it and adapted to it. They have shown similar will to learn about mobiles and for some years now, their sites have been accessible on mobile phones. The list of examples to showcase how they are building communities around some types of content would be a long one (Nettby by the daily VG is half the size of Facebook in Norway). Broadcasters have been pushed later to the game, but they will need to move with haste to master the tricks of the trade.

Get ready for more technically intensive advertising

Keeping up with the fast evolution of advertising in video is an exciting task. Google has announced that it’s going to test a new formula to deliver skippable pre-roll ads with a high degree of acceptance from users and a very high CPM. “The model will be ‘Cost Per Engagement’, where advertisers would only pay for opt-in engaged views of the ads”. Once again, Google lifts the bar since few players have the know-how to build such a system. The automated process by which a platform actually acquires the insight to offer a certain ad to the most appropriate audience is a highly sophisticated one, which requires very high traffic and ultra intelligent analytical skills. Google satisfies both requirements. In the upcoming years, broadcasters will have to master these skills. While that may not seem possible now, the future will provide us with more analytical skills and technology, assuming companies have moved in that direction. You can ask the old Fast Search, now owned by Microsoft, how many editors have become experts at utilizing something formerly so foreign to them.

Database

A database is a collection of logically related records consolidated into a common container that provides data for one or multiple uses. Information can be retrieved, added to, updated or removed in an automatic fashion. For a long time, editors continued using basic text or even structured text in dealing with the storage of information, but soon databases proved to be much more flexible. Their main advantage is fast and efficient data retrieval while relational databases have the further advantage of allowing administrators to specify how different sets of data relate to each other.

All content can be stored automatically and retrieved for any established or new purpose. The possibilities for database content are endless, as opposed to content stored in the traditional way. Acquired video can be presented with or without comments or associated with any other layer. It can be personalized according to the needs of each user. Database elements can be combined to produce new content, enlarging inventory of pages.

Sophisticated data base management is becoming a necessity for broadcasters and you do not have to have the expertise of Google to do it. The challenge is not only about managing and creating new content from existing data, but also about squeezing all the possible information about our users as it regards their Internet usage and ad consumption. As in the example of Google’s skippable ads that I mentioned before, advertising will become highly sophisticated.

New media are not about technology but about reaching the consumer. That art of the communications equation has not changed, but the technological part has become much more important. (End of Part 3)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

Television Could Learn from Newspapers when Going Online (Part 2)

2009-11-19T12:00:00+04:00

In search of the Holy Grail: what is the TV equivalent of Breaking News?

When pondering the future of broadcasting, different pundits reveal their personal opinions. The truth is the answer to that question is the keystone of the building we want to build. Dailies were asking themselves the same question and their answer and methodology can shed some light to TV channels.

At first, newspaper sites were mere reflections of the printed product. Updated just once a day, they offered as many sections as the printed product, conceptually in the same old way. Soon afterward, they learned that the two media are basically different, with different internal logics, rules, codes, visual treatment, and language. That's why they must be treated differently.

It took them some time to strike the right key. Given that their brand was perceived as credible with regard to news, they realized that the users wanted more of their core activity and they started to invest in the Breaking News section of their news sites, which allowed them to remain relevant. Strategically speaking, breaking news represents the wider section of the funnel in their ‘funnel strategy’ and allows them to channel users to other online products and properties. It didn’t come natural for them to move from a single daily rendez-vous with the audience to a 24X7 approach. The leaders of the pack have even organized their workflow as an information engine as I described in my previous blog "25 Tips for a Modern Newsroom".

Fixed Schedules

Fixed schedules are being torn asunder by ‘users-watchers’. Users will only accept them when justified by something happening in real time, such as a sports event or breaking news story (and even then, they want to watch them later at their convenience). We all know DVRs, TiVos and VOD increasingly are facilitating the time-shifting of content: Ofcom reports that 34 % of UK households now own a TiVo-like device! (up from 23% two years ago).

Understanding and accepting this single truth will be paramount to broadcasters and will represent the real start of the journey, as it was important for newspapers to understand that ‘once a day delivery’ (another form of fixed schedule) no longer was enough for many news consumers. Only then, the transformation started and news once a day with coffee and croissant became just one of several interactions with the audience.

