future-of-journalism

This column on today's Guardian site takes off on Chris Daly's post which about co-operative ownership of news organizations. If you open up this original URL, it has several links within it.

-- bill

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2007/05/would_newspapers_benefit_if_re.html

Guardian Unlimited

Monday May 28 2007

Would newspapers benefit if readers owned them?

By Roy Greenslade
The Guardian of London

A journalism academic believes he has the answer to the current US newspaper ownership crisis: form readership co-operatives. Boston University journalism professor Chris Daly argues his case in some detail on his blog. He begins by asking whether who owns papers, and how they own them, makes much difference to the journalism. His answer: of course it does.

Pointing to the unrest among the New York Times's investors about the company's stagnant share price and to the pressure on the Wall Street Journal's owners to sell out (to Rupert Murdoch), he writes:

"What both of these valuable news operations need is essentially the same thing: a way to keep ownership in the hands of people who really care about journalism and to insulate themselves from ever being controlled by someone with a different motive. What they need, in short, is a new form of
ownership."

That "new form" is "the existing subscriber base of both newspapers... a precious asset... that is not realising its full potential." So Daly suggests that the current owners of both papers "should take a cue from public broadcasting and launch a 'pledge drive' the likes of which no one has ever seen. Instead of just sending money, the subscribers could be enlisted to buy stock."

Fine in theory, but could it work in practice? According to Daly's "back-of-the-envelope calculations" it could. He has done some sums which suggest that if a million Times subscribers purchased stock worth $2,000 (£1,000) they could buy up a majority stake in the company. And ditto for the Journal.

He concludes: "If those of us who are serious about serious journalism would step up and become part-owners, we could do it... Any buyers?"

I recall that Robert Maxwell had a somewhat similar idea in 1991 when he decided to float the Mirror group by urging readers to buy shares. His appeal failed for all sorts of reasons. For example, the use of the Andy Capp cartoon character was inappropriate. But the main factors were that Mirror readers either lacked the cash or didn't trust Maxwell, or both. The Sulzbergers and the Bancrofts have much better reputations. Their readers are better off, and are more sympathetic to stock market investment than the Mirror's readership would have been. So there may be merit in Daly's thoughtful idea.

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Comments
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Posted by AndrewGA on May 28, 2007 10:59 AM:

The Bristol Evening Post - "the paper all Bristol asked for and helped to create" - was born out of local dissatisfaction when the newspaper war between Harmsworth and Northcliffe resulted in closure of the much-loved Times and Mirror. A leader in the first edition of the Post said: "Being owned, directed and produced by men of the West - the vast proportion of them born and bred in Bristol - we believe no one can rightly claim that he or she should be able to appreciate and share so entirely the feelings, aspirations and desires of our fellow citizens or so thoroughly supply their needs".

So, yes, local ownership can work, although big business usually gets its way in the end. The Post became a part of the Northcliffe group.

Posted by jonthemilk on May 28, 2007 11:01 AM:

People read what they want or like to read, or what they believe to be correct. So the proposal might make little difference to what political slant they obtain their information. However a more diverse spectrum of media information is essential for the UK in particular, as it is dominated by right wing individuals, businesses and organisations. More balance is required, and the idea of co-operatives owning their own media outlets is something I would like to see Government incentivise in the future. Then again, we are back to the argument of whether competition, privatisation, 'the market' are the way forward. In terms of the media, clearly they are not. Even our Government make policy in response to media headlines, call that democracy??

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Posted by Bolshy on May 28, 2007 1:30 PM:

It's worth pointing out that one national daily newspaper already exists in Britain that's owned by its readers through a co-operative -- the Morning Star. It has been run on such a democratic basis since the establishment of the People's Press Printing Society in 1945.

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Posted by Manclad on May 28, 2007 11:49 PM.

If you give people what they want you end up with garbage like Heat, which was focus grouped to within an inch of its life at its launch. If you don't give people what they like to read then you go bust, but that's a different argument.

