IN THIS ISSUE:

TIME TO INCREASE ONLINE INVESTMENT
IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT PERSONAL BRANDING
HOW TO WRITE FOR THE WEB, TBD.COM STYLE
WHEN THE PRESS DOESN'T TALK ABOUT RELIGION
TOOLS OF THE TRADE - DROID X IN THE FIELD
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

TIME TO INCREASE ONLINE INVESTMENT
by Terry Heaton
Local media companies should double-down on their investment in online operations, according to online revenue guru, Gordon Borrell. New research from Borrell Associates this week shows bullish projections for 2011, and Borrell says this is not the time to be shy. "This means adding complement and building out their content systems, not just spending more time in meetings."

He predicts there's a gap that will be developing.

There’s no sign the growth will abate anytime soon, and I rarely see anyone investing enough. It’s almost like they don't really believe in it. I'm certain the great divide is forming between local media companies who see the Internet as an extension of their core product, and companies that see a much larger opportunity to go well beyond that.

Borrell is projecting online advertising to almost triple the growth rate of all advertising next year, up nearly 14 percent over 2010. This is potentially good news for local media companies, because the growth project for online local advertising is 17.5 percent greater than 2010, from $13.7 billion to $16.7 billion. To be a part of that growth, however, media companies must let go of their old bread and butter, run-of-site banners. Spending on that is expected to decline 14 percent.

The growth is fueled mostly by the growth of mobile advertising, according to Borrell, which the company still considers in the "online" bucket. "Online is peeling a half percentage point here, a half there from things like Direct Mail, Yellow Pages and Radio," he said, "and those things all add up.

"So 17.5% might be considered optimistic," he added, "but with the results that a lot of marketers are seeing with social media and direct-response marketing online, SMBs continue to flock toward it. Online is still less than 17% of all ad budgets, so there’s room for growth."

In addition to mobile growth, the big growth driver is the category "targeted" display advertising, according to the report.

We expect (targeted display) to grow almost 60 percent in 2011, reaching $10.9 billion for national and local combined. While national advertisers will increase their use of targeted display by nearly 50 percent, local advertisers will outperform even that. Use of targeted display by advertisers local to the markets where their ads run will more than double, reaching more than $2.3 billion next year.

To get into the targeted display category, however, you must offer the ability to target, which is something we're seeing interactive directors working hard on this year.

There are two other categories from the Borrell report that require comment. One, streaming video advertising will continue its meteoric rise, increasing more than 60 percent to $5.6 billion next year. Even small businesses are getting into this category, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Two, online promotions — which includes advertisers spending money on their own "media company" efforts — is expected to pass $24 billion next year. Much of this will be couponing, according to the report, which is likely to be proximity-based and mobile.

Online remains a significant growth category for local media companies, but as Borrell says, it's largely for those who seize opportunities beyond their own brands.   < Link>

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IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT PERSONAL BRANDING
by Terry Heaton
Australian futurist Ross Dawson predicts that newspapers will be irrelevant in Australia by 2022 but that journalism is undergoing a form of rebirth. He goes on to make some specific predictions, but one caught my attention:

The reputation of individual journalists will drive audiences. Many journalists, most leading experts in their fields, will still be employed in Australia, with public reputation measures guiding audiences on how much to trust their work.

This thinking is showing up increasingly in writings by observers about the future of the news business, and it's something I've been saying for years. A New York Magazine article comparing the troubles of newspapers to the troubles of the adult entertainment industry concludes with a similar thought for the New York Times: focus on their talent.

They should work harder at establishing their talent as brands — not the editorialists, like they did with Times Select; you can get opinion anywhere — but the people whose work has actual value: the reporters. Like a good talent manager, the Times could nurture and advise these reporters, guide their careers, and manage all of their creative output. They wouldn't just publish their stories, they'd also publish their books, book them on speaking engagements, broker their movie deals — and offer them lucrative contracts in exchange. The Times already has the best talent, and it's possible people will pay for it.

In today's hyperconnected, social media-driven world, people follow people, not institutional brands. Moreover, the net reach via Facebook, for example, of the staff of any news organization can and should exceed that of the organization itself, because people follow certain individuals but not others. In Spartanburg, SC, WSPA-TV anchor Amy Wood garners more Facebook fans than the station's Facebook page altogether. She works at it, but so should everybody, because people follow people!

In my 2008 essay, Your Personal Brand, I offered ten things that people can do to strengthen their personal brands. Now that the concept is becoming more mainstream, I thought it would be appropriate to republish them here:

1. Blossom where you're planted, because it leaves a good taste in the mouths of your co-workers and impacts your reputation. For young people especially, this includes your network, because one's network at that age often includes people you work with.