I feel that what I just wrote is VERY obvious but Randy Covington, who spent a career in print reporting and TV news management and now heads the IFRA Newsplex at the University of South Carolina, told me recently that he was amazed at how many TVs "remain confident about the future of broadcasting and believe they are different from newspapers and will not be affected bt the same tsunami that started to affect newspapers 10 years ago."

Video specific tools. One example from ABC.com

Editors had to adapt the right tools for their websites and similarly, broadcasters have to explore the Web and choose those tools that are appropriate to their needs. Broadcasters cannot depend on Youtube to do the job for them, since it has different business objectives.

There is a good example of adapting tools. It’s the innovative ‘Episode Commentary’ feature of ABC.com, which in order to create traction and retention to the remake of “V,” has started to offer qualified commentaries to the episodes by the show’s experts. Producers, writers, directors, costume designers…and any other talent related to the show offer comments as the episode is being shown and they refer to particular sequences to highlight what they consider relevant. These generally juicy comments are shown to the left of the screen, usually pertain to a specific scene and do not interfere with the show.

This extra layer of content makes the episode richer and more “sticky” and is an excellent tool to create groups of interests. Series-centered communities will soon have the right tool to comment on any detail of every single scene in every episode. It goes without saying that some advertisers ready to adapt to the medium will try to profit from this type of tool (e.g. the garment designer who dressed the protagonist). This is one of the best adapted tools for video I have seen because it adds real content to a series and diminishes the value of a lower quality, pirated download. It relies on the differential value of the larger broadcasters, who often have access to production houses and even to the talent involved in the creative and production process.

Watching video will be the main driver for TV portals/mobile, but users also care about comments made by others. When a relevant video is shown on TV, it is not uncommon for users to go to YouTube to see the comments. That’s why any tools that facilitate interaction and expression of the audience will go in the right direction of adapting the visual experience to the real soul of the Internet. This last layer of interaction cannot be bought. You have to generate it yourself!

Video player options

To develop a video player or to use an established platform? Developing a video player is always a long process, not cheap and then it can get messy. Relying on existing video platforms allows for much faster implementation, but it has limitations as to how far you can go in molding your ideas later. The BBC’s struggles with its own development is a good example. It’s price tag, whether £6M or £20M, as well as the long time it took to develop, make it the wrong example for any for profit organization (although the iPlayer is undoubtedly a platform any broadcaster would like to own). Perhaps a good solution for some broadcasters is to experiment with a third party’s video platform and only later start working a RFP based on lessons learned.

Video platforms remind me of early CMS (content management systems) or WMS (web management systems) as they are called now. They were expensive and not very flexible. Nowadays prices are much lower, open source options are available for smaller or more ‘handy’ editors. They may include search, video, social tools…etc. You can use them to their full possibilities or choose more agile existing alternatives for blogs, for instance. The same is happening with video.

As a contribution to the above comment, Forrester has published an evaluation of existing video platforms. Their report (which ignores players like Kit Digital’s in The Sun) concludes that “Brightcove and Ooyala lead the pack… VMIX and Kaltura follow closely behind with what Forrester calls "comprehensive offerings" from "strong performers," while Twistage and Fliqz are considered to serve more narrow segments of the market…Basic media management, player capabilities, and publishing capabilities are now table stakes for all of the video platform providers, and most differentiate along their capabilities in user-generated video, distribution, monetization, and analytics”.

The importance of a good video platform: the case of BBC’s iPlayer

When editors could not find a way to automate their XML generation and to exploit the advantages of sophisticated WMS their hands were tied up and they couldn’t excel in their new version of their old métier. Again, one notes the similarity with broadcasters who are in many cases struggling with two of the most important pieces of software: a WMS and a proper video platform.

In the UK the percentage of advertising has been the greatest for some years. The UK is also the Western country where more people watch web TV, 29 % of all online Brits, and most of them, 27%, use the iPlayer. Of course the BBC is, according to its website, the “largest broadcasting corporation in the world” and it is a public service funded by a license fee that is paid by UK households. That may begin to explain it but without a proper and sophisticated video platform the situation would probably be different, as it’s different in continental Europe where TV watching online is less popular. Janko Roettgers compares the UK figure with Germany where “around 62 %of all Internet users are watching online video, but only around 4 %regularly, while some 17 %occasionally frequent the media sites set up by TV networks.” What comes clear to me is that having a proper player is fundamental to a good video experience which will attract viewers ‘en masse.’ A quick visit to Alexa shows that the BBC leads the pack in terms of traffic and is only second to hulu in terms of page views per user. Proper technology and content are two sides to the same coin. (End of part 2)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

Television Could Learn from Newspapers when Going Online (Part 1)

2009-11-18T17:43:51+04:00

I think TV broadcasters going digital are moving along a similar path to the one newspapers were forced to take some 10 years ago. Many of their issues run parallel and hence some lessons and solutions encountered by editors may be useful for broadcasters. Strange as it may seem to many, newspapers have been among the earliest adopters of the Internet and among the most successful in terms of traffic since 40% of web users visit newspaper web sites, according to research by Nielsen Online.

