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Sam Zell and Randy Michaels gave it a good shot. While the Tribune properties are still in a state of flux, they will ultimately emerge from bankruptcy as a much leaner, digitally directed media company.
These guys never pulled punches. Some say that their uncensored talks with employees were politically incorrect and rough around the edges. Others believe that these two entrepreneurs were just saying what most in mainstream media would like to say and do….but can’t. Either way, it’s tough love. No more BS. No more “that’s the way we’ve always done it”.
Click the slide show above to hear some compelling out-takes from Randy’s talk with the staff of the Allentown Morning Call a while back. It still rings true today. It’s one of the best summaries of how traditional media will dramatically change, even more, in 2010.
I spent alot of time with the Tribune properties over the past 2 years. Everything that Randy says in this video is taken seriously at the local level. I saw it for myself firsthand, working very closely with Tribune’s publisher in Pennsylvania: Tim Kennedy.
The Radio Advertising Bureau knows that Radio sellers often get stonewalled by the same old objections when selling website inventory.
I took a break from the sales training classes I was doing at the Kentucky Broadcasters Conference recently, to speak with RAB’s John Potter about this issue. Radio sales reps can immediately sell more interactive programs to their clients by following this simple plan:
Jeff Jarvis held a hyper-local, mini-camp at the Graduate School of Journalism in NYC on Nov. 11, 2009.
It was called: The New Business Models for News conference.
I was invited to do a session focused on helping hyper-local web publishers, build realistic business models in order to grow revenue. Here’s the actual presentation:
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, 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 real-time 24/7 newscast, NOT a dumping ground for stale packages from last night’s 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 a friend of mine; Howard Owens, about why he thinks Newspapers are well equipped to win the online video battle….over TV
- 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.
- 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.
- For newspaper reporters, there is no pre-conceived idea of perfect TV video, so any experiment goes.
- 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.
Local advertisers want to buy Internet advertising, it’s obvious from the outstanding turn out we get for our “Web Advertising 101″ seminars. SEE PICS ABOVE. In every city we travel to, from Chicago to Scranton, small and mid size businesses are moving more of their marketing budgets over to the Internet. Once they get some some basic education, encouragement and proof that it will work, they starting making the move to web.
Who will teach the local advertiser? Optimally, it should be the traditional reps from the local media company. They have the relationships, the trust, and the ear of the local advertiser. The challenge though, is that the traditional reps need a better understanding of how to effectively sell the benefits of the web, in a clear, simple way that the small business can grasp. That is not easy, especially when many traditional reps rely on the local “web expert” to help them through the sales call.
TIP: it’s not a good thing when a newspaper or TV rep responds to a client who wants web, and says…..”let me get my web guru in here to talk to you. I’m not too sure about this web thing”. This makes the traditional rep look out of touch and disconnected from the new world of advertising.
The race in on. Ad dollars are moving online, with TV, Radio and Newspapers ramping up their local sales efforts with varying degrees of success. The current soft economy only accelerates this process. The smart local properties understand they’re primarily competing with Google, ReachLocal, ServiceMagic and other online media companies that have their eyes set on local ad dollars.
Few will profit, most will fail. In each market, only a very few Broadcast & Newspaper companies will turn an online profit. With outside ‘pure-plays’ taking about 50% of every dollar out of the market, the remaining ad dollars will be sucked up by the most aggressive, serious players.
Things I hear from local media clients about video:
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We’d LOVE to get online video started; but it’s cost & manpower prohibitive right now.
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We’re shooting video and posting it our site….where’s the money?
Online Video needs to be SALES based for now
For publishers, there just isn’t alot of investment capital to put into a huge online video initiative right now. So here are the basics of a quick and easy way to get started in the world of online video, on a bootstrap budget.
Equipment, Software and Hosting: Click above to watch a simple video I produced employing many of the bootstrap recommendations in this post.
I shot all the stills and video with a basic consumer camera, purchased from a local Best Buy; Canon Powershot. I carry this thing everywhere….so should your reporters…..ya never know when you’ll be near news worthy subject matter! For a digital still camera, the video quality is surprisingly good. This was edited with a $99 software program called Adoble Premiere Elements (could have easily used Windows Movie Maker or Apple’s i-Movie which are built in, on all computers), ……..I used Picasa for free photo editing……used Blip.TV and YouTube to easily post and share/embed my video for free.
WE ARE SPARTANS ! So goes the battle cry from the movie….. ‘300′. Spartans are a proud people protecting their land and way of life from the incoming Persians. Do I smell a historical analogy coming on ?
The Spartans: Local TV, Radio and Newspaper properties. They’ve had a very nice run for the past 50 to 100 years or so. Profit margins hovering around 50%, huge barriers to entry, powerful lobbying arms, virtual ownership of all local advertising revenues, etc. They would like to protect this way of life. It is has been good. Real good.