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EXCERT FROM BELOW:

"Long term, we've got to get paid for news (online) or we can't keep producing
it," he said. But he said that has to be an industry-wide solution and not just
one paper acting alone.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/14446579.htm
Posted on Fri, Apr. 28, 2006email thisprint this

No major changes, new owner tells Pioneer Press

BY JOHN WELBES
St. Paul [Minn.] Pioneer Press

The fate of the Pioneer Press became a little clearer Thursday as William Dean Singleton said the newspaper won't see major changes after his company becomes its owner sometime this summer.

"You're joining us because we want you," Singleton, the CEO of MediaNews Group Inc., told employees packed into a stifling conference room. "We think there's a lot of opportunity here, and if we didn't want it, we wouldn't have bought it."

His arrival at the Pioneer Press followed the announcement Wednesday of a four-paper acquisition by MediaNews, which is based in Denver. Singleton's company, teaming with Hearst Corp., is buying the St. Paul paper and three California papers in a complicated $1 billion deal.

Singleton said he and the top people at his newspapers are trying to craft the best strategy for growth on the Internet side of the business.

"Long term, we've got to get paid for news (online) or we can't keep producing it," he said. But he said that has to be an industry-wide solution and not just one paper acting alone.

John Welbes can be reached at jwelbes@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2175.

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URL: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2007/05/09/2753/

BuzzMachine

By Jeff Jarvis
New Assignmentÿÿs progress

The first fruits of NewAssignment.netÿÿs labors are up at Wired ÿÿ an article about Cizendium ÿÿ and Jay Rosen reports on the process and what theyÿÿre learning, transparent to their word. ÿÿWhether Assignment Zero worked or not is ultimately in the journalism,ÿÿ Jay concludes. ÿÿRight now Iÿÿd say about 28 percent of what we did worked. But thereÿÿs time to push that up.ÿÿ

I still think much of this is in the assignment. This assignment was influenced, perhaps too much, by the first partner, Wired. The original concept was that the public would pick the story it wanted to work on and though that would have been difficult to pull off from a standing start, now that there is a community around NA.net, I think it would be easier to open up the assignment part of the process as well. Jay quotes some criticism and worry from the start of the project, including from me:

We were criticized for starting with a geeky and self-referential story. ÿÿMan, you could have tackled health care, education, immigration, race relations, religion - or any number of real news topics,ÿÿ said Tom Watson, whose instincts I respect. ÿÿAnd the thing is, even if this thing rocks, it will only prove the concept to a bunch on insider head-nodders anyway.ÿÿ

Itÿÿs a fair point, and I replied to it here. Jeff Jarvis, a friend of the project, said we started with something too hard. ÿÿI think they actually bit off a big bite for their first story,ÿÿ he wrote, ÿÿbecause itÿÿs more qualitative than quantitative, more about interviews and views than numbers and facts.ÿÿ He was more right than I thought at the time. I think itÿÿs worth trying to list the characteristics of the ideal networked story. Iÿÿm still thinking that itÿÿs something more fact- and data-based, more quantitative than qualitative. This allows the gathering of news that would not have been possible with a tiny team of journalists: What can 1,000 people learn that one cannot? It also implies a broader story, for why would 1,000 people want to help gather reporting unless they cared about the results? And it yields something we didnÿÿt know until we could gather it, and thatÿÿs the essence of news.

I think that NewAssignment.net has already answered the biggest and most critical question: Will people give a damn sufficient to go to the effort of journalism? Will they be able to work together? Can the tasks be split up so that they can accomplish something as a whole? Iÿÿd say the answers appear to be yes. So to me, the real question is how best people can harnass themselves to accomplish journalism together. And I think the art of that will be in the assignment. Iÿÿd start the discussion on Assignment One now.

