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Posted 1:30 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Time for CNN to Focus on News, Says Newsday
In his Jan. 31 Newsday opinion piece, Marvin Kitman bemoans the recent head-rolling and program-slashing that's been bloodying the interior of CNN's headquarters. —Amy Gahran
Posted 1:14 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
The Net Has No Future in Media? Get Real!
In an interview published today by IWantMedia.com, New York Magazine media columnist Michael Wolff asserts that "The Internet as media has failed. It wasn't interesting to any of the parties involved, essentially. People didn't want to pay for content, and there was no way to generate money out of content. It didn't work for advertisers, and it's not going to work. The Internet works as an infrastructure that moves lots of different kinds of information. But in terms of being 'the media business' per se – forget about it."
Please! Just because the conventional mass-media model turns out to be better suited for print and broadcast media than for online media doesn't mean that the game is over. I think what the Internet has shown us is that there is a huge demand for niche content, diversity in content, interactivity, and self-publishing that traditional media have never been able to satisfy. Also, while banner ads on mass-market-targeted Web sites haven't succeeded, online advertising in niche e-mail newsletters and targeted Web sites are doing okay (and in some cases, quite well).
I think that perhaps Wolff has been covering commercial mass-media for so long that he think it's all there is – or at least all that matters. In fact, it's a whole new ball game out there. The Net may not be a wonderful mass medium, but it is an increasingly important part of the media spectrum for people and organizations all over the world. The smart people from traditional media are learning how to get their brains around that point. —Amy Gahran
Posted 4:10 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Taking a Break
I'm traveling the rest of this week and will take a break from Tidbits, so this weblog may be quiet till next week. I'll also be introducing the "new" E-Media Tidbits next week, so stay tuned. —Steve Outing
Posted 4:04 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
NFL Looking for Millions for NFL.com
The National Football League is accepting bids to produce its Web site, NFL.com. The leading suitors are Sportsline.com, Yahoo!, and Disney. According to David Sweet's Nothing But Net column in WSJ.com, the league is hoping that its site will generate some $10 million a year. The previous contract with ESPN reportedly brings in about $3 million a year. I'll put my money on Sportsline.com, because it's got focus on online sports, while the others don't. But ESPN might still come through and keep its prize NFL.com relationship. No matter who gets the NFL nod, webcasts of games are still not in the picture. The league's TV contract doesn't expire till 2005. —Steve Outing
Posted 11:47 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Salon Adds Radio Program
Salon.com Radio debuts on March 1, as the webzine attempts to grow its business into a full-fledged multi-media enterprise. The radio program will be heard on the 100 affiliates of Public Radio International. Salon issued a press release about the radio program on Monday. (Sorry, but I missed it then; in case you did, too, I thought it worth mentioning here.)
In an article in Inside.com yesterday, Salon.com CEO Michael O'Donnell also speaks out on the company's prospects during the market downturn, in which Salon's stock is languishing in the basement. No, Salon.com executives will not consider selling the company; ''We'd never do that. We believe we're building a long-term business here," O'Donnell says. Also, expect to see larger ads on Salon.com, since O'Donnell says he's encouraged by the larger-format ads being run on CNET's News.com. (See yesterday's Tidbits item about the CNET ads.) —Steve Outing
Posted 11:28 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
BBC Fights Back
The BBC has been stung with criticism about its upcoming BBCNews.com Web site, which will serve people outside the UK. As ZDNet UK reports today, BBC executives are making the case that the advertising-supported site will not draw on public funds and will be paid for fully by ad revenues. The government asked the BBC to provide the new Web news service as an online extension of its World Service. BBCNews.com will not be accessible to UK Web users, and they will be redirected to the ad-free UK site, apparently. Commercial broadcasters have gotten testy about this, saying that the BBC is blurring the edges between its public service and commercial arms. —Steve Outing
Posted 1:08 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
CNN's Side to Programming Changes
With regard to my earlier Tidbits report, this just in from Eason Jordan, president of newsgathering and chief news executive of CNN News Group (unless his title has changed again very recently, which is possible):
"Contrary to your report, CNN isn't getting out of the long-form business. Nor is CNN transforming itself into an all-talk and headlines service. Some programs come, other programs go. But CNN is committed to long-form programming, has strengthened its documentary unit, and will continue airing half-hour and one-hour single subject programs."
...Is this the truth? Possibly – but let's keep watching and we'll see. Granted, short-form programming is more amenable to repurposing for online media (for now), which is one benefit of a move to more short-form programming. However, most people still are not online. Granted, most people still don't have cable TV, either. In any event, how the AOL-Time Warner merger affects CNN's programming will be an interesting lesson in how worlds collide. —Amy Gahran
Posted 12:25 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Are Bigger Ads the Answer?
We in Web publishing have long been fretting about the ineffectiveness of banner ads. A big problem is the small size of the standard Web banner — 468 x 60 pixels. Take a look at the ad on this News.com page, which is much larger, set within the body of the article text, and thus more likely to get a Web user's attention. Frankly, I like it. Yeah, it's more obtrusive. But, I think most Web users will come to accept ads that begin to take up more screen real estate. Most people know that Internet economics aren't working well with the free-content model, so perhaps they'll accept larger ads as the price they pay for reading quality content for free. Let's hope so. —Steve Outing
Posted 1:12 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Has AOL-Time-Warner Nixed CNN's In-Depth Coverage?
