MaxxoMedia Digital Media and Entertainment Trends

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2009 saw a few newspapers change their business model to an online focus or shut down completely. 2010 will most likely see the same struggle and, perhaps, new business models emerge for these media entities. One thing is clear, the era of Americans reading a daily newspaper each and every day is coming to an end. Just two in five U.S. adults (43%) say they read a daily newspaper, either online or in print almost every day. Just over seven in ten Americans (72%) say they read one at least once a week while 81% read a daily newspaper at least once a month. One in ten adults (10%) say they never read a daily newspaper, according to a new Harris Poll survey.

2009 saw a few newspapers change their business model to an online focus or shut down completely. 2010 will most likely see the same struggle and, perhaps, new business models emerge for these media entities. One thing is clear, the era of Americans reading a daily newspaper each and every day is coming to an end. Just two in five U.S. adults (43%) say they read a daily newspaper, either online or in print almost every day. Just over seven in ten Americans (72%) say they read one at least once a week while 81% read a daily newspaper at least once a month. One in ten adults (10%) say they never read a daily newspaper, according to a new Harris Poll survey.

One reason for the dying of the daily newspaper is the graying of the daily readership. Almost two-thirds of those aged 55 and older (64%) say they still read a daily newspaper almost every day. The younger one is, however, the less often they read newspapers. Just over two in five of those aged 45-54 (44%) read a paper almost every day as do 36% of those aged 35-44. But less than one quarter of those aged 18-34 (23%) say they read a newspaper almost every day while 17% in this age group say they never read a daily newspaper.

One potential business model that newspapers are exploring is charging a monthly fee to read a daily newspaper’s content online. This model, however, seems unlikely to work as three-quarters of online adults (77%) say they would not be willing to pay anything to read a newspaper’s content online. While some are willing to pay, one in five online adults (19%) would only pay between $1 and $10 a month for this online content and only 5% would pay more than $10 a month.

There is a slight regional difference in who would pay for online content. Over four in five online adults in the Northeast (81%) say they would not be willing to pay anything to read a daily newspaper’s content online. Those across the country, however, are more willing. While seven in ten Westerners (71%) still say they would not pay, almost one-quarter (24%) of Westerners would pay between $1 and $10 a month to read a paper’s content online.

The struggles of the daily newspaper will continue as Americans have more and more ways to find the news content they need and want. The challenge for newspapers will be discovering a way to get their content to people and make money doing so. One area they were intently exploring was charging for online content, though it appears they need to find another way.

via Kenradio.com

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• Murdoch paper charges for content (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Roy Greenslade: Only 23% prepared to pay for online news content (guardian.co.uk)
• Only 5% in UK would pay for web news (newsosaur.blogspot.com)

Sky News — a 24-hour UK news site owned by News Corp. — is changing up their entire newsroom to focus more on Twitter.

The organization is installing Tweetdeck on staff computers to stimulate news gathering via social media, according to reports from a UK blog.

The Tweetdeck rollout to staff is scheduled to be completed within the month. While journalists using Twitter is pretty commonplace, an organization-wide rollout is significant. The decision signals a change in ideology around conventional news gathering, and points to the need for journalists to use Twitter to keep pace with the flow of news.

Julian March, executive producer of Sky News Online, made the following statement to Journalism.co.um on the Tweetdeck rollout:

“The big change for us in 2010 is evolving how social media plays a role in our journalism. We no longer ghettoise it to one person, but are in the process of embedding throughout the whole team.”