2. Build a database of customers and people of influence. Let technology do the heavy-lifting here, but these are the people who spread your reputation beyond your own reach. Get to know them. Remember them. Help them. Stay in contact with them. This strengthens your brand.

3. Spread the brands of others in your network, for it's the best way to motivate people to spread yours. Go to them as a customer, and let the shop owner know what you think. Help that person be the best they can be at their gift or chosen field.

4. Make personal business cards with your brand and spread them everywhere. Advertise yourself with people in person and online. Talk about what you do. Share your experiences and maybe even provide tips as part of your social networking. Everything you do, especially if it's negative, reflects on your brand.

5. Be a good person, not an ass. People are watching, and the last thing you ever want to do is prove yourself a jerk through your behavior while your intentions tell you you're really a good guy.

6. Get comfortable with yourself, even if it takes professional help. People intuitively recognize self-destructive or self-centered behavior, and it's a huge turn-off. If you use, for example, your Facebook page to constantly gripe about this or that, your brand will be that of a complainer and someone who enjoys life atop the old pity pot. You can't control what people think of you, but you can choose not to give them ammunition with which to interpret your brand as negative.

7. When someone asks for your help, offer it freely, for Life loves a cheerful giver, and your brand will continue to grow. This is also a hedge against those bad days (that everyone has) that contain bad behavior. People will know that's out of character and cut you some slack.

8. Devote some time each day to the study of your craft, and this is especially true for young people. You don't have to pretend to be an expert when you really are one.

9. Don't be afraid to be human. Nobody's perfect, although we all seem to think that we should be. Get off your own back, and soon you'll find it easy to get off the backs of others. You will make mistakes, sometimes pretty big ones. When they happen, admit them, turn the page, and move on. Tolerate your own imperfections and you'll discover how easy it is to tolerate the imperfections of others, and that is a good brand characteristic.

10. Be teachable and stay teachable, no matter how much (you think) you know. Run, don't walk, to those who can teach you and help grow your brand. Seek out such people and invest your time, for it will pay dividends beyond what you can imagine today.

Personal brands ARE the future of journalism, and that includes those outside the mainstream who are practicing the craft as bloggers. Individuals will become experts in some niche and sell that expertise to those who need or want it, either as independent contractors or employees. My guess it will be more the former than the latter, for once people taste the freedom of being on their own, it's hard to go back.

This, of course, will set in motion a whole series of issues relating to the craft of journalism, but that will be fine. Meanwhile, advancing your personal brand should be high on the list of any professional journalist's daily chores.   < Link>

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HOW TO WRITE FOR THE WEB, TBD.COM STYLE
by Terry Heaton
Much has been written about Albritton's new local news website in Washington, D.C., TBD.com. It's been heralded as "the" new model for local news, but some observers feel it's rather ho-hum. "Nothing new here," is the feeling, but I disagree — and for one very good reason: This news website is written like no other one out there, and could easily serve as the model for others to emulate.

Editor Erik Wemple told me via email that they "strive for conversational and authoritative at the same time," with strive being the key word. "The web appears to reward writers who can jam news, information, analysis, and some voice/personality into a tight package," he told me. "It's not an easy thing to do and like everything else, practice is critical."

"Our approach," he added, "has been to hire writers who can put together something digestible and interesting on the fly. That said, we issued no formal instructions to our people about how they were to write. Rather, we just told them to go out there, report, and write it up."

I've not seen such an approach anywhere, but it's perfect for the Web and especially for the concept of real-time or "continuous" news. Here are ten examples of first sentences in items published by TBD.com. Regardless of what you think, these examples alone are compelling evidence that there's something different about "the news" here:

• The time for criticism had passed. If anything, the Montgomery County Planning Board’s meeting on July 15 was a time for apology.

• Drive through Forest Glen on a regular basis? The experience will be a lot worse before it gets a lot better.

• I get a lot of odd things in my inbox (marriage proposals, death threats, the usual) but none have been quite as amusing as this.

• Live in Bethesda or Silver Spring and have no idea what to do on Sundays between the hours of 1 and 5 p.m.?

• Hail Vulcan, god of fire! Next time you decide to incinerate a tiny fraction of downtown, a little notice please?

• When you spend hours a day on Google Reader, it's easy to lose perspective of the broader picture.

• I don't work for the DOD, but if I did, I'd definitely be curious about what's going to happen in the coming months.

• If you're looking for hope of playoff baseball at Nationals Park someday, hoist your dreams on the shoulders of 17-year-old Bryce Harper. Everyone else has.

• Over in the Scrum today, we're offering a discussion of Rob Dibble's remarks and his subsequent, rather clumsy, apologies. Allow me to put in my two cents.

