Futureview: the coming season of independents

November 30th, 2009

As I face my class every Thursday night at the University of North Texas (“Ethics in a networked world”), I see the dichotomy that is today’s budding journalist. These young people are going to school to “become” professional journalists, yet they are painfully aware of how the industry is collapsing. Their only real hope for work is that they’re technically savvy and they come cheap. Beyond that, though, there’s a dark cloud that has many of them wondering if they’ve chosen the right field.

On the other hand, there is a great sense of value in their knowledge and abilities, especially as it relates to the actual creation of journalism. They don’t need an apprenticeship; they already know all they need to know, so it’s a matter of “just doing it.” In this, I see confidence, although it is somewhat tempered by confusion over a business model. “Go forth and make media,” I tell them at every turn. “Get a day job and let this be your passion, at least for awhile.”

David Carr has captured this energy beautifully in a weekend piece for The New York Times. He writes of the “velvet rope,” in which old school journalists determine who gets in and compares it to the meritocracy that is the Web.

Somewhere down in the Flatiron, out in Brooklyn, over in Queens or up in Harlem, cabals of bright young things are watching all the disruption with more than an academic interest. Their tiny netbooks and iPhones, which serve as portals to the cloud, contain more informational firepower than entire newsrooms possessed just two decades ago. And they are ginning content from their audiences in the form of social media or finding ways of making ambient information more useful. They are jaded in the way youth requires, but have the confidence that is a gift of their age as well.

As I’ve written many times before, I think we’re at the dawn of the age of the independent journalist, and this is why I pay so much attention (with clients and students alike) to the concept of personal branding. I think that aggregators of personal brands is the new big media model (can you say Huffington Post?), and that organizations catering to independents by offering legal and other benefits will flourish. We may again see a version of the velvet rope, but for now, it’s truly every person for him or herself in a media land grab unlike history has ever seen.

And I like what Fred Wilson has to say about it:

I believe the move from a velvet rope model to a meritocracy is a good thing and that the new media business we are building in the wake of the old one will be a better media business; leaner, faster, and controlled more by users than media moguls.

I realize that the change is gut wrenching and many have lost jobs and careers in the process. I don’t celebrate that. In fact, I find it upsetting. But I have also watched many reinvent themselves and come out in a better place too. Change is inevitable and we are better off embracing it than fighting it.

As David says, “It’s a wan reminder that all reigns are temporary”. This one will be as well. So let’s get on with it.

Indeed. Let’s get on with it.

Posted in Disruptions, Journalism, Networked World, Technology, UNT | No Comments » |

Attention techies: new job opportunities ahead

November 22nd, 2009

As local media companies continue to figure out that data and the Local Web are their future, I think we’re going to see a new type of employee being added to local media properties, and it’s good news for the tech community. Until now, most of the “good” tech jobs within media have come at the corporate level, where media companies have organized and executed their interactive strategies. But as evidence mounts that the flexibility for revenue generation is at the local property level, publishers and general managers are going to want these types of people in the shop instead of across the country at a centralized corporate entity.

The big change coming is in databases and database management. Media companies have lots of ways to gather data, but turning that into profit is a different matter. Local ad serving across a network also will produce tons of data, but what to make of it? What to do with it? I think you’ll see these people hired within the sales departments, because their skills will be used to create value and generate revenue across many platforms.

There’s also continued demand for help at the Web Master level, and I’m not talking about a guy or gal who sits in the corner and writes content pages for the company. What’s ahead is niche verticals, microsite development, social media and other strategic and tactical uses of programming and design skills, and again, the boss is not going to be satisfied without such skills in the building. Many companies have “gotten lucky” with a local hire here or there, but the demand for these kinds of skills as the local property level is going to continue unabated for many years to come.

Of course, the biggest help media companies need is within sales, for the selling of TV or print ad space is a whole different animal that helping local advertisers with the Web. I fully expect the skill level of account executives will be going up, up, up in the years ahead, as they take on a more consultative role in enabling local commerce via the Web. Sales people with this kind of knowledge can write their own ticket with media companies, and I don’t see that changing in the years ahead.