For those of you who work in more traditional work environments, you can appreciate the significance of software installs on company machines, typically regulated to lock down or limit employee downloads. The vetting of Tweetdeck as an application worthy of a serious news organization is one that should not be overlooked.

via Tweetdeck Infiltrates the News Room.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

70% of publishers are paying more attention to the mobile market this year than last. And 20% are giving it their same attention. Print publishers are focusing on the market as a prime opportunity to expand their brands, reach new audiences and generate additional revenue while offering advertisers the chance to reach locally targeted, engaged audiences. Publishers recognize the growing importance of mobile devices in consumers' daily lives and are actively embracing mobile, according to a study by Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Some Survey Highlights

* More than 80% of newspaper and magazine respondents believe people will rely more heavily on mobile devices as a primary information source in the next three years

* Nearly 70% of respondents agree that mobile is receiving more attention at their publication this year than last. More than a third believe their publication already has a well-developed plan for attacking and conquering the mobile market

* 44% of respondents who track mobile's impact on their Web site traffic said the devices increased visits by up to 10% today. Half believe mobile traffic to their Web sites will increase by five to 25% in the next two years

Additional findings of the survey:

* 56% of senior said their publication has plans to develop a smartphone application in the next 24 months, in addition to the 17% already have an app in production.

* While 55% believe that digital delivery of their publication is important to their strategic future, 75% believe that their publication will be available in a print form five years from now.

* More than half of the survey respondents believe that the future business model of mobile content will be supported by both advertising and subscriptions.

* Nearly a third believe that mobile will have a significant impact on their publication's revenue in just three years.

With text and multimedia messaging, branded mobile apps, content sponsorships, display advertising, paid search, and location-based targeting, the platform becomes an integral component of the overall marketing strategy.

Survey Conclusions:

* It's early, but there are positive signs, the mobile market is definitely receiving more attention than ever before

* Mobile will drive Web traffic. Most respondents believe that mobile will be responsible for a five to 50% increase in Web site traffic in the next three years.

* Publishers are betting on both smartphones and e-readers and are actively exploring the vitality of both as a new distribution channel.

* Early business models will be based on a combination of advertising and subscriptions. Publishers agree that the mobile market will be both ad- and subscription-supported

Respondents agree that independent third-party auditing would increase mobile's credibility and is likely to be demanded by advertisers as ad spending increases in this area

via KenRadio – World Technology Roundup – Daily Technology News on High Tech Industry – How Publishers Are Preparing for the Digital Market.

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• Roy Greenslade: US newspaper sales are worse than figures imply (guardian.co.uk)
• Ad Revenue, Profits Fall at Gannett (nytimes.com)
• Survey: Print Publishers Ready to Capitalize on Mobile Market (newswire.ca)

There are a number of different services blooming as location-based mobile technology finally hits its stride, from Foursquare check-ins to augmented reality-enhanced surroundings courtesy of Layar and others. Flook (warning: iTunes link), a new entrant to the iPhone app store, takes a different, more whimsical approach to social location information.

Users are prompted to create “cards” at interesting locations by snapping a photo and adding a title and caption. You can find cards nearby you or around the world, “collect” them, comment on them, and follow the cards of people posting interesting locations. Plus, email a card or get directions to the location depicted from your current location, and track your total “Flook score” based on your activity within the app.

The interface is playful and fun to match the type of content Flook is hoping to capture: interesting, beautiful or otherwise curious tidbits in the world around you. Upon launching the app, “a colorful landscape of robots guides the user to browse or create,” which is just as unusual as it sounds (see thumbnail above right). Finding and creating cards are both easy processes, with the former handled by a simple finger swipe mechanism. Cards are automatically ordered by both “nearest and “best” so you’re more likely to stumble upon something good.

When creating cards, a simple photo snap and a bit of text is all that’s required. If other users comment on your cards, you’ll see a notification (from a robot, of course) in the “Find new” home screen. If you start a card and want to finish it later, you can leave it in draft mode and come back to entries under construction. You can hook your Flook account into your Twitter account to automatically tweet new cards you create.

Flook is a free app that’s an interesting and creative twist on location-based services. It’s social, fun, interesting, and can help you learn new facts and places to go in your local world or while traveling. It has that simple yet useful and potentially addictive game-like mechanic to it that’s bolstered by its playful design.

Let us know if you have a chance to check out the app and what you think. Have you spotted any interesting new locations?