• The last thing anyone in Montgomery County wants to hear about is another storm. Well unfortunately there may be some more storms with damaging winds today, just as everyone in the county finally has electricity again.

Wemple says it's tricky to teach people how to write for the Web.

Pushing people to go conversational can produce some disasters on the writing front. If people aren't "feeling" the whole conversational thing, then telling them to do it is guaranteed to generate the lamest conversational writing you've ever seen. There have been instances in which we've had people who we know can write "webby" but stick to more formal approaches. In such circumstances, we just let them know that it's OK to bag the formality and leave it at that. It's still early and we have a long way to go on many fronts.

Perhaps, but as I told Erik, they're already far beyond most media companies. The essence of news and information is writing, and the Web not only allows a more informal style but actually encourages it. TBD.com is onto something here, and I encourage you to check them out. Their RSS feed is also worth a look to see how real-time news is done.   < Link>

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WHEN THE PRESS DOESN'T TALK ABOUT RELIGION
by Terry Heaton
So 18% of Americans think President Obama is a Muslim. 34% think he’s a Christian and 43% aren’t sure what he believes. The data comes from a Pew study of religion and politics and underscores, I think, the remarkable and judgmental ignorance of the American public. The study notes that it is political opponents who skew the results, but that doesn’t explain the 43% who say they “don’t know.” This is not just tragic; it’s damning evidence of the how religion has been virtually eliminated from mainstream discussions of leadership at all levels.

I’ve been associated with studies of religion for a very long time. In 1988, I led a month-long study of religion in the Tennessee Valley for WDEF-TV in Chattanooga. The project, in conjunction with the Chattanooga Times, was extremely well-received by the public, and I’ve often thought that it’s the most overlooked news “beat” in the country, especially in the South. The truth is that journalists are uncomfortable talking about religion, because it’s complicated, polarizing and easy to make a mistake. It has the potential to really make the uninformed look like an idiot, too, and what reporter wants that? Nevertheless, 92% of Americans profess a belief in God, so it’s clearly relevant to the audience.

It’s this unwillingness to talk about spiritual matters in everyday life that leads to the data from Pew. If the press doesn’t talk about it, the only source of information is peer groups, and the kind of echo-chamber nonsense of groups like certain factions of the Tea Party.

I should mention that the Chattanooga religion project DOUBLED our ratings in one month, so the interest level is there. The subject just needs to be treated respectfully.   < Link>

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TOOLS OF THE TRADE - DROID X IN THE FIELD
by Ken Elmore
As mobile technologies expand, smartphones are making their way into mainstream media newsrooms.

KPHO in Phoenix is one station leading the charge. The station purchased Verizon Droid X phones for its news staff and rolled them out as news gathering tools.

The Droid X has an 8 megapixel camera that shoots 720p HD video and holds up to 32GB on removable SD chips. It's at the top of its class in video enabled phones.

In less than a month the staff began experimenting with ways to shoot video and send it back to the station for online and on-air use. They transmit the images through the phones 3G mobile connection.

Michelle Donaldson is a believer that the phones have a place in today's newsrooms. "The X phones are great, so far. I think we've learned more about them and various ways to use them than Verizon knew when we were sold the phones!"

Donaldson adds, "They work great — but we love Gmail more than anything else. If your internal email system rejects large files (as ours does), you'll want to build a work-around to get those large files into your plant. We established a Gmail destination that our editors can tap into."

"We were able to have a significant presence from Flagstaff where the Cardinals are working out. Our competitors sent their satellite truck. We sent a guy with a phone! How cool is that? It's not the ideal way to do things right now, but we're still experimenting. I have a staff of McGuyvers and it's amazing what they've created so far," Donaldson says.

The station shoots video in short bursts in 16X9 format, usually about 35 seconds or less. That allows them to email the files without getting backed up in email. The clips are then edited together back at the station and ready for air.

Eric Sperling of KPHO Sports explains the process:

"Because I knew we were going to put the PKG on the air, I shot a 20 second intro and tag with the Droid camera set to the HD settings. Because the file size is so large for HD, I had to rush through when we approached the 20 second mark. For the VO portion, I changed the settings to low resolution so I could talk a little longer. I then e-mailed the files one at a time to the station and they put the clips into the Avid and did some nice movements with the pictures I sent back from camp. Again—not great—but not bad if we're ever in a pinch without a SAT truck and editing equipment."

Here is a link to story that aired on KPHO that night. Kudos to the Phoenix team for thinking out of the box and using new technology to solve age old issues.   < Link>

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK I'd be lying if I said I wasn't heartbroken at the fear I saw. Seth Godin describing discussions with CEOs in the book publishing industry about the future of publishing. He's decided he will no longer publish books the old fashioned way.