Another media tsunami, 10 years later

To pick one single player, Craig Newmark in 1995 began in San Francisco with an email distribution list of friends. In 1996, he created a web service called Craigslist.org. By 2001, North American newspapers started to feel the destructive effect of Craigslist and the Internet on their powerful franchise of printed classifieds. Almost monopolistic businesses until then, dailies saw the barriers to entry disappear and their business begin to crumble. In 2005, 10 years after Newmark, the founders of YouTube started their journey and when Google acquired the site in 2006, a new era began to take shape: extended, cheaper and ubiquitous broadband was eagerly adopted by a generation that does not feel the fixed broadcasting times and frequent interruption of advertisers are built for them. A destructive tsunami (from the incumbents’ point of view) will deploy its slow motion awe and it will take years to reconstruct a new business model. Many buildings -brands - will cease to exist and new ones will take their place. The wider broadband penetration as well as decisions to turn off analog signals (FCC’s required exactly that in June, 2009) guarantee that this time broadcasters are to follow suit faster, as will their P&L.

History never repeats itself but sometimes it behaves in a spiral, which adds new elements to a déjà vu story. In this case, it matters to study the common patterns as well as the differences as some solutions may be common to both.

Some broadcasters are humbled by editors on their own turf…

I have been surprised by the under developed video experience of some broadcast websites and I am going to say something that may surprise many: some smart print editors offer a better online video experience than larger broadcasting companies. I only mention company names in my blog if it’s for the positive and this time will not be an exception. The Wall Street Journal has developed a video center of high quality. Actually, the project has been largely pushed by the guys from the sales department, since advertisers are keen to use their products. The New York Times or tabloids like The Sun in London have also evolved dramatically. Smaller newspapers like the ones owned by Vocento also offer video experiences largely surpassing equivalent, established TV players. On top of that, most of those newspapers offer extremely well integrated video in their news content offerings. So far, newspapers are being smarter at getting money from the TV players than the other way around. Given that editors were not too successful at scraping money from search, video was a logical way forward. Wooed by the high CPMs they can charge, “News Web sites are starting to look a lot less like newspapers and a lot more like television,” according to The New York Times.

…and most newspapers have more traffic than televisions

I have tracked web traffic on two of the largest TV networks in the U.S. (NBC, ABC) and compared it to newspapers like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. In reach (% of Internet users who visit them), the newspapers are way ahead (see graph) and the gap doesn’t seem to be narrowing. As expected, the amount of time spent on site by users is very similar. I’d expect the networks to lead in the future, but we’ll have to wait and see.

As regards page views per user, The Times and ABC are on top, which is a positive since it equals to building advertising inventory. In my last comparison, things change in favor of the networks: their bounce rate (percentage of visitors who "bounce" away to a different site and just visit one single page) is lower. When looking at the keywords being typed in a search engine’s box, it’s obvious that the newspapers do not own or have exclusive rights to the news they feature while the networks do, since users write very frequently the name of the series they want to see.

is simplistic comparison indicates that large dailies are leading in traffic but broadcasters have the possibility to reverse the online status quo. They both see their traditional businesses at risk and are beginning to compete for each other’s advertising budget as never before. At the end of the day, one will be the winner. (End of part 1)

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego

25 Tips for a Modern Newsroom

2009-07-05T11:28:25+04:00

While much gloom and doom has been heralded about newspapers the fact is that many of them have understood that their news gathering and delivering activity goes beyond their occasional paper support and are being highly successful at bringing a refreshing amount of innovation into the online world. Indeed, in many markets news companies are among the fastest growing players in the online world just because a mixture of right vision and management skills are increasingly getting the attention of their audiences. Under these circumstances media companies are asking themselves ‘How should my newsroom be?’ This rather long post intends to shed some light on this issue and is based in my own experiences as well as on conversations with experts on the matter.

