NewspaperTeam

Meeting 1 (1/5/07)

• paper --> web movement issue
  • cannibalization issue
• newspapers are getting thicker
• blogger concept in paper medium?
• donnelly customized newspaper
• bloggers in web versions of newspapers
• blog vs newspaper
  • = unedited vs edited
  • = unvetted vs vetted
• bring hyper-democratic concepts from web world into paper world
  • influenced by identity of the paper's brand
• can editors vet blogs?
• increase in blogs and links to blogs in
• breaking stories
• "trusted aggregator"
• how to bring content together
• what type of newspapers are we talking about?

agreed to do:

• take slide presented today
• everybody write 2 lines on each point
• by 5pm May 8th

Assignment

For your chosen industry/organisation, start to develop a basic view of assets, product and market segmentation

What assets do you have? What value do they have now and will they have in the future?

• large reader base
• reporting staff
• access to government, corporations and other exclusive organizations
• physical media distribution
• Long term relationships with other news companies (AP & Reuters)
• reputation for fairness and accuracy -- Perhaps the single most important source of value for newspapers and the primary source of competitive advantage in the future.
• brand equity -- The strongest newspaper brands will prevail
• extensive archives -- primary source for historical research
• relationships with advertisers and other third parties that allow monetization

---> have a look at this article (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001571463)

What is the most useful definition of "products"?

• physical media
• information gathering and pruning
• Real product is credibility (http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?ID=2189) - reason people read a particular paper is because they perceive it to be a reliable source of information
• Insight, context and commentary on the major issues of the day

What is a useful audience segmentation to understand how to deliver the products/service?

• developing world
• new media consumers
• "out of range" consumers==Are there any potential audiences, currently unserved?==
• Standard Demographics (age, income, gender, political views etc)
• potentially different segments will value different types of reporting - for example younger people may prefer news blogs, people with less time may prefer very concise summaries with links to futher information etc.
• is it possible to promote user generated news on the site alongside regular commentary and maybe most popular news items make it to top of the list similar to (http://www.english.ohmynews.com)? need not have to monitor it closely as strong branded newspaper should attract audience who will effectively moderate their own content.
• also consider different methods of delivery of information - not just via website but to blackberrys, pdas etc.

Where is the value in the value chain? What are the drivers that will determine the value chain in future?

• reporters --> editors --> printing --> delivery/POS --> customer
• reporters --> editors --> syndication --> customer
• value is in reporting and editing
• Value from a P&L/Shareholder point of view is advertising revenues. In some cases it may be the sales cost of each paper
• possibility of charging subscribers to access premium content as with http://www.ft.com ?
• As basic news reporting is now a commodity, value lies in leveraging exclusive content and in providing context and interpretation of the issues of the day.

Who are the competition?

• bloggers, youtube, online papers, news aggregators
• Television news, current affairs programmes
• Google, Craigslist, Gumtree and other online advertising outlets

What are useful performance measures for the output?

• readership (eyballs, ads) + sales + syndication
• subscription revenues
• number of registered users
• number of contributors?
• number of user generated articles?
• speed of delivering breaking news?
• Self-generated vs acquired articles
• Societal impact