Will Newspaper win local Web battle ?

 

Can Newspapers dominate the local Web? Will newspapers retain their leading position in the local online news space? Can another local media entity or pure-play take a successful run at them, or will an outsider like Yahoo or Google come in for the kill?

As an example of the turmoil and uncertainty being faced by the Newspaper industry, Merrill Lynch recently sold off its stake in the New York Times. They were the second largest shareholder in the Old Gray Lady.

Click below to hear how the NYT, (and other papers) continue to miscalculate the online space, how other papers look to the Times for guidance (blind leading the blind?), and what the news organization of the future will look like. In this short podcast, Ed Driscoll interviews Mike Malone; author of ‘The Silicon Insider’ at ABC News.

How can Newspaper retain the position of ‘King of Local Online Media’? Let’s use some SWOT analysis; strength, weakness, opportunity and threat…… to see where Newspaper currently fits into the Web 2.0 landscape.

>> Strength
Writing, journalism, and photography. Strong relationships with media buyers. Trusted brand names. Big head start on TV and Radio, with their online efforts. Usually the biggest, local websites in a market, still getting the lion’s share of advertising.

>> Weakness
Circulation declining faster than originally predicted. Legacy culture. Pure plays like Monster, Craigslist, and Cars.com, pummeling the #1 source of revenue; classifieds. Hard costs that are variable and usually rising: gas for delivery vehicles, newsprint, ink, staffing requirements, healthcare. huge infrastructure of printing presses, physical plant, and office buildings.

>> Opportunity
Reinvigorate their business. Leverage hyper-local advantages. Tap fast growing online marketing dollars. Move into the explosive video/database/social networking space. Aggregate, enable, and moentize local bloggers. Fill content holes not being adequetly served by building new niche content sites. Steal share from TV and Radio.

>> Threat
News moving quickly towards becoming a commodity. Google, Yahoo, pure plays, and bloggers gaining ground. Competitors now have lower barriers to entry, and are not encumbered by the legacy costs and culture of Newspapers.

What should Newspaper do to protect and grow their dominant position ?

• Aggregate, enable and monetize the local blogosphere.
• Develop a network of niche content sites, not being adequately served by mainstream media.
• Accelerate move into video and other multi-media. ( Don’t steal ideas from TV ! )
• Offer robust local search for users and advertisers.
• Provide easy and inexpensive, online marketing solutions for small businesses.
• Tap local/regional databases, and put into user friendly form. 
• Stop just being “the newspaper online”. Instead, become the #1 online source for news/info for your community.
• Create 2-way discussion with readers.

My Blog: Kelsey Interactive Local Conference

Blog Update 12/01/97  9pm, EST 

>> Added the final group of pics to the slide show above.

>> Here is a link to the Kelsey Blog, that recaps the entire conference.

Blog Update 11.29.07   6pm, PT 

>> Added new pics to the slide show above.

Blog update 11.29.07    1pm, PT

>> Thought I would bump into Britney or Lindsey while out here. But alas, I guess my best and only celebrity sighting so far was seeing David Steinberg in the hotel lobby, and the little quiet guy from Penn and Teller getting a bite to eat at the airport. As for food at ILM,…double thumbs up! The lunches were awesome. Lots of Fish and veggies, as well as variety of meats, cheeses, and pasta. As we all know, there’s nothing more scary than conference chow that only features heavy, fatty, sleep inducing, fried fare. That’s why I am rejoicing over the excellent menu of edibles, lunch, and appetizers here at the Kelsey show.

>> Little tough getting up today. The infamous ‘martini luge’ sponsored by CallGenie can take credit for that. I’m not complaining though.

>> As someone who spent 15 years in local Broadcast and Newspaper, being embedded within, and covering this local, interactive/search conference is a real eye opener. The companies on stage at these sessions, and the vendors in the exhibition hall, are 100% focused on tapping local advertising dollars. They have developed powerful applications that will continue to entice local advertisers, in order to get a piece of their marketing budgets. These are the very same dollars that TV, Radio and Newspaper used to get a lions share of. Think that could be an issue for a local Radio or Television GM? How about a Newspaper publisher ?

>> I heard this more than once at the show: local media companies with ‘feet on the street’ (aka: sales reps) and established relationships with advertisers, have a very good shot at selling them interactive products. The Yellow Page sales force is a good example of this.

>> Recently, a broadcast manager boasted to me that they are increasing online revenue anywhere from 50 to 100%, year over year. After I congratulated him, I asked what his online revenue ‘share’ was. He didn’t know. So I gently told him that it was likely to be less than 5%. He didn’t like hearing that. Matter of fact, he never really thought about it before.

Yes. It’s a cold, ugly truth…..even though broadcasters are growing online revenue, they are losing market share. They are losing share to the fast moving operators of local search, Internet yellow pages, pure plays, etc.

Kelsey UPDATE 11.28.07  5p, PT.

Attendance is the best since the mid 90’s. 650 registered. Congrats to Kelsey’s Peter Kravilovsky who put this show together. The photos above exhibit the results of his efforts. The success of the Kelsey Group ILM show  here in Los Angeles, is just another barometer, as to the growing demand of local, interactive, marketing and search.  

UPDATE 11/28/07 3pm PST. Nice to see representation from the New York Times Regional group here, McClatchy, The NAA (Newspaper Association of America) and Sharon Hill from the Suburban Newspaper Association. Yet, I should have seen a much greater presence from other traditional media, like TV, Radio and other local newspapers. I find it quite puzzling since this conference is mainly about local online ad revenue, an increasingly important and growing rev stream for these incumbent players. Traditional media’s position in the local marketplace is being attacked, flanked, and could soon be left in the dust by these online pure-plays in attendance. Companies like DexKnows.com, are hell bent on pulling local dollars out of the market. Many of them already are.

UPDATE 11/28/07   10am PST Got in on time last night, courtesy of Southwest. (love that new boarding system!) Conference is at The Hyatt Regency, here in the Century City area of town and it’s top flight. My room is fairly amazing too….. plus a mandatory amenity: a Starbucks in the lobby. Nice. I am not a big fan of ‘conference coffee’. Usually worthless in terms of caffeine and taste.

Radio Ink Conference: 38 Tix Remaining

Radio Ink’s Forecast ‘08 is the annual radio-industry financial conference that gathers station group owners, CEOs, CFOs, managers, and Wall Street analysts to discuss current industry conditions and reveal their predictions for the coming year. 

Attendance is limited to 200 people. As of today, there are just 38 tickets remaining.

Here is the panel I am working on: 

Radio: Initiatives That Are Changing (and Challenging) Radio
Think things will remain the same in the future? Think again. Radio Ink has identified initiatives that will change radio forever. From creating content to generating sales, radio has faced an onslaught of new media – while still absorbing a decade of change brought about through consolidation. What’s gone right? What’s gone wrong? And how do we fix it? 

Moderated by: Mel Taylor, Mel Taylor & Associates 

>> Drew Hilles, Director/Audio, Google
>> Lisa Namerow, Director, AOL Radio
>> Gary Krantz, Chief Digital Media Officer, Westwood One, Inc.
>> David Goodman, President, Marketing, CBS Radio

To see the entire agenda, and/or to register, CLICK HERE.

TV vs. Newspaper; Local Online Video Battle

A movie about a local TV news team anchored by Ron Burgundy, becomes a hit. Did the writers really have to stretch their imagination in order to come up with bits for this Will Farrell flick? Not likely. For fodder, they just turned on the local newscast of Anytown USA.

Local TV news; Change or wither. Andrew Hayward, former president of CBS News, shared his thoughts about local TV news recently, and he pulled no punches. You don’t have to be a mind reader to pick up his vibe……. it better change, or it’s doomed. Here’s what I gleaned up from his speech via an article in a Louisville newspaper. Read the entire article by Rick Redding here.

• Local stations focus too much on crime/murder, since it’s easier to do and video friendly.
• Viewership is shrinking, blood ‘n’ guts stories aren’t relevant to audience.
• Breaking News Alerts …..sensationalizes events that aren’t really news.
• Local, linear newscasts: no longer needed in a world of unlimited, on-demand news choices.
• Nobody under 40 is watching the local anchor. They don’t even know his name.  

Some steps to fix it:

• Hire journalists with a different look, who have roots in the community.

• Hire more of those with an expertise in a specific topic or category.

• Don’t hire a model with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. Instead, hire a less-qualified local with a less-polished look, and allowed the new hire the freedom to find humor in news stories.  

• Get more VJ’s on the street. (video journalists). Capture more local video with substance.

• See Online as a real-time 24/7 newscast, NOT as a dumping ground for stale packages from last nights 11pm cast.

Will local TV news will do well in digital space? I wondered if we asked Mr. Hayward a question like that. Will those local “Action News teams” easily win on the Web? Will that slick, 2 minute blood & guts story translate to a younger online audience? We surmise that he would say “not likely if they don’t make some big changes…..and fast.”

Will Newspaper take the online video crown instead ?  Let’s refer to Howard Owens about why he thinks Newspapers are well equipped to win the online video battle….over TV

1. More feet on the street: In large markets, newspapers can equip more reporters with video-capable cameras, and you don’t need expensive cameras to produce good online video; in small markets, TV isn’t going to cover many local stories.
2. TV can’t cover a story without sending out a “crew,” which means they cover only stories that they’ve pre-screened as being video worthy, worthy of the time to send a crew out to a location, which means they miss a lot of good stuff that “print” reporters will naturally stumble across – quantity means more choices for online video watchers, which is a distinct and huge advantage.
3. For newspaper reporters, there is no pre-conceived idea of perfect TV video, so any experiment goes.
4. Newspaper reporter shooters can give sources a chance to speak for themselves, making the video more personal and more meaningful than what TV will do with the same material.

What about Radio’s use of online video?   Think you can cash in with this concept from KGB in San Diego? Click here to see what you MAY NOT want to do.

Oh, and here’s one more example of Radio using video that will have trouble finding a sponsor. Click here to see. Yes, Radio websites should make money. Not just post vids of half naked women, and self-worshiping DJ stunts and wacky-ness. If you know of a Radio station making substantial money with online video…lemme know !

CONFERENCE WATCH: If you have a stake in the future of local search and online local media, you will certainly want to consider ILM:07 . The Interactive Local Media Conference, put together by the Kelsey Group. Nov. 29-30 in Los Angeles.

For details click here

Ex-CBS News Pres; Eric Ober, visits Drexel U.

Last night, I had a front row seat to Managing Media, A Global Affair. That was the evening’s topic at Drexel University in Philadelphia, during the latest in a series of FREE sessions focused on today’s fast moving Media landscape. Hats off to Paul Gluck (standing) who successfully pulled together an A-list panel of professionals. (Paul hired me to do on-air tech reports for him while he was news director at CBS-3 TV in Philly)

Panel headliner was Eric Ober; President of CBS News (1990-96), President of The Food Network (1997-2000) and now a SVP at Vault.com, a leading site devoted to careers and recruitment. Getting to listen and meet Eric was an honor. This guy is not only incredibly friendly, but he’s the real deal. His awareness and understanding of the digital landscape is spot on.

The panel also included Jane Seagrave; Director AP Digital/Associated Press, and Mark Loschiavo; Senior Executive in Residence LeBow College of Business. Mary Caraiccoli from CN8’s “Money Matters Today” was extremely well prepared and comfortable as moderator. She did a great job asking relevant and topical questions.

WOW, FREE EDUCATION. As always, I’m amazed at the amount of free seminars, conferences, and events focused on New Media that are held here in Philly. Subscribe to my blog or email, and I will do my best to keep you up to date with events you may want to attend.

Newspapers; more than just print.

What business are you in ? Seriously, this is not a trick question. If you answered TV, Radio or Newspaper, you could be in for a rude awakening. For example: for readers of this blog that are in the “Newspaper” business, you may be surprised to learn that you are now in the NEWS business, not the NEWSPAPER business. Some of that job relates to the printed paper. Other parts of your job description are increasingly focused on the web.

Need some tough love about what business you are really in ? 

Possibly the BEST speaker I have ever seen on this topic is Michael Rosenblum; a pioneer in the Video Journalist movement. Watch this clip from a recent keynote speech, where he’s talking to a room full of broadcasters and journalists about this uncomfortable, yet compelling question.

Kodak thought they were  in the film business. In reality, they were in the business of capturing images. Railroads thought they were in the railroad business. It didn’t occur to them that they were actually in the transportation business.

Even great, powerful businesses (like film, Railroads, Broadcasters and Newspapers, etc.) can be up-ended or marginalized by new technology. Often, it is very difficult to see the disruption coming, because most successful operations are still making big bucks with their current revenue/business models.

Watch or listen to the entire speech HERE.

Philadelphia Interactive Marketing Association

Can Philadelphia become a leading tech and Interactive hub? A city that other towns look up to? The people at PhIMA certainly think so. The Philadelphia Interactive Marketing Association is the fastest growing get-together for those within the Philadelphia Interactive space. And last night, was just one more example of how powerful the Online marketing community is, here in the country’s 5th largest market.

Bowling, cocktails, great food and networking…..and it was all free, thanks to AOL, Drive PM and ValueClick. Last night was the latest PhIMA bash, this time at Lucky Strike, Broad and Chestnut in Center City Philadelphia. See slide show above for a glimpse at what you missed if you were not there.

While the networking and card swapping ops are plentiful….. these events are also really great cocktail partys, in fun locations, with excellent networking as a prime benefit. You will always meet new, interesting, and forward thinking people at PhIMA events.

There is no membership fee to join PhIMA. Click here for more info, and to register. 

Talk format online, Matt and Huggy

The looming rate increase for online Radio stations could have an unexpected positive effect. The talk format could explode online, as most online Radio stations will likely dump their major label music formats.

So instead of music, we might just hear from ex-terrestrial DJ’s like Matt and Huggy . They were recently shown the door after 11 years on the air at WYSP, Philadelphia.

Instead of just collecting an unemployment check, they took their show online, and started a regular Podcast. On top of that, they continue to do appearances and get paid to record their podcasts on location….. at clubs.

Click video above to see the mini-documentary that I produced: The Matt and Huggy Podcast.

RELATED LINKS.    www.BlogTalkRadio.com

Laid off? Take your Skills to the Web

The photo above is from a recent ’Matt & Huggy’ nightclub appearance in Philadelphia. About 300 listeners of their infamous Philly Radio show were in attendance. Pretty normal stuff for a major market Radio team. Yet, this time, they weren’t representing the local CBS rock station where they have been working for the past 11 years. Instead, they were mingling and toasting with fans due to the popularity of their independent Podcast and Internet Radio show.  

You see, even though Matt and Huggy had a strong track record, they were still laid off a few months back. And instead of just sending out resumes and aircheck tapes to prospective employers, they kept their momentum going by starting a regular podcast. Not surprising, their 45 minute online shows continue to be downloaded by a growing number of fans each week. Read the full story here at FMQB.

Downsizing, right-sizing, and lay-offs. Pretty common these days in the land of TV, Radio and Newspaper. Most of the time they are due to the economic pressures of having to hit a new budget while the business struggles. GM’s and Publishers have only a few basic ways to hitting that nut: #1. Raise rate. #2. Sell more. #3. Cut costs by showing people the door. With slipping circulation and ratings, and the continued fragmentation of marketing dollars, those first two are pretty damn tough. The last one (handing out pink slips) is a whole lot easier.

In the pre-Internet days, when you let that seasoned, fairly well paid employee go, they either moved away or quietly sat out a non-compete. Today, that person can get right back into the game via the Web, and in many cases, compete directly with their former employers the very next day.

Other examples of this phenomenon:

>> The self-proclaimed online queen of gossip; Perez Hilton, was fired from the STAR celebrity publication for spending too much time on a personal project-a blog. His boss considered the blog a conflict of interest, as it poked fun at the very Hollywood stars Perez was supposed to cover for the mag. Today, PerezHilton.com is profitable and has propelled it’s founder into TV. Read the full story here.

>> Radio One dumps the Modern Rock format and staff of Y-100 in Philly. Former PD Jim McGuinn then takes the station & jocks online as Y100Rocks.com. Advertising and audience follows. Eventually it becomes a part of the WXPN family of terrestrial, online, and HD Radio programming.

>> Local TV Weather talent in North Carolina gets the heave ho. Keenly aware that her name has brand equity and value in the local weather space, she starts her own Charlotte weather site. Read more about this story here via Terry Heaton’s blog.

Philly’s Independent Websites to Watch

Over the past 8 years, I’ve been tracking what Broadcast and Newspaper (traditional media) have been doing online. While some of those players are doing better than others, I am increasingly more intrigued by the work of independent or ‘Pure-Play’ websites and blogs that have no connection to a mainstream media company. These indie online publishers are nimble and legacy free. They can easily fill an online content void, and smartly embrace the latest web 2.0 trends whenever they see the need and opportunity.

Should traditional media get into the “niche content” game, and start building specialty sites? Or, should they jusy rely on their own local portal-like sites, branded under their offline product?  Should they also ignore these pure-plays, and write them off as insignificant, and not worth the effort? With real revenue and advertiser interest growing for these independents, smart money says these are these pure-play trends are gaining traction, and will pose a very significant threat to traditional media’s online efforts.

Here’s a quick look at 5 independent producers of content and services in Philadelphia. They have attracted substantial traffic, interest, and revenue….. all via the Web.

Philly2nite What once was the domain of Radio and alternative weeklies, Philly2Nite.com has quickly staked a claim as the leading local destination, for 20-30 somethings in need of nightlife info. Cheesesteak City clubbers get a wide array of tools: a calendar of events, email newsletters, photo gallerys, and a short form video series called Philly2niteTV. Amazing advertiser support from both local bars and beer distributers, to national retail, auto, financial, and telecom clients. This profitable format has already moved into other markets. see http://www.cities2night.com/. If you’re a drinking establishment in Philly, advertising on this site is mandatory.

Philebrity   Taking a cue from the success of NYC’s Gawker, Philebrity has jumped out to take a sizeable lead in the online alt-weekly space. With multiple updates through out the day, Philebrity offers up an interesting, sometimes quirky variety of links, video and other multi-media, that adds another layer to their edgy content, commentary, and attitude. Now in BETA…take a peek at Philebrity TV. (note all of the sub-channels) Advertiser support is impressive. Movie & music related marketers, restaurants, real estate agents, etc. Media buyers realize that they must use sites like Philebrity, in order to target hard to reach audience segments in Philly.

The 700 Level  Originally put together as a hobby, this sports blog has become a must visit destination for the Philly sports freak. Since 2003, the 2 man ‘700′ team has attracted a growing cadre of local sports fans that need more than just their regular fix of WIP Sports Radio, Daily News Live on Comcast, and the Sports section of Philly.com/Philadelphia Inquirer. Not only do these fans eat up all that is served, but they add to the conversation via commenting and posting contributions of their own. The 700 Level is just one more example of how personal web publishing tools like Blogger and WordPress, can turn any topical expert, into a well known, publisher…..overnight.

OotWeb  The online sister to Philly’s favorite, and scrappy little print operation; “Out on the Town”. Hanging tough for almost 30 years, OOT’s bread and butter are the bars and pubs, bands, and other nightlife happenings that make up this free distribution publication. And now, just going into BETA…. OOT TV  is the next marketing tool that they will to offer their 100+ client base. OOT’s publisher suggests: ”why buy expensive cable TV spots in late night, when your OOT-TV produced, 3 minute info-mercial can be seen online and on-demand…. 24/7 ?” 

Uwishunu.com  On the surface, it’s just another website. Dig deeper, and it’s a 5 million dollar marketing/advertising/blogging platform created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and funded by the City of Philadelphia. That kind of dough used to automatically go to the usual suspects: Print, Outdoor and Broadcast. Now, that sizable budget is being effectively re-directed towards this ground breaking “beyond the banner” concept. The award winning design is courtesy of Philly agency; Red Tettemer. Also featured on this site is the very popular IllaDATES (formerly Cheap Dates); produced by PovertyJetSet. In this episode, the two lovebirds grab a trolley and head to the Port Richmond section of the city for some Polish American treats. Watch below.