Concepts before the onset:

1. Write down your reasons for change and share them with your management team

Let me start with the obvious. Change for the sake of it or just to please the Board or just to imitate successful competitors… is not an enough reason to move forward. Before embarking into such a task you need to state your Business Goal because only it should drive the design process. Also, a warning on the people around you who strive on changes; beware of them since you could move away from your business goal into senseless experimenting. Share your reasons for change with your management team and make sure you have their full support before the start.

2. Don’t go from Newsroom 1.0 to Newsroom 3.0

There are three basic newsroom models coexisting. As Dietmar Schantin mentions in his post “Moving tables is not enough to succeed in a multimedia world” in the Newsroom 1.0, online and paper are managed separately with dedicated editorial for each platform. In the 2.0 there is a cross-media newsroom which exploits some advantages of gathering content for different media. The 3.0 version aims to provide content on multiple channels by integrating the complete news flow across print and digital media from planning to production. For each type of newsroom there are excellent examples of successful newspapers since what counts are the vision and the execution. Still, if you have decided to move from 1.0 to 3.0 you are defying the laws of gravity: your IT and journalists’ skills will not be ready for it. Move slower, from 1.0 to 2.0 and gain the basic experience and skills. All along the process remember that each medium has its own internal logic and rules. If you place the responsibility of digital under a Chief Editor with no enough experience in it he may override some basic concepts and damage delivery.

3. Be eclectic

These are no chartered waters and you will not be able to rely on a textbook solution to guide you in the process. With a business goal in mind you will try to adapt your newsroom to a changing society since only playing a relevant role in it will ensure you play a pivotal role in the community and remain relevant and necessary. Any mechanisms you set to better “plug” yourself, your team and your project to the community and to other newspapers that are doing the same, the more chances you have of doing it right.

4. Commit some investment to R&D. Permanently

Just as the best companies in the world spend no less than 5% of revenues in R & D, in our modern newsrooms we have to maintain operations while at the same time being able to explore and experiment in innovative ways to deliver our merchandise, for instance on how to use today’s killer applications (the facebook and youtubes of the moment). As when referring to the Fortune 500 corporations, “Spending more doesn't necessarily help, but spending too little will hurt”. Even though the key is in how we do things, not just on how much money we devote to experimenting, we need to commit some figures beyond the initial design investment.

5. Get some help from the outside to move a little faster

When envisaging the transformation process top management tends to think of the conceptual challenges ahead and hence they hire consultants to address them. Nevertheless, equally or more important are the HR challenges because as a management professor of mine used to say, “most often the enemy is not outside but inside”, in people’s minds and in their fear of not being able to adapt to the new scenarios. If you decide to choose a consultancy firm, pick one with a track record in working with media and with journalists because the challenges are very specific to this industry. If your journalists are convinced and involved you will be half way through the process.

Concepts on the physical layout of the newsroom

6. Know the advantages of Open Space

You’d think most newsrooms are open space type, but it has been a surprise to me to see how many are divided by walls. Offices have traditionally been associated to hierarchy: the larger the office the more important the boss, and that mentality lurks in many of our people’s minds. Still, our new fast world needs to provide for easy, frequent, informal interactions among our personnel, beyond their own section or working group. Just by going open your operation will minimize barriers and provide a more stimulating setting for the exchange of ideas, among onsite workers and those working outside. Beware of complaints of your model which are nothing but status considerations. Create meeting rooms for people to go private when they need it, for work or just to make a personal call. Design a place where members of your teams can congregate and interact informally, such as a modern type of cafeteria. Last, one technical detail that is often overlooked when creating open spaces: many people gathered together tend to produce noise and which can be disruptive beyond a certain level. Flooring and ceiling should address the problem and contribute to noise reduction.

7. Install a movable layout

The process of implementing a modern newsroom will not lead to a comfortable final destination because it’s just one step forward. After the new newsroom is in place and the team has moved in you’ll need to tweak your design repeatedly to reflect the constant changing needs of your business. Ensure the furniture is movable and the electrical and digital plugs can be moved around. Raised flooring is a must, as well as Wi-Fi and adequate lighting, which will allow for permanent changes and low-risk prototyping.

