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Newspaper Adopts Latest Online Video Tools; Surpasses TV ?

December 29, 2007 By admin 3 Comments

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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.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_OJGeamwbs]

Filed Under: Revenue Models

Local Dilemma: Integrate or Separate?

December 19, 2007 By admin

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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.

Wish they took a look at 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:

  • Does each seller have a mandatory web budget to hit? How did you arrive at that number?
  • Is the commission structure similar or better to what your NEW BIZ commission is?
  • Are there penalties in place if the rep DOES NOT hit their web budget?
  • Do you have senior reps that reluctantly sell web? Do they know their clients online strategy?
  • What is the total local online spend in your market? What is your share?
  • Does top management have strong grasp of web marketing? If not, how will they effectively manage the effort?
Filed Under: Revenue Models Tagged With: , , , , ,

Newspapers winning with Local Online Video

December 12, 2007 By admin 2 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzK_fbuSGZM]

“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.

Filed Under: Revenue Models

CBS WYSP Radio DJ’s Succeed Online with Podcast

December 9, 2007 By admin

WYSP Radio in Philadelphia, a CBS station, recently sent the mid-day team of Matt and Huggy packin’.

Instead of hitting the beach, or looking for their next gig, they took their show to the web. Not only do they have a loyal fanbase downloading their podcasts, but they’re packing nightclubs with their live podcast events. Click above to watch.

With cheap or free wireless broadband becoming the norm, this type of activity should be of great interest to terrestrial Radio. Maybe CBS could have streamed or archived their shows at www.WYSP.com ? Maybe they should have placed this team’s show on one of their under-utilized HD channels? Maybe Radio  needs to develop online-only content, and create a talent ‘farm team’ that lives online and on HD ?

 Watch for other “out of work” DJ’s to adopt these online tactics.

Filed Under: TV and Radio Tagged With: , ,

Kelsey conference; Topix CEO Chris Tolles interview

December 2, 2007 By admin Leave a Comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTbOjh4t6ws]

I had a chance to talk to, and meet alot of influential people while at the Kelsey Interactive Local Media show last week in L.A. One of them was Chris Tolles; CEO of Topix, of of the biggest and fastest growing, online news destinations. It’s backed by 4 major newspaper groups. Topix also works with other media companies to grow and engage their online audiences through forums, classifieds, publishing platforms and RSS feeds.

Click above to see a short interview I had with Chris about an announcement that his company recently made. Chris also speaks to the opportunity that newspapers have, and why they need to look outside of their print companies for advanced online solutions.

Click here to see photos and thoughts about the show.

Filed Under: Revenue Models