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From the World Association of Newspaper's "Editor's Weblog":

http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis//2007/05/countdown_to_cape_town_managing_the_info.php#more

Blogarama - The Blogs Directory

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Posted by John Burke on May 8, 2007 at 03:22 PM

Countdown to Cape Town: managing the Information Center at Gannett

Over the past six months, much praise has been showered upon Americaÿÿs largest newspaper publisher, Gannett, for its ambitious locally-focused, multimedia project, The Information Center. The companyÿÿs Vice President of New Media Content, Jennifer Carroll, spoke with the Editors Weblog about the way in which management handled the venture and convinced newsrooms of the need for change, previewing her presentation at the 14th World Editors Forum.

At Gannett, change began at the top. About 18 months ago, the companyÿÿs then-recently appointed CEO, Craig Dubow, wrote up a plan calling for all divisions to look forward and gathered a team whose specific task was to explore new concepts as well as training and research for staff. Keeping in mind the break-up of the nationÿÿs second largest newspaper chain, Knight Ridder, the principal idea behind Dubowÿÿs initiative was to get Gannettÿÿs newspapers to think beyond once a day publishing and to move towards the future with greater speed than they ever had before. The paperÿÿs newsrooms were no longer to be named as such, but as Information Centers, 24-hour, local, multimedia publishing operations.

Carroll and the team Dubow summoned isolated 7 areas that needed testing and in the spring of 2006 began experimenting at three different papers of different sizes: small, medium and large. The three papers tested all areas but were asked to emphasize focus on two or three, for instance, databases or community blogs. By using these papers as laboratories, Gannett was able to understand how new media concepts in the newsroom needed to be executed and implemented across its 90 papers countrywide. The trials were successful and by autumn of 2006, it was ready to roll out the Information Center across the company. All of the Gannettÿÿs newsrooms officially became Information Centers on May 1, 2007.

Training programs were drawn up and tailored for editors and journalists. The need to innovate was instilled in them and it was made clear to them that they had an opportunity to do so like no other time in history. Through optimistic new media training, Gannett found that their staffs were receptive and eager. Print journalists all of a sudden knew how to do video journalism through courses with broadcast specialists. At the same time, management realized the huge investment it was making and set aside capital for the programs and new equipment for its newsrooms.

Carroll noted that one of the most important means of assuring success in revamping an industry very set in its print ways was to keep in very close and constant contact with all of the companyÿÿs newsrooms. In the run-up to their official conversion to Information Centers, management sent out a note to editors at all papers asking what their concerns and needs were. At the same time, it was preparing the next level of training for its journalists, including courses on local databases which individual papers have developed for their communities and how to converse with their readers, who are chatting more and more on Gannett papersÿÿ websites about important issues close to home. Watchdog sections of their websites are also being set up to further serve readers.

Now that the Information Centers have been launched, Gannett is working on ways of monetizing them. Local advertisers have been very receptive, said Carroll, since most realize that younger demographics are spending a lot of their media time on the Web. And services the paper provides on its websites such as chat rooms for local moms are incredibly successful for advertisers focusing on targeted groups. According to Carroll, the pace at which the company is now moving is blinding. Most stereotypes peg journalists as frightened of change, but journalists at Gannett are proud of what they have already accomplished and are anxious to learn more. Primarily, they enjoy the fact the Information Center has helped them to help their communities, the main reason for which they became journalists in the first place.

Posted by John Burke on May 8, 2007 at 03:22 PM

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The following news release was distributed today by the World Association of Newspapers in conjunction with a analysts' briefing it held in London and the launch of an advertising campaign. The WAN statment says the report and briefing is part of a global initiative "to promote the power of the newspaper and to rectify some of the absurd and damaging claims being made about its imminent demise."