8. Respect the characteristics of your market

Most likely your market has some special characteristics that your business process has built into its DNA over the years. You should not follow a standard design completely since you risk losing those special abilities that made you unique. Adapt your design to your business. There are no other rules to follow. Respecting the characteristics of his market, Rob Curley in a recent video mentions how in his Las Vegas Sun project a small team of sales people are located within the A&E editorial team allowing for cross-pollination.

9. Elements to include in your newsroom

When talking Newsroom 3.0 or a fully integrated newsroom, there are many basic designs you can find in the Web. Juan Señor has facilitated to me Innovation’s design which is very detailed (top post image by Innovation). According to them your new newsroom should include the following elements:

• Sections currently included in the paper.

• Hub or Super Desk: “the chiefs sit here, where the action is, not hiding in offices. They are visible, accessible and responsible.”

• Graphic Desk: “info graphics and photo desk, located next to the super desk, producing visual journalism where ‘show, don’t tell’ is the norm.”

• Radar Desk: “for monitoring the world via technology focusing on the why and what’s next as opposed to the who, where.”

• Community Desk: “for monitoring, moderating and integrating audience comments, pictures, videos, tips and opinions into every page and section of paper and digital media.”

• Assignment Desk: “planning and assigning resources…; the superdesk relies on the assignment desk to continuously track the whereabouts of reporters, photographers and correspondents and coordinate their schedules.”

• Mini TV/Radio Studios: for news updates; for that 1 min summary at the closing of the stock market; to interview the local celebrity in radio or video; for video chats…etc.

• Hot Desks: for the contributors and freelancers who need occasional desks as the modern newsroom maintain a less permanent staff.

• Other Possible Elements: Meeting Rooms, Public Gallery & Conference Rooms, in which city and community events take place next to “their” newsroom; an Innovation Desk to experiment across all platforms and introduce new products; Digital Walls, where live statistics are shown as well as tweets and inputs from users…etc.

10. Be transparent

By tearing down some walls you have opted for transparency which is a state of mind with physical consequences. Now you want your newsroom to stand for transparency and cooperation; if you need a wall, use glass and never opaque materials. Even meeting rooms should be transparent. Your quest for transparency will eliminate internal silos and push your organization away from comfort zones and ivory towers. The Spokesman Review has gone furthest in this direction by inviting community members into the making of the paper and even into the decision making meetings. Some difficulties in the form of persons with “agendas” may come in the way, but their desire for credibility is worth the trouble.

11. Allow for active networkers

With your new layout in place, pay attention to the networking that takes place within. The real success of your project will take place if the right networkers are able to operate freely across your established organization. They are the energetic people the organization trust and rely on. Regardless of their title, they move around irrespective of the organization chart connecting people and experience, transforming bits of information into added value. They are the energizers. Their enemies are the inertial authority figures who dislike active networkers and hold too high a respect for established channels of communication. By making sure that loose pieces of information are transformed into solutions this breed of employees will increase the possibilities of success of your project. Make sure they are not subdued by your “establishment.” Let there be a certain degree of noise. Total peace belongs to cemeteries.

Concepts on IT

12. To succeed your people will need a proper tool box

Confirm that your company is ready to invest adequately in technical infrastructure since the modern journalist needs the proper tool box to deliver content across media. The CEO and the Board should know that acquiring or developing a good WMS or CMS is an important step but other investments inevitably will follow. Smaller investments will be required in pursuing the adequate delivery of news to every user/reader or target group at any moment of the day.

13. Bring decisions at the beginning of the processes

When visiting newspapers, I still see that some of them strive at the end of the process to fix issues that should have been addressed in the planning stage. Unless they correct their work flow before totally merging operations into a new setting their problems will only multiply. As when Toyota decided to tackle production problems by stopping the production chain when a problem was encountered, thus “preventing defective products from being produced,” papers should make every effort to ensure that as many decisions as possible are addressed at the beginning of the processes since that will force definition of rules. The result will be music instead of noise.

14. Get the right tech people on board

The fast pace of change in the newsrooms makes it impossible to find a single piece of software that is able to handle all editorial needs. This fact reinforces the importance of counting on the best and most experienced IT minds if you are to build the right “technological architecture.” On the other hand, that relevant IT role should not prevent the company from paying attention to the support team which if well selected and trained will be able to overcome journalists’ difficulties giving them the confidence to try new ways to address their problems. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find that the wrong IT support causes frustration on the part of journalists who end up blaming the technology for not being able to move forward. Last, technology has to be so good that the journalists don’t notice it. As with literary masterpieces, the style should not come in the way and steal the attention away from the content.