Everybody knows that print’s future is seriously in jeopardy, and now comes similar thoughts being expressed about broadcasting in the wake of Oprah Winfrey’s announcement that she’s leaving the world of syndicated TV in 2011. The New York Times notes that this and many other factors have observers concerned.

Most analysts and many executives agree that the economic model of broadcast television — which relies much more heavily on advertising than cable — is severely fractured. What they are wondering now is if it is irreparably broken.

Clearly, the future for local media is the Local Web, and that means a more technologically-oriented staff. Techies who’ve cut their employment teeth with start-ups and other Web companies will find themselves increasingly welcomed in the buildings that house traditional media companies.

Posted in Reinventing Local Media, Technology | No Comments » |

Find me—the “paperboy route” has changed

November 22nd, 2009

Self-confessed news junkie Mrinal Desai offers a fascinating glimpse into his world in a guest post for TechCrunch. Recommended reading for media types who think they’re doing enough to get the word out. Here’s my favorite:

The only screen I care about:

• well written analysis
• Unique and timely content/information
• Thought provoking story telling
• “Connection” with the writer—literally or figuratively from a style perspective
• Delivery channel. Find me—the “paperboy route” has changed

I love the paperboy route meme and what it says in terms of challenging media companies. It’s not just about multiple channels — it’s very much about what goes into those channels, and that’s something new. Mr. Desai may be an extreme news consumer, but people like him are helping clarify the best ways to deliver news in a hyperconnected world. Note, too, that for him, it’s not just about consumption; it’s very much about passing along as well.

Posted in Disruptions, Journalism, Networked World, Technology, Unbundled Media | No Comments » |

Captioning YouTube videos – a big YES!

November 20th, 2009

Google announced this week that it is adding capitoning to YouTube videos, and this is a very big deal for everybody. Using its own technology, YouTube will create an English script from the audio of videos and make that available for the hearing impaired. In addition, those who have the text of the audio available can upload it in a separate file, and YouTube will add it to the video.

The play is being positioned as a way to help the hearing impaired enjoy YouTube, but there’s another huge upside to this: it will dramatically enhance search capabilities on the video giant. Already the world’s second-largest search engine, this move will only strengthen that position for YouTube. Text associated with videos on YouTube will also have the secondary benefit of boosting search engine optimization with Google (or Bing, or whatever), so it’s incumbent on those who are smart enough to already be using YouTube to start uploading text files as well.

Posted in Google, Video, YouTube | No Comments » |

In online sales, it’s ALL about the relationships

November 19th, 2009

Of all the trends currently percolating in the world of local online revenue, none is more important for local account execs to understand than the growing importance of our relationships with our clients. Every good sales person intuitively knows this already, but the nature of that relationship is changing, and that’s what I want to address today.

We know from all the data that local is where its at in terms of advertising growth over the next five years. This is why Google, Yahoo and a host of other pureplay Internet companies are creating applications that enable commerce at the local level. They want a (big) piece of that pie, if not all of it. What these people understand – perhaps even more than we do – is that they lack an existing relationship with local advertisers, and so there’s an all-out war underway to find and exploit non-advertiser-originated relationships in the name of helping small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) part with their advertising money.

Who has such a relationship? Well, we know about the Yellow Pages people, but how about companies like American Express? That’s right, American Express is leveraging its existing relationships with SMBs to introduce people to companies that are eager to teach businesses how to use the Web to conduct commerce (and take a cut of money spent, of course). This is a booming growth business, and we need to be paying attention, ‘lest some outsider come in and hijack our relationships with clients.

We keep this from happening by doing a better job than they do of offering a host of a la carte services that help SMBs do business via the Web. We become consultants, if you will, teaching everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to how to use Google Analytics to how to use YouTube to help their business. We don’t do this for free, of course; we upsell them these services as a part of our portfolio, because we’re no longer just media companies selling advertising; we’re multimedia companies that enable commerce, and if that means helping clients use tools that don’t belong to us, then so be it. Better for us to be mining that relationship than for outside pureplays to come in a steal it.