The Persians: Recently created outsiders like Google, online ad networks like Centro, pure-play sites like Facebook and ReachLocal. They have their eye on the next massive pot of Internet gold; the local marketplace. They want to infiltrate, take share, and potentially take-over the lion’s share of local ad expenditures. They are willing to initially cooperate, share the growing riches, and work with the local properties………until they have their hooks in real deep. Then watch out.
King Leonidas, the bearded Spartan general, desperately tries to warn his Greek countrymen that the crafty and be-jeweled Persian King Xerxes, doesn’t just want to ‘partner’ with them, but ultimately wants to make them their slaves.
In the short term the offer seems genuine and generous. Yet, Leonidas knows that it would likely be the beginning of the end for their local state, culture and freedom.
And so the 300 fight……to no avail. They are crushed by the insurmountable forces from afar. Alas, the mighty Spartans did not get full support and buy-in from their own country’s leaders. They were held back by the politician’s legacy thinking, fear, and lack of vision.
If you’ve seen the movie, or know about this piece of ancient history, it may provide some insight as to what local media is facing right now. What needs to be done? Broadcast and Newspaper need to develop and execute an aggressive war-plan NOW, in order to defeat (or at least keep in check) the forces looking to invade their local media turf.
Today’s lesson: Those who ignore history, are doomed to repeat it.
It was an interesting NAB Radio Conference, (National Association of Broadcasters) here in Philadelphia.
I was invited to do a session on Web sales. It was called: How can Radio learn from Newspaper and other Online Revenue Leaders. As a former Radio guy, it was kinda nice to be speaking in front of my former colleagues as they grapple with monetizing their Web assets. (Got my start as a Regional Sales Director with Clear Channel Interactive in 1999)
Topics I covered: Common Radio Website Mistakes, Online Video for Sales, Rep Compensation, Job Description Overhauls, Overcoming Common Objections, High-Value Inventory, and Integrated Promotions.
Spent some time with a New York City based advertising agency today. Spoke with the interactive buyers, as well as those in charge of broadcast and print. Guess what? They’re ALL interested in buying web in some form, even non-banner inventory, even though they may have originally been focused on broadcast or print, or plain ole banners.
At first I thought all 3 buyers would have a separate bucket of marketing dollars from which to pull. But no. All 3 that I talked to, had access to a central pool of dollars that they could use to solve a marketing challenge; whether it be in print, broadcast, online or some other form of marketing or promotion.
Makes sense. The days of relying specifically on one form of marketing or another, are over. Lucky for me, I had a fairly large bag of tricks up my sleeve; rich media display ads, sem/seo, online video solutions, as well as event marketing placement.
It was a great experience watching the team at Philly.com re-launch their site. I was lucky to be working on some other projects for Philly.com at the same time….in the same offices. I was contracted to develop a stand-alone website devoted to the local music scene in Philly. It’s called Phrequency.com.
One of my favorite past times while at Philly.com was barging in on managing editor; Yoni Greenbaum. Normally I like to use some sort of weapon (like a hammer) to get his attention (see pic above).
Spoke with some heavy hitters about their web efforts with Newspapers.
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Dan Shorter; President of Minneapolis Star Tribune, Interactive. Formerly the GM of the Palm Beach post, Dan recently got lured to Minneapolis. He’s one of the most respected Newspaper people in the online space, and Mr. Shorter shares his thoughts on the fast changing Newspaper environment, and how he’s gonna fit another award on his mantle! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
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Howard Owens; Former Director of Digital Publishing, Gatehouse Media. Howard recollects the NAA session featuring Dean Singleton, CEO of Media News who said things like: ”our readers don’t want the same newspaper we’ve been putting out over the past 30 years.’ Howard also discusses the 12 things journalists can do to save journalism. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
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Allison Sholly; Former VP/GM, Chicago Tribune Interactive. Allison describes sales structure and compensation, as well as the Trib’s success in the online video space. And because we had so much fun doing this Radio-like webcast, Allison and I discuss whether we should do a DJ morning show together. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
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Bob Benz; Maroon Ventures (former VP Interactive of Scripps) In what may be one of the first interviews with Bob in his new role, Mr. Benz speaks to how he came to leave Scripps (which wasn’t easy). Yet, the opportunity to be a partner at Maroon Ventures was too good to pass up. Bob provides some really great detail as to what he will doing for Maroon. Hint: “thinking BIG for his clients”. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
Also spoke with folks like:
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Chris Tolles; CEO of TOPIX
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Bob Kellagher; COO Calkins Interactive
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Walker Fenton; NewsGator
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Jay Small; Scripps GM of Interactive
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Shannon Dunnigan; Director Online Revenue, Gatehouse Media
Click here to hear all interviews I did, using BlogTalkRadio.com
Ever taken a really good look at a Radio station website? Aside from the questionable layout and content, (some call them a train-wreck) have you ever wondered how Radio can build a business, and drive Internet revenue from those efforts? These are the issues that over worked Radio managers are trying to come to grips with.