15. Don’t organize your newsroom around the production process

Randy Covington has repeatedly said that it’s easy to be carried away by an ideal work flow or by the beautiful simplicity of some work flow improvements, but the market usually acts disruptively on businesses. In a similar way, let the market enter the newsroom and have a say on your process. Let the needs of the reader/user and the advertiser’s change your initial thoughts. The market wants you to be fast, to take into considerations many sources of information and in many formats. It also wants the feedback and content of the users to be taken into consideration. IT will have to adapt to market needs regardless of the complexities this decision will add, because content is king.

On telling stories and journalists

16. Search out for the best journalists

Content is the material; journalists are the craftsmen. You cannot embark in transforming your newsroom if your journalists are not prepared for the task. If you have not done it yet, set a hiring policy by which only the ones with a certain tech experience are hired, and make only exceptions with proven story tellers. Train those who are willing to become more tech savvy, reward the ones who reach a multimedia level, ask new journalists to spend no less than one month in the medium they know the least. And while you plan your next newsroom, push for your organization to become fully updated and operational as it regards the current editorial system.

17. Your news site should excel at telling stories

News sites have been very concerned about their CMS and related technical issues, including the training of journalists…, which are all relevant issues; but often they have forgotten about the real strength of old dailies and the reason they have been able to endure and maintain their roots in their communities: telling stories. News sites have excelled at performing many complicated tasks and extending their reach; however, in general they have fared worse than newspapers in regard to owning well executed stories relevant to the audience. In the new world you are facing, you should keep in mind that news are first, technology/platforms/workflows come later. We all know this but it’s worth remembering.

18. In the process don’t overlook the watch dog role

It’s only natural that when newspapers become digital they start using their traffic and brand to enter into adjacent territories: job/house/car sites, coupons and promotions, community portals, deep A&E…etc. After all, they were traditional sections of the newspapers. Stretching the brand is not necessarily bad as long as it is continuously reinforced. As dailies have known for centuries, one of the best ways of strengthening the brand has been by fulfilling the watch dog role that the community expected from them. When thinking of news work flows and layout remember that investigative reporting cannot be lost in the process. The community needs to ascertain that ‘your brand’ still looks after the community.

19. Go back to where you once belonged!

Thanks to your investments in top class tech minds and in soft/hardware there are many things you can do now that before were simply impossible. Journalists can work from any location thanks to laptops, smart phones, photo cameras which shoot video…etc. For too long newspapers have either forced or at least accepted that journalists come to work in the newsroom and only go out for scheduled press conferences or events. Now is the time to push them back to the community, where the news not reflected by wires and agencies are happening. If you wait for wires you will be a “me-too-medium,” whereas if you create the news you set the agenda; you lead and others follow; you are the reference and thus become necessary. Experiment with this concept and work for the community from inside the community.

20. Promote the “journalist as a personality” profile

If we agree that papers and news sites should grow their roots in the community, it would also seem that the modern journalist, armed with many more ways to establish links with readers should also work in the same direction. Some journalists in the new setting should fit Steve Outing’s description of this new professional: “…she puts herself out there as a personality -- a human being you can get to know by following her, and who is an expert on a topic you care about (like medical news, or crime, state government, and the like). She will communicate with her readers, answer their questions and accept tips about topics she should cover, and accept criticism when she makes mistakes. In my view of the newspaper sans paper, every journalist is a personality, not just an anonymous byline.”

Last, some concepts on sales

21. Focus on your sales team

If you were relying on a third party for the job, hire in-house salespeople; be the master of your destiny. Dependence on a third party to obtain revenues will deprive you of walking along the learning curve of the sales process of the modern news operation which is complex because of its many new products and possibilities. Choose well trained, ‘coin operated’ individuals. Offer them a strong compensation system that they can understand and verify anytime they want. Your CCO should use a good CRM to control the operation. If however, this is not the case, do not complicate your life with it just now, instead experiment with a little “cloud computing” CRM such as salesforce.com. Lastly, keep training always in mind since it is absolutely a must. Your CRM will help you find out if selling of new products is being addressed and hence where to focus your training.

