.

"We're on the cusp of another revolution (in the) three legs of the publishing stool - publishing, distribution and advertising. Audience expectations are changing, and news organisations must align with that.The challenge is organising information. Previously, legacy newsroom produced the bulk of the content, and derivatives moved downstream to other platforms. But news no longer is a sufficient organising principle around which to build a publishing business."
-- Kinsey Wilson, editor-in-chief, USAToday.com
See 'Cross-Platform Teams: How to Practise What You (and Others) Preach'

Online editions winning favour

According to Neilsen/Net Ratings, nearly one-fifth of web users who read newspapers now prefer online to offline editions. Newspaper publishing revenue is growing slowly, but remains in a prolonged slump. Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo have been posting booming revenue gains on a revival in more traditional online advertising, as well as fast-growing Web search ads. In response to the increased traffic to news sites, online editions of newspapers often now include frequent news updates, original content, message boards and editorial blogs. See full report from Reuters here

When he takes it seriously...




"What is happening is, in short, a revolution in the way young people are accessing news. They don’t want to rely on the morning paper for their up-to-date information. They don’t want to rely on a God-like figure from above to tell them what’s important. And to carry the religion analogy a bit further, they certainly don’t want news presented as gospel. Instead, they want their news on demand, when it works for them. They want control over their media, instead of being controlled by it. They want to question, to probe, to offer a different angle."

Rupert Murdoch, April 2005

Journalism and the Digital Revolution

When even the biggest 'old' media titans start warning of complacency among journalists about the internet, you know it is time to sit up and take notice. Rupert Murdoch's speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors in April 2005 is being seen as a watershed moment in the debate over the future of newspapers in the digital age. A new generation is growing up that has no particularly affinity with print. These "digital natives" want news on demand, as it happens and with full context. Even more importantly, they want to be able to interact with it and use it as a springboard for wider discussions. They are not passive consumers of news, but active participants. The lines between journalist and reader have blurred. How do we respond to this? Murdoch says the technology is there, but the culture is lagging. He says we need to listen more closely to our readers. And the web gives us a perfect venue to do so. Encouragingly, he also contends that by streamling our operations, changing the way we write and edit, we will not only improve our online product, but strengthen our printed medium. Now here's a forum for journalists and others to work out how. Please post your thoughts here.

'Surf's up...but what's stopping us?

Photo: Lesley Parker