“But this isn’t my job description,” I can hear throughout the land. Perhaps it isn’t, but it should be, and it behooves you to study, study, study, until you know as much as the next guy about how everything works online. Or hire us, and we’ll come in and teach you everything you’ll need to know.

The almost complete lack of understanding about all of this by local merchants is stunning, but it represents perhaps the greatest opportunity for generating serious online revenue at the local level. Somebody needs to teach the community how all this works, and we’d much rather that be a smart local media company than Google.

(Originally published in AR&D’s Media 2.0 Intel Newsletter)

Posted in Advertising | No Comments » |

Damned if you do

November 19th, 2009

In the world of local television, Nielsen sits at the crossroads of profit and loss. I’ve even heard smart TV people say that if it doesn’t involve Nielsen, it doesn’t really matter to me. Ratings are everything, and while people are watching more television these days, the ratings for individual programs have been going down. I doubt this is news to anyone.

What is news is how Nielsen is trying to “adjust” to aid local broadcasters in this scenario, announcing recently that, beginning January 1st, they will no longer provide “live only” ratings for TV viewing. “Live” is being replaced with “live plus same day,” to accommodate for the use of DVRs. This has made the TV people very happy, but the advertisers, not so much.

GroupM, which controls a great deal of TV advertising, has sent a harshly worded letter to Nielsen.

Media buyers are upset, because the move will boost ratings by as much as 13%, and that will cost advertisers more money for what they view as bogus numbers.

This is a pretty big deal for broadcasters, who’ve seen revenues slide recently as much as 30-40%. It’s going to get ugly, however, because there’s ample evidence that the people who delay watching live TV skip the ads when playing shows back on their DVRs. Advertisers won’t want to pay for that, and Nielsen has a real conundrum on its hands.

Posted in Advertising, Broadcasting | No Comments » |

Back to the future: the drift to point-of-view

November 16th, 2009

Lou Dobbs quit CNN last week. Various accounts say it was “abrupt” and that Dobbs simply refused to tone down his rhetoric, something CNN couldn’t abide. He’s scheduled to appear tonight with Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly, where he plans to talk about the resignation.

As the press tries to figure this out, many stories are surfacing. Dobbs is running for the U.S. Senate. He wants to be President. Dobbs is joining Fox News, where his point-of-view would be welcomed.

Also interesting are the reports about how the forced move by CNN is a part of its effort to secure the “high ground” niche in the news game, with MSNBC owning the left and Fox News owning the right. CNN figures it can be the unbiased bunch. Good luck with that.

Viewers want their newscasters and organizations to be unbiased, but they don’t believe they are, and this poses a very problematic situation for the marketers of those programs. The best anybody can do is try to be fair and accurate, but playing around with any sort of “high ground” is a very dangerous proposition. Those who favor Fox, for example, will view any attempts by CNN to “balance” a story as evidence of liberal bias. Contrariwise, those who favor MSNBC will view opposite attempts by CNN as evidence of conservative bias. The problem with attempts to fence sit, is that there is no fence in the minds of people, no identifiable middle ground that people accept as the place where varying opinions reside. As Jay Rosen has brilliantly concluded, the idea that truth lies between two points-of-view is the great illusion of the professional press, and the people formerly known as the audience intuitively know this.

The origins of objectivity in the professional press are so tied to advertising that it’s impossible to disconnect the two. As Christopher Lasch wrote in his seminal essay “The Lost Art of Political Argument,” the need to create a sterile environment in which to sell advertising fit beautifully with Walter Lippmann’s social engineering views of an elite press, and so was born the professional journalist with his or her “objective” reporting.

This has produced a considerable backlash, and now we have an unmistakable drift to point-of-view journalism that is just beginning. At the grassroots level – and at the pinnacle of big media – we’re seeing more and more argument entering into reporting, and this is a welcome change from the dishonest drumbeat of “we’re objective.”

So what will happen with CNN? Even if it enjoys a reputation among observers as being “independent,” I’m not sure that will resonate with a public that is jaded by the media’s lust for celebrity, gotcha, and bandwagon journalism.