The full presentation can be downloaded from http://www.wan-press.org/london2007

Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 12:06:13 +0200
From: Larry Kilman <lkilman@wan.asso.fr>
Subject: Press release - WAN/World Press Trends

Newspaper Circulation Rises World-wide
Number of New Titles Grows Significantly
"A Vibrant, Growing Industry"

LONDON, May 8, 2007 -- Global newspaper circulation rose nearly 2 percent in 2006 and the number of newspaper titles also increased significantly, according to provisional data revealed today by the World Association of Newspapers.

Paid-for newspaper circulation went up 1.9 percent year-on-year to more than 510 million paid-for copies in 2006 and the number of new paid-for titles grew to more than 11,000 for the first time in history, WAN announced during presentations in London to investors, analysts and media correspondents. "The prognosis for newspapers is actually quite different to conventional wisdom," said Gavin O'Reilly, President of WAN and Chief Operating Officer of Independent News & Media Ltd. "Those of us in the newspaper business are very confident in the future -- a future that is built on doing what we do best -- producing relevant and compelling products for our local markets, aggregating growing audiences and showcasing them to advertisers," he said.

The numbers presented Tuesday are based on preliminary figures gathered by WAN from more than 200 countries and territories -- everywhere newspapers are published -- for its annual World Press Trends survey, which will be published next month at the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Cape Town, South Africa (http://www.wn-press.org/capetown2007).

Tuesday's presentation revealed:

- Paid-for circulations grew 1.9 percent over 12 months and 8.7 percent over five years. When free newspapers are added, global circulation grew 4.3 percent year-on-year.

- Free daily newspaper circulation more than doubled over five years, to 40.8 million copies a day.

- More than 1.4 billion people now read a newspaper daily.

- Paid-for daily titles surpassed 11,000 for the first time in history.

- Print is the biggest advertising medium in the world, with a 42 percent share. Newspapers alone are the second largest, with 29.4 percent of global advertising spend. "Hidden in those figures is the fact that newspapers -- as the second largest advertising medium to TV -- actually represent more than the combined advertising value of radio, cinema, magazines and the internet," Mr O'Reilly said.

- Advertising revenues rose 4 percent in 12 months and 15.6 percent over the past five years.

- More than 6 billion US dollars have been invested in newspaper printing and production equipment in the last 18 months.

The full presentation can be downloaded from http://www.wan-press.org/london2007

"There is no shortage of statistical data on circulations, on readership, on viewership, on time spent online -- and while there are doubtless pluses and minuses in the detail for newspapers, the indisputable fact is that newspapers increasingly represent the mass market media channel of the future and not the past, delivering a large, broadly stable, reliable and definable demographic," said Mr O'Reilly.

The new figures were revealed in presentations at WAN's Capital Markets Day in London, which is part of a global WAN initiative to promote the power of the newspaper and to rectify some of the absurd and damaging claims being made about its imminent demise. The event drew investors, analysts and advisors from major investment banks and companies including Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Alliance Bernstein, Fidelity International, and many others. The campaign also includes a multi-language, multi-market advertising campaign that WAN is running to provide a necessary counterbalance to the misinformation about newspapers. The first ad ran in British and other major markets today.

"The Facts About Newspapers, Not the Myths," presentation also revealed that:

- Of the established media, newspapers are far better at managing the economic cycle than their competitors.

- Newspapers represent the only true mass media market channel ­ being essentially ³fragmentation-proof².

- Newspapers are competing far more effectively against the onslaught of digital media than broadcast.

- Broadband penetration is not adversely impacting underlying volumes of advertising.

- In the last 24 months, more new, innovative newspaper products have been launched than over the prior 30 years.

- The new ³free² dailies have - in a short time - captured over 40 million readers, particularly among the young.

- Newspaper companies continue to invest heavily in their business and their future.

"I want to suggest that the risk profile for newspapers has now shifted to the upside -- in other words, newspapers are back on the investment horizon," said Mr O'Reilly. "That is not to say that everyone is universally bullish about them yet, but with newspaper multiples nearing historic lows, they now represent a fantastic investment opportunity."

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy
St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49
48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr