We know you’re busy. You’ve got your head down trying to work on new offerings to seduce new readerships to your media and convince existing customers that you represent value worth paying for. So you haven’t always got time to look around at what’s happening in your own industry. Which is why we do it for you. Here’s the latest.
1. Subscription News Services are Making News
We’re big fans of subscription models and pleased to see that a classic ‘follow the money’ corruption investigation from a French digital news site with the business model of “subscription only, advertising free” has proved pivotal in convicting an ex French president. Details from Australia, appropriately paywalled but with free trial..
2. And Multiplying….
Which brings us naturally to this story as the New York Times takes a look at those digital news providers who don’t give their news away and hope for ad revenues, but instead rely on digital subscriptions. Successfully.
3. Local Ads are Where It’s
For all the undoubted bad news for US news media, local advertising remains set to grow according to the latest Borrell report. What catches our eyes is the forecast for the medium leading that charge – streaming video and audio/podcasting. Borrell predicts that in 2022 streaming video in local advertising will grow to $21.3 billion in 2022, more than double the expected spend on TV advertising.
4. Friend? Foe? Google Continues Courting Press
On Tuesday, News Revenue Hub and Google News Initiative announced a new, open-source product to help newsrooms with technology that makes it easier to get funding. It’s called News Revenue Engine, and it will be released early next year.
5. The High and The Mighty
The rise and fall of the biggest English language news websites in the world. Big names are having a rough ride, interlopers are doing well – but the mighty hand of Google has almost certainly already brushed the growth leader away.
6. Scaling Data Journalism
Of course you’ve heard about the Pandora Papers, but have you considered the scale of the data involved? The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists looks at how journalists can make sense of a data dump stretching to 2.94 terabytes – of which only 4% was structured.