The pressure is on. Radio’s primary revenue stream of selling spots is really taking a beating. Where’s the upside ? Web-driven non-spot revenues – up a very healthy 12%.
Revenue UP, Share DOWN. While that 12% web increase looks nice, bear in mind that Radio web revenue SHARE is actually down. Radio could literally double its web rev, and still being leaving a ton of money on the table. The latest reports on local online revenue report shows that Radio only gets about 2% of local online ad expenditures.
How can Radio seriously get into the game? First, it must admit that they need more outside help. There are too few people inside of the Radio industry that have a handle on the fast changing digital landscape. Just relying on the local sales managers, or the GM’s to develop a strong web plan will only delay the pain of making a serious investment in hiring and re-training.
Finding web experts to help Radio will not be easy. It will take alot of money too. In the meantime, here are some questions that will help Radio understand what their web plan needs to consist of:
Think your job is safe in Broadcast or Newspaper? Hopefully it is. But just in case you want to be pro-active in order to increase your chances of avoiding a layoff…..read this……
After 32 years in the biz, sport writer Paul Oberjuerge got whacked from the San Berdardino Sun. Unfortunately, this is an all to common occurrence. Not just in Newspaper, but in Broadcast too. Paul drew up a list of “Tips on Keeping Your Print Journalism Job.” Some of it is politically incorrect. Some might make you cringe. Yet, it’s worth a read.
Alot of this stuff applies to those in TV and Radio as well. Note that “embrace the Web” is Number One. Here’s a few from the list:
Ten Tips for Staying Employed:
1. Embrace the web. It’s going to be extra work, and you’re going to be on your own 24-hour news/opinion cycle. But that’s how it is; you can rest up when you’re dead. Management is keenly aware of the foot-draggers on this front. Don’t wait to be ordered to “serve other platforms” of the paper. Volunteer. Blog. Post photos. Consider video. Offer podcasts. Do web-only quick-and-dirty news stories. You’re a multi-media machine now!
4. Stop whining.Journalism is a business notorious for its contrary and crabby people, for second-guessers and “that’s not how we’ve done it before” grousers. Five years ago you might have been overlooked as the Charming Curmudgeon. Now, you’re the Negative Nellie. When the call comes down to trash another 10 percent of the newsroom, don’t be the relentless kvetcher who immediately pops into the editor’s mind. Oh, and remember, “second-guessing” now consists of anything other than instant acceptance.
Local TV automatically wins the online news-video war? Not so fast there bucko. The pic on the right, is a multi-media setup that some pioneering journalists are starting to use. It’s how Newspapers will move into the space that Broadcast used to own.
Newspaper reporters: getting out from behind their desks and reporting from the field. (where the news is breaking) They are gathering and uploading news (in all forms: text, video, stills, etc.) within a very short turn-around time. Sometimes it’s live. This trend is also an early look at how Newspaper will be able to go after juicy Broadcast and Cable advertising budgets.
Taking offline content and dumping it online will not be enough. For local media, it’s a start, but it’s far from a long-term winning strategy. As the news business teeters on becoming a commodity, smart local media operators are adding more value to their core competency of news. Online video and Rosenblum evangelized mobile journalism, will be a big part of that new value.
MoJo tool kits are compact, relatively cheap, and easy to use. Some feature the Nokia N95 phone for stills, video, and mobile uploading of reports. From my perch, Newspapers and independent journalists/bloggers are eating this stuff up, while TV sees these tools as amateur and sub-par. TV’s snubbing of mobile journalism will allow Newspapers and indie bloggers to carve out a substantial position in the online video and news space. Read Cyndy Green’s take on this here.
Samples of Newspaper online video. Gannett is doing it like this. The Shelby Star is doing it with their mobile STAR CAR. The Knoxville News Sentinel like this. Here’s a list of other Newspapers doing video. Granted, for some, the quality may need a bit more polish. That will certainly come with time.
Newspapers are also exploring Online Radio. For starters, they can basically stick a microphone in front of their outspoken writers on staff. Ex: Ron James from the San Diego Union Tribune is leveraging his print staff to program SignonRadio. (He also hired well known talent, recently downsized from local Clear Channel Radio stations.)
Why so bullish on Newspaper’s online future? They have the largest collection of writers to feed the online beast. Here in my hometown, Philadelphia Media Holdings (Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com) employs about 450 journalists. That’s more than the combined newsrooms of every TV and Radio station news staff in the city. Add audio, video and other web 2.0 skill sets to their tool belt, and you get a massive, multi-media news organization with a size-able, meaningful head start in the online news space.