With regards to Mr. Dobbs, there is also the very real trend of personal branding that cannot be denied. People – especially young people – don’t watch networks; they follow people, and one could easily make the case that the brand of Lou Dobbs is, at least in some ways, more valuable than the brand of CNN.

We shall see.

Posted in Culture, Journalism, Politics, Postmodernism | 1 Comment » |

Personal: hip surgery 101

November 15th, 2009

Walking the day after my hip replacement

Greetings one and all. It has been a long time since I’ve ventured here. The reasons have been many: I got hacked and it took a long time to get back. I’ve been busy as hell writing stuff for which I actually get paid. And then there’s the latest, the total replacement of my right hip.

I’m now 2 1/2 weeks out from the surgery, and I’m on target for total recovery in 4-6 weeks. I’ve just moved from the walker to the cane for getting around the house, although I still use the walker for jaunts around the neighborhood. I’m in physical therapy, but there’s no exercise better for this than just plain old walking.

Pain management is an issue, for the tissue around the titanium implant is swollen and sore. That will just take time. I know well the dangers of narcotics, and I’m being very careful to stay with what my doctors recommend. I hope to be back on the road consulting in December.

I’ve lost 25 pounds, mostly because I have no appetite. I’m also drinking water like crazy, which helps flush the system. I’m a mere shadow of my former overweight self, which is, I suppose, a good thing. I can’t say that it’s been “fun,” but the pain that originally drove me to the surgery is gone, and I am very grateful for that.

Over the next few days, I’m going to go back into files of our newsletter since the hack occurred in early June and post some of the best items. I want them here for posterity’s sake, and I think you’ll enjoy reading them, especially if you aren’t subscribed to our newsletter.

Now back to rest.

Posted in Personal | 2 Comments » |

Agnew was right

November 15th, 2009

Friday was the 40th anniversary of Spiro T. Agnew’s famous speech on the power of the television news media. The press vilified Agnew at the time, but I have to acknowledge a few head nods as I re-read the thing this weekend (read it here).

…the President of the United States has a right to communicate directly with the people who elected him, and the people of this country have the right to make up their own minds and form their own opinions about a Presidential address, without having the President’s words and thoughts characterized through the prejudice of hostile critics before they can even be digested.

Agnew charged that such power in the hands of just a few “men” was not good for democracy, for even these men acknowledged their biases. In looking back at this with an open mind, one cannot escape the reality of what’s happened with regards to trust of the press in the U.S. since Agnew made the speech. I can’t prove it, but the evidence suggests that the people agree with Agnew, and not the press. Agnew’s speech was in 1969. Here’s Gallup data going back to 1973.

For the first time, more people in the U.S. distrust the press to be fair and accurate than trust us, and this must be a central theme as we try an reinvent ourselves for future relevancy.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments » |

As businesses embrace the personal media revolution…

November 15th, 2009

When my buddy J.D. Lasica first coined the phrase “personal media revolution” in his book “Darknet, Hollywood’s War Against The Digital Generation,” I”m not sure he (or anybody) fully understood the depth of this disruption to media. I have been writing for years that the PMR is the real disruptive force for media companies, not multiple platforms or the commodification of news. Why? Because anybody can be a media company today, including the people formerly known as the advertisers.

Shakira's new album

Now comes word of a further development in this that bears note today. The pop star Shakira is introducing her new music video Give It Up To Me tomorrow via her Facebook account. She’s using a technology called Ustream to “broadcast” the debut at noon Pacific Time. She’s not the first, but she’s probably the biggest. Chamillionaire debuted his new single Good Morning last Tuesday.

Why is this significant? Because it undercuts and weakens the role that big media companies like MTV have played in the past in the introduction of music to the masses and puts the control directly in the hands of the artist and his or her record company. The loss of media’s role as filter to the masses is the biggest threat to a business model that’s based on such clout, and this is all something completely new.

This kind of thing is happening all over the place in various forms, and J.D.’s “revolution” is in full bloom. I think it has profound consequences for our culture, because it’s the institutions of power that are being ravaged by technology. I’m very excited by what the future holds in this light, but I doubt the status quo is too happy.

If we can just keep the lawyers at bay a little while longer…

Posted in Culture, Disruptions | No Comments » |