Posts Tagged ‘Newspapers’

My home town’s daily newspaper switched to paywall model this week. This switch includes full news content available through an iPad app. The app is built on NewspaperDirect’s PressReader software that I reviewed earlier this year.

PressReader for iPad: Newspaper Replica App That Actually Works Well & Looks Good

The newspaper chose the least objectional paywall option: Subscribers of the paper newspaper get complete access to news content via the web and a iPad app. And, breaking news is visible to everyone on the web.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser Premium (iTunes App Store)

I had a problem initially where web access worked but the iPad app would not accept my account name and password. An email to the newspaper’s support staff cleared up this problem in less than 24 hours.

The PressReader software works as well as can be expected of an app that produces a visual replica of a paper newspaper. It is not optimal for news presentation. But, it works as well as can be expected given the design constraints. And, the app presented either a new feature or one that I missed during my reivew of PressReader earlier this year: Tapping an article headline brings up an overlay window with a headphones icon in the bottom left corner. Tapping starts a reasonably good text-to-speech engine that reads the article out loud to you. There two big advantages of reading a newspaper online (even in a replica editin):

1. There are no ink stains on fingertips.
2. Color photos (even advertisements) really pop out on the iPad’s display. Photos look so much better than on relatively low quality news print paper.

There is one important missing feature: There is no way to electronically share an article with someone – the equivalent of passing a page or section to someone. The only way to share something is to use the app’s option to print a page or print the entire screen (refer to the screenshot to see these options).

Can an essentially small town paper survive with a web and app paywall? As I said earlier, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser chose the least objectionable paywall option. At the very least, they will not loose paper subscribers since the subscription includes web and app content access.

Ever since Amazon announced the Kindle eReader device, there has been speculation about whether Amazon would provide a subsidized version. It took a while, but recently Amazon started selling the Kindle with Special Offers, which is a Kindle that you can buy for $114 that displays special offers and sponsored screensavers on the Kindle screensaver and on the bottom of the home screen. Today the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News newspapers announced a pilot program in which they will sell discounted Android tablets that has access to their content built-in.
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In the future, newspapers will replace the internet, and the iPhone will be conspicuous by its absence.

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The effort to move newspapers and magazines out of the paperbound 19th and 20th centuries into the 21st century fascinates me. It fascintes me because I they were important and should survive to continue to contribute to our culture and record our history. So, how are they doing on the iPad? I took a look at Apple’s list of the Top Grossing iPad Apps as of the wee hours of April 15, 2011 and found these e-publication apps in the top 200. I added in comic book apps into the mix too

11. The Daily
17. New York Post
26. People Magazine
33. Comics (comiXology multiple brands)
42. Marvel Comics (comiXology)
57. DC Comics
64. Popular Science
89. Popular Photography
110. Martha Stewart Living
141. Wired Magazine
150. New Yorker
166. Vanity Fair
171. Bloomberg Businessweek
180. New York Daily News

Although it dropped out of the top 10, The Daily continues to be the top grossing iPad e-publication app. Its slick look, interesting content and reasonable subscription price probably have a lot to do with its success. comiXology owns the comic book space. All three comic book apps in the top 200 list are branded varients of comiXology’s comic book reading and purchasing engine. The only two technology related magazines in the top grossing apps are Popular Science and Wired.

It is also interesting to note the e-publication apps that are nowhere to be seen in the top 200 apps: TIME magazine? Newsweek? National Geographic?

Newspapers are dying. Ironically, it’s all over the news — but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a healthy dose of journalism anymore. Blogging and other forms of social media have replaced the hard copy newspapers we all used to pay for, but in many cases, these new media sources teach us more about what makes for quality content. Tweets aren’t just replacing newspapers, they’re making us better at reading the news. Read more

Okay, the deed is done: online has finally beaten print. The advertising dollars have been counted, and it looks like bits and bytes are prevailing in 2010, though the margin is slim. According to research from eMarketer, writes Peter Kafka of AllThingsD, web advertising spend is poised to hit $25.8 billion in 2010, while newspaper ad spend will reach $25.7 billion. Interestingly, $3 billion of the 2010 newspaper take is actually online.