22. Sell audiences

Odds are you are selling media products. Soon you will discover that you will make more money if you become more relevant to your clients by selling audiences. If, for instance, your client’s target is high income individuals you can offer him an audience made of different products and media. When considering your layout, do not forget sales because matching the increasing degree of sophistication of your products with your clients’ needs is difficult. Some salespeople will need to have access to some of the Hot Desks we mentioned before, next to the product operators. In any case, it’s a good idea to expose your salespeople to the newsroom, by rotating them. Avoid at any price having them in a different building away from the newsroom!

23. Automate your sales

Automate your sales operation: call centers are bringing good results to many players, especially when they call on specialized clients with ad hoc offers (e.g. offering a good auto site to car dealers). For this type of sale, I also recommend in-house personnel. As your operation is turning digital, smarter clients may be ready to hire online solutions without your team’s intervention but with call center assistance. Start planning for it.

24. Get the right ad server or suffer

I apologize if this tip is obvious to most, but I have visited players who had not solved ad serving properly. A good ad server is used by media companies and advertising agencies to traffic, target, deliver, and report on their interactive advertising campaigns. It works with rich media, video, search and affiliate marketing to help them make the most of the digital medium. It greatly simplifies the administration effort by all parties and minimizes unsold inventory for publishers. This choice is not a minor one. Ask, compare and get references. We are talking core organs here!

25. Wrapping it up

Our business is about delivering content when and how the audience wants it. To achieve it, media companies have to go digital and transform themselves completely. Not only do HR, journalists, technical personnel, salespeople…have to adapt, but the entire environment must adapt as well. In transforming the newsroom, do it in incremental steps, and don’t get distracted from your core “telling stories” by the means (design and technology). Read, ask, visit and if possible bring some proven consulting experience to interact with your journalists. Reassure them that they will be working differently, smarter, not longer hours. As always in the case of Change Management situations, involving and motivating your HR is the most important facet.

Finally, focus on marketing and your sales will follow. If you interpret well the changes in the market, revenues will come.

You are free to use this article in your publication as long as you credit the author Fernando Samaniego.

Reorganization of Media Groups

2009-04-27T09:08:22+04:00

During the last decade most Media Groups have organized themselves around their type of media properties, around their channels. That is, papers, TV, radio…were independent divisions responsible for that channel and its production and sales functions. Each division being very autonomous they were often located in separate buildings and also competed against each other.

There were numerous reasons for that: different types of expertise and skills were needed in each case, the strong medium was afraid of piggybacking the weaker ones…etc. Most important, the consideration went, each medium had to follow the internal rules and logic specific to it and being apart was the right thing to do. In the case of internet the real fear was that the more traditional and not very dynamic culture of newspapers would slow down the new medium. Indeed, all those considerations were correct and “life apart” has probably helped many online players to develop fast and be successful.

During that last half a dozen years numerous dailies have shown a remarkable ability to reinvent themselves. In parallel, online projects have shown a great ability to embed all other media and the leading media executives have discovered that the “living apart” solution had to evolve into a “back to living together” but in a radically different way.

The reorganization issue just reflects other strategic topics being debated. As our societies become richer and more sophisticated and as advertisers and agencies try to reach increasingly differentiated consumers, shouldn´t media groups facilitate their job by offering target groups across all media? On the content side, how come audiences are discovering multitasking and media groups are not doing anything about it? Those and many more questions are advising media companies to abandon production considerations in favor of concentrating their efforts on audiences.

Once top management begins to travel this road the way forward is not a simple one and any reference to the solutions other players are using becomes important. The consulting firm Innovation has either visited or led these experiments around the world and offers some advice on things to do and pitfalls to avoid. This article by Chris O´Brien and Juan Señor from Innovation sheds some light on how to organize a multimedia group and offers many examples around the world. It´s worth reading!

In my experience, only companies with a certain degree of performance in each of those media should try to move as far as it is mentioned in the article. For less developed companies, they first should prove themselves as adequate independent operators in each medium since bringing the online operations next to the offline ones should only happen when the internet people have been able to develop their own culture and rhythm.

Chart copyright Innovation Media Consulting Group

TV and Internet Merger

2009-04-03T12:16:38+04:00

Experiments to merge TV and internet have systematically failed but that has not discouraged new players from trying because most pundits believe that the right formula/s will eventually be found. Previous attempts by Microsoft and Apple seem to point at that moment where the two media will work together through the development of creative formulas still unknown to each of them. Multitasking, increasing lower third TV screens and the example of online video including support content are some of the trends heralding that moment.

