The real competition for local media
I’ve written often about this subject, because while media companies are slugging it out in attempts to carve up the web market in their favor, outside pureplay companies are sneaking in the back door to take money out of the market. Writing in Bloomberg.com, Ari Levy notes that Yahoo is launching a weekend section to help users in cities from San Francisco to New York find movies and events. The goal? Local advertising:
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Corp. are battling for sales in the local advertising market, where companies will almost triple their spending to $2.61 billion by 2011, according to market research firm Kelsey Group Inc. in Princeton, New Jersey. As part of the upgrade, Yahoo added new search software to make sponsored links on local pages more relevant to the queries made by users.“It’s focusing on the people and the community and is geared to generate more active engagement from those users,” said Brian Gil, a senior product manager at Yahoo, in an interview.
Isn’t this exactly the kind of stuff that local media companies need to be doing?
Mark my words. This is the most serious threat to local media. The more we obsess over our precious content, the easier it is for outsiders to come in and steal our revenue base (while we sit by and do nothing).
August 15th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
[…] The real competition for local media. Terry Heaton issues a warning to local newspapers that their local markets are in play. The latest challenge is from Yahoo. Says Terry: “his is the most serious threat to local media. The more we obsess over our precious content, the easier it is for outsiders to come in a steal our revenue base (while we sit by and do nothing).” […]
August 16th, 2007 at 10:22 am
I’m thinking that the good folks at Belo could rationalize away your concern. They believe that this is a concern for other local markets, but not theirs. Are they right? Or are they like the typical American when asked about congressmen — “Congressmen are all crooks, except for mine.”
And what should the hyperlocal, citizenjourno, adverslut folks be thinking about the threat posed by Google, Yahoo, et. al.? I’m sure they have a similar rationalization, as well.
Objectivity rendered impotent by ego.
August 16th, 2007 at 10:30 am
All true, Alex. The essential problem for media companies is a failure to recognize the reality of the disruption, which I firmly believe is the personal media revolution fueled by the pureplays. Unless and until traditional media gets into the support game played so well by Google, for example, they’ll forever be kicking against the pricks.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
More bad news for local media?
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/the-decline-of-local-news-on-the-net/