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The National Post, a daily Canadian newspaper, has done some interesting things with FourSquare and other social media, and embraces a balance between traditional media and extending its reporting into social media. We had the opportunity to chat with Chris Boutet, Senior Producer, Digital Media at the National Post, about why social media is a natural extension of what goes on in the newsroom.

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The New York Times now has more Twitter followers than print circulation. Could a future of so long print and hello headlines in 140 characters or less be far away?

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If you know me, you would know that I’m one of the most avid consumers of content. Then again, it is my job. One type of content that I don’t consume on a daily basis is newspapers. While I visit news sites of individual newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal of the Washington Post, I never purchase a paper and probably never will again. It simply doesn’t make sense for me. The industry is rapidly trying to devise a strategy for saving itself, and they’ve been searching for a strategy for a long time now.
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If you wanted me to give you a one word summary of newspapers in the future I would say: dead.  That’s not really the truth though and it’s not an accurate global picture. The reality is that these companies, while slow to adopt new technologies for the most part are catching on and with cash in hand they are going to start snapping up those companies that understand new media most. So what is the consistency of an ex-newspaper company, future “new media” company?

• Researchers – Researchers may be one of the most important members of the new media company. These are the people that are constantly sifting through information and determining which articles to write about. They also don’t just find information through their filtering system but they also inquire to individuals to get commentary on issues in addition to getting more information about stories. Frequently the line between researchers and writers can be blurred.
• Producers – The producers are creating content that will be displayed and promoted. They are the writers, podcasters and video production teams. The average visitor comes to the new media company’s site to consume the content created by the producers. While the producers are frequently looking for content, just as the researchers do, these individuals’ specialty is in the art of creating unique and intriguing content.
• Editors – The editors are simply experienced producers. They have learned the lessons that new media has to offer and now they are teaching this to others. The editor also produces content on occasion but their job is more about teaching rather than doing.
• Designers – If you are building a new media company from the ground up, it better look good. You could argue about this until the cows come home. To the naysayers, I know that the Drudge Report doesn’t look great but then again they have a proven track record of breaking news stories time and time again. All I will say is that it is much easier to sell something when it looks good. In addition to designing your own site they will be providing design services to all your advertisers. Remember those people? Yeah, they are the ones that help keep you in business. If you make them look good, they will reward you generously.
• Developers – The developers make everything happen. You need to have developers to help you say on the leading edge of new media. This requires constant innovation and keeping a pulse on emerging technologies. In turn, you can provide your advertisers with more unique advertising solutions.
• Community Managers – The community managers loves your community. Every new participant in the community needs to be welcomed and supported. Without these guys your company is going to lack product evangelists and it will also lack transparency. You want anybody to be able to contact you and you want to respond to most inquiries. Each organization has a different ratio for number of active members to each individual community member. If you need to start calculating this, you are headed in the right direction.
• Events Coordinators – New media companies are master connectors. They help connect the community. While the connecting is done by the executives, the event coordinators help to organize “real world” events which enables people to connect on a personal level. If your company is the center of connecting people, you are going to be insanely valuable.
• Business Developers – This is straightforward and it’s the same way it has always been. You need a business development team to make money! This team helps you generate revenue and revenue is always a good thing. Hire people that have built a solid network with big advertisers and you are destined for success.
• Executives – Executives are the super-connectors and managers. While the management is more important, being able to connect people to generate partnerships is critical. The executives also set the vision for the organization so they better know what’s going on.

The new media company doesn’t simply write about the community, they are now forced to connect with the community. While there are more roles that could be added to this theoretical organization that I’ve written about, the main point is that while there are still similar roles and tiles, the roles have changed and the system has been transformed. While not the majority, a large percentage of content consumers also want to be engaged with the organization that is providing them with information.

Is there anything that I’m missing from this?