technology evolution and its impact on news richard gingras richard@richardgingras.com 650 793 0093

Technology Evolution and its Impact on NewsTechnology Evolution and its Impact on News

Richard Gingrasrichard@richardgingras.com650 793 0093

Beware!Beware!

• Do not presume the old journalistic model will be saved by new technology

• It won’t!

Technology Progression: SimplifiedTechnology Progression: Simplified

What won’t changeWe had better hope so!

What won’t changeWe had better hope so!

• Openness of networks• Access to distribution• Free speech

• What killed newspapers was not Google but the openness of the Internet

• Openness broke distribution control and busted newspaper business models

Implications of the Web on News Product DesignImplications of the Web on News Product Design

Richard Gingrasrichard@richardgingras.com650 793 0093

On an optimistic note…On an optimistic note…

• Journalism’s future will be stronger and more valued than journalism’s past or present

• Newspapers are dying because we have put a press into everyone’s hands – can that be bad?

• Journalism’s future will be molded by many new creative endeavors, not by the painful transmogrification of existing entities

Accept new economicsAccept new economics

• Presume no economic savior, there is none• Newspaper economics were based on controlled

distribution – that’s now anachronistic• Micro-payments are not a macro solution• $40 print ad CPMs are history• Subscription fees are self-defeating unless content has

extraordinary value

• Revenue: assume an RPM of $10• Expense: drive to a PV CPM of $6

Traffic flowsInbound traffic: Cover Page versus Rest-of-Site

Traffic flowsInbound traffic: Cover Page versus Rest-of-Site

50%

50%

Traffic flowsTraffic flows

• Source of rest-of-site traffic• Search, aggregators, email, blogs, news-ranking sites

(e.g. Digg, NewsTrust)

• Behaviors: query-driven as well as browsing• 83% use search to access news; 53% frequently• 15-25% of news site traffic comes from

search/aggregation• It’s not only a good traffic but it’s a great source of new

“uniques” and an opportunity to drive product discovery

Ephemeral anthrax attack article Persistent anthrax attack resource

Rethink content architectureRethink content architecture

Create living resourcesCreate living resources

Leverage the trusted crowdLeverage the trusted crowd

• More writers publishing today than ever before• The blogosphere, Wikipedia• More chaff, yes, but also more wheat

• How can one optimally:• Harvest high-quality, self-determined work• Lead work into areas of interest/need• Provide guidance on ethics and style• Develop appropriate compensation models

• There is a huge benefit to those who develop the skills and processes to do this well

Building trust via transparencyBuilding trust via transparency

• People trust people, not institutions – and the institutions are shrinking

• The site’s value and values should be clear• Ethic policies• Editorial processes• Author bios and

history of work

Recent Articles

Rethink the output“Every new medium begins as a container for the old”

Rethink the output“Every new medium begins as a container for the old”

• The long-form article is not the end product of the reporting effort

• The end product is organic:• Articles, posts, facts, related docs, reader contributions,

discussion, databases, etc. etc.

• And, yes, the long-form should be reconsidered• Audience is low, abandonment is high• How might one better achieve the objective to inform?

4

100% 44% 30% 29%

3

100% 43% 33%

2

100% 41%

59%59%

67%67%

71%71%

Abandonment by LengthAbandonment by Length

Database journalismDatabase journalism

• How can technology allow more effective use of the fruit of a reporter’s efforts?

• Can more reportinggeneratepersistent informationalresources?

• Yes, but only if thethought processchanges

Rethink the rolesRethink the roles

• What is the day-to-day role of a reporter when creation and publication can be in the reporter’s hands?

• What is the day-to-day role of an editor in an edition-less environment with a crowd of participants to lead, guide, and harvest?

FinisFinis

Richard Gingrasrichard@richardgingras.com650 793 0093