I just learned that CNN's recently merged owner AOL-Time Warner has reportedly decided to do away with ALL long-format programming (i.e., newsmagazine and in-depth reporting) at the network. I stumbled onto this when "Earth Matters," CNN's excellent weekly environmental newsmagazine show, was mysteriously canceled immediately after the media mega-merger was finalized.
I contacted the media watchdog group FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting) to tell them about Earth Matters, since they follow media-consolidation issues closely. Today I got this response from Jim Naureckas, editor of FAIR's magazine Extra!: "CNN has cancelled not just Earth Matters but basically all of its long-format programming. It's going to an all talk and headline news format." (NOTE: I'm in the process of double-checking with CNN and AOL-Time Warner on this.)
YIKES! What an awful strategy, if true! And CNN.com so far says not one word about the cancelation of Earth Matters or any other long-format show – it's as if they've simply been edited out of the picture. And this AOL-Time Warner Jan. 17 press release about how CNN is streamlining its operations doesn't mention that CNN's long-format programming is getting the boot.
I can't help but think this must be AOL's influence. Time Warner has owned CNN for some time now, and in-depth programming was surviving there (if not thriving) under the old regime. But with AOL in the picture, superficiality reigns! What a shame. If you didn't think media consolidation hurts the quality of news in any medium – think again! —Amy Gahran
Posted 11:53 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
TV's Napster Is Coming
Napster has the music industry all riled up. Just wait till the same kind of broadband network file sharing of TV programming arrives. Writing for Inside.com, Tom Watson and Jason Chervokas have written an interesting column today that predicts what this might be like. It's definitely worth a read. I have an inkling of what they're talking about because I have a TiVo personal network recorder, which has profoundly changed how my family and I watch television. Add Napster-like file sharing to the TiVo experience and ... wow! —Steve
Posted 11:45 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Coate Resigns from SFGate.com
John Coate has resigned as general manager of SFGate.com, the Web site of the San Francisco Chronicle, a position he held for seven years. Coate is practically an institution in the online newspaper world, but then so is Bob Cauthorn, who the Hearst Corp. brought in last September as vice president of new media, above Coate in the heirarchy. The relationship didn't work out, and Coate, 50, is outta there. Dan Fost writes up the resignation in his media column today. —Steve Outing
Posted 11:32 AM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
New Yorker Gets Into E-books
The New Yorker is about as "old-world" as you can get, but the magazine has announced that it's getting into the e-books business, writes M.J. Rose in her weekly column for Wired News. The idea is to survey the last 75 years of New Yorker writing and offer anthologies on various topics in electronic format. The e-books will cost $7.95 each. —Steve Outing
Posted 3:07 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
A Succinct Look at Decline in Online Media
The Financial Times has a handy chart showing the major cutbacks in the online media world. It gives a nice overview of what's gone wrong in the last half year. —Steve Outing
Posted 2:50 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Malaysian Online News Site Honored
At the International Press Institute World Congress in New Delhi, India, today, the Web news service Malaysiakini (Malaysia Now) received the 2001 Free Media Pioneer Award for its investigative reporting. The site, launched in 1999 by Steven Gan and Premesh Chandran, has as its declared aim "to test and push the boundaries of free speech and press freedom in Malaysia by providing credible and up-to-date news and analysis" and "to counter the culture of self-censorship in the mainstream media." Malaysiakini operates against a backdrop of harsh government restrictions on independent and pro-opposition print media. The Internet is the best opportunity to develop a free and independent press in Malaysia. —Steve Outing
Posted 1:18 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
Don't Take Away Our Linking Freedoms!
The Online News Association is lending its support to those fighting for linking rights on the Web. The ONA will file a friend-of-the-court brief in the Universal City Studio v. Reimerdes case, in which a U.S. federal district court attempted to establish a "linking liability" for online journalists who create links to third-party content. (That case deals with information posted on the Web for cracking DVD copy-protection.) The ONA views this case as a severe threat to press freedoms. "This decision is obviously deeply troubling on a number of grounds, and if it stands could have a severe impact on how we as journalists can do our jobs," writes ONA president Rich Jaroslovsky. Other news organizations and associations also are lobbying the court about this issue. —Steve Outing
Posted 12:57 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
E-Book Newsstand Association Debuts
Today marks the official founding of the Electronic Book Newsstand Association (EBNA), which was created to raise publishers' and consumer awareness of digital e-reader devices (which include what are commonly referred to as "e-book readers," as well as PDAs) as platforms for distributing news and information. Founded and organized by Vin Crosbie, a news industry new media consultant and entrepreneur, the organization plans to facilitate the flow of such content, provide technical research, advice and insights, and represent periodical publishers in the E-Book, PDA and E-Paper industries. Here's the press release. (Note: I am one of the founding members of EBNA.) —Steve Outing
Posted 12:50 PM US Eastern Time | perma-link to item below
On 'Politically Correct' Web Writing
Web writing can be tricky, because you often have a diverse and global audience. Terms that seem perfectly harmless to you may be deeply offensive to people who come onto your site. Content Spotlight columnist Crawford Kilian gives some advice to Web writers on how not to offend, and communicate clearly and effectively, in his article, "Smile When You Call Me That, Web Writer!"
Also in Spotlight this week, Ethan Casey takes a look at online music content; I have a profile of Corante.com, a new professional weblog site that's trying to turn weblogs into money makers; and Michelle Goodman profiles NewsFactor Network. —Steve Outing
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