A recent video in the Wall Street Journal showed the latest joint effort by Samsung and Yahoo! to achieve the active coexistence of TV and online. But as an innovation from previous experiments, the merger has been performed using Yahoo!’s widgets. It has allowed the internet to coexist with the TV programming, and the viewer-user the ability to surf the internet without having to opt out from TV. Like my first car of some 30 years ago - although the product can be improved, it does the job.

The implications for editors and local portals are not minor. As time goes by, the site-only strategy will simply not be enough. The past news portals have represented the logical extension of newspapers into the digital era; however the time has arrived for them to open up. Regardless of the beauty and size of the portals, users need more than merely accessing content through them. We should facilitate their access through doors- as many as possible-, windows, chimney, floor cracks…etc. Easy to say and hard to do? Yes, indeed, but a visionary company will slowly travel in that direction by developing easier access to its content: news portal/s, complementary sites, content conceived for mobile, widgets for specific pieces of information, IPod casting, presence in the big sites (YouTube, Facebook…)…etc, and now television.

Away from newspaper-like type of information where the content is mostly textual and long, online editors have to think in terms of data base type of content, ready to be complemented, expanded, commented, reused, searched…etc. An article published in the paper is less and less relevant in the new environment of the “percolated house” since our products require content elements that can be linked together and repurposed. A textual description of a new film is a short lived element in a newspaper, whereas the same film description can be formatted from its inception in smaller packages which can be permanently used online to support, for instance, even the movie protagonist’s bio many years later. Those smaller packages can merge with images and video, they can be part of the skeleton for other sites such as trivia contests, affinity evaluations…etc. They can be searched, reused, surfed in the PC, mobile…and now, thanks to Samsung and Yahoo! they will be repurposed when that very movie is being shown on TV.

Because of their tremendous content and their position in the cities, newspapers can count on a large network of collaborators. If they are to be the references of the on-goings on in their cities, the ability to gather “evergreen” information in the data base format will present an enormous competitive advantage.

News Portals: From Free to Fee?

2009-03-28T22:40:58+04:00

Almost from the beginning news portals have been trying to find formulas to charge their readers/users. Experiments abound. Most attempts have failed because the decisions were too radical and they neglected the existence of free audiences. A great example may be found in the following illustration: for a long time Spain’s elpaís.com had been open to subscribers and when it realized it had to change its business model it found out that its competitor elmundo.es had become the leader.

The Wall Street Journal provides another example in combining subscriptions with free and massive traffic in an effort to generate revenues from advertising. Only last week I was talking to a consultant who mentioned that some newspapers were studying the effect of establishing micro-payments. It would not be very different from the tolls being paid by cars when traveling along a highway, except that in the former case the editor would establish a daily limit to reassure the user.

Recently the New York Times featured an article on the Global Post (a.k.a. GP) which sheds light on the revenue issue. The permanent cost reduction strategy implemented by many large newspapers has had many casualties among correspondents around the world, and has offered GP its opportunity. Conceived as a for-profit project, GB has created a network of some 60 correspondents around the world who live in the countries they write about, to insure quality.

The project was funded with $8.5M and was launched in January, 2009. Although too early to judge its viability, it offers some lessons on approaching revenues. First, it relies on advertising as any other news portal. Second, it hopes to obtain subscription fees from avid readers desiring international coverage. The tag is not low: the cost is about $199 per year, and allows subscribers the opportunity to suggest ideas for articles, opening the newsroom to its audience. Finally, given its solid network of international correspondents (chosen from among over 500 candidates), some established media have subscribed to their syndication, which represents a third source of income. Willing to complement revenues, they reached an agreement with a CBS Radio News to play the role of its international network of correspondents.

GB is a non political line project based on storytelling journalism and top analysis covering international issues, as well as business, technology, and energy. Founded by America’s largest regional cable news company, and a foreign correspondent and innovator in multimedia, it boasts a correspondent’s network only second to the Associated Press. The project is ambitious and the market needs it. While waiting to see if it takes off, some teachings regarding revenue diversification can be used, especially as it concerns subscriptions.

I guess Global Post represents one of those experiments, such as The Huffington Post, that anyone interested in newspapers and news portals has to keep track of.