Now, combine all this new technology with a large sales force with strong advertiser relationships….. and you get a real shot at building a powerful local news business for the 21st century.
Below is part of a video demo, of the “Mobile Journalist” tool kit.
Video above: The New York Times print & web folks…side by side…in the newsroom; the integrated newsroom. It’s a look at how the newspaper industry is evolving into multi-media news organizations; where NYT employees are mandated to see web as equally important as print…..and in some cases, MORE important than print.
Kinda wish they took a look at how they direct the sales effort too. Does the print ad director sit next to the web sales manager? What is the bonus/commission structure like? How many reps sell web only? How many sell both print and web? How do they avoid sales cannibalization and in-fighting? How do they push more than just convergence up-sell packages? This is the stuff that can get really hairy at local media companies; building new revenue and sales models.
Experts suggest that media companies MUST turn their web efforts into separate businesses, complete with stand alone sales forces, offices, etc……and for the most part I agree. Yet with that strategy comes a few near term landmines. The biggest hurdle I believe, will be to find strong online sellers/managers to staff these online-only efforts, especially within the confines of a bootstrap budget. This will not be easy.
A big can of worms.These newly hired web-only sellers could then be calling on the very same agencies and major advertisers that the traditional reps already have relationships with. Unless the financial motivation/bonus structures are adjusted, this will just cause an awful lot of in-fighting amongst reps. In addition, the media buyer would prefer just ONE point of contact with your company. These overworked agency types would HATE to carve out more meetings to learn about your company’s web packages, especially from eager green horns who hammer them all day with cold calls and email.
I’ve seen this firsthand: traditional reps selling against web reps; literally bad-mouthing the online offerings of the parent company. This happened because the commission structure and job description needed a refresh. The traditional manager offered up a measly 2% commission for each web sale. Behind closed doors, traditional reps would lament; “2% was not worth their time”. They also knew they would NOT catch heat, for NOT hitting their web budget.
Solution: Adopt a hybrid approach for the near term.Train and financially motivate traditional sales staff, while you build a separate web sales force to go after businesses that has been, for the most part, ignored. Maybe most importantly, make sure that the upper level managers get trained in all things web. How can they manage a web sales force, if they barely have a grasp of the online marketing space themselves?
Here’s a quick test to determine if you are managing and maximizing your web sales efforts properly. In regards to traditional sales staff, ask yourself these questions:
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Does each seller have a mandatory web budget to hit? How did you arrive at that number?
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Is the commission structure similar or better to what your NEW BIZ commission is?
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Are there penalties in place if the rep DOES NOT hit their web budget?
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Do you have senior reps that reluctantly sell web? Do they know their clients online strategy?
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What is the total local online spend in your market? What is your share?
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Does top management have strong grasp of web marketing? If not, how will they effectively manage the effort?
If some of these questions give you pause, that may be a sign that your web sales efforts are leaving alot of revenue on the table. Scott Karp at Publishing 2.0 is getting alot of feedback from this very issue. Read his recent post; “Online and Print Ad Sales: Time to Cut the Cord”. Check out the comments on his great blog here.
Got a question? Give me a call or drop me an email. Maybe I will see you at the interactive sessions at RAB in Atlanta ?
Watch the ‘Prometeus’ video above. It looks at how the Internet will substantially change mass media. How much of this is likely to come true ? What if only a portion of this prediction comes true ?
What are you doing to keep up? If you work in traditional media, do you think things will stay the same through-out your entire career?
Does your boss help you learn new skills?…. or do they keep you in the dark about the quick changing Media world of today? Do they expect you to ’sell web’ with just an hour-long training session ? Do you wonder why interactive buyers don’t want to buy your broadcast website? Do your bosses get the web?
EXCERPT FROM VIDEO ABOVE…..Everything related to the old Media vanishes: Gutenberg, the copyright, the radio, the television, the publicity. Around 2011 a tipping point is reached: The electronic paper is a mass product. In 2015 newspapers and broadcasting television disappear, digital terrestrial is abandoned, the radio goes on the Internet.
Not getting properly trained at your media company ? You may want to subscribe to my email, and consider this event. Radio Ink Convergence.
“Print folks see the future and are scrambling to take the high ground, while TV sits on it’s thumb….. thinking they already own it”.
That’s a killer quote from a new found friend of mine; Cyndy Green. Click here to read her blog on video journalism.
Indeed, TV may be a bit too confident in it’s ability to win online with video. Re-purposing last night’s report from a warehouse fire…ain’t gonna cut it. Could local broadcasters be too dependent on big cameras and pretty reporters?
Also…..Click video above to watch just how serious newspapers are in regards to online video. BEET TV interviews a former TV broadcaster, who is now the VP/GM of the New York Times website.
