Micro Payments for Newspapers: How to Save Newspapers
Steve Outing in Editor and Publisher suggest a couple plausible practical solutions to the problems facing journalism:
Most other newspapers will only be able to charge online users directly for truly premium content that is not replicated somewhere else — for example, e-books and other high-value content that’s not typical newspaper fare.
Newspapers probably can charge for some multi-platform personalized news and information services, if they’re good enough and useful enough. But that’s not charging for the content (the news), it’s charging for the valuable service of individual customization.
See also Contenture for micro payments for content creators, citizen journalists, and newspapers.
Here are some other fantastic ways to save the newspapers. I also like the Crossing the Chasm-esque ideas provide by Mark Potts at Recovering Journalist.
I think it amounts to engagement:
• engage local audiences in a dialouge
• engage in mobile and video
• engage social media, because thats 1/2 the way people connect with content online
• engage in link development and search optimization
• engage in disruptive innovation.
Acting like the ground isn’t moving in 180 degree different direction is like being GM of the 1980’s and acting like the innovation that the Japanese were taking head on wasn’t going on. The difference this time is that failure to act isn’t going to provide as much flexibility as the changes in the car market. The speed of change in our internet generation is nearly instant, with sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube having dramatic success in 6 to 18 months, instead of the decades of decay from neglect and blindness that has brought about the death of GM–a former economic goliath turned to begging pauper.
1 response so far ↓
Nathan Ketsdever // November 12, 2009 at 3:14 pm |
Enterprise will likely pay for filters (or enhanced ways to interpret, organize, use, and connect data):
http://jonbischke.com/2009/08/14/content-publishers-i-have-a-business-model-for-you/
Also, you might consider the internet business model post by Michael Rappa:
http://digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html
As well as this post by David Cohen (although these aren’t explicitly based on content, it might provide some insight):
http://www.coloradostartups.com/2009/11/07/internet-business-models-of-the-techstars/
I’m curious if there has been an aggregation on the successful Y Combinator or Tech Crunch startup business models.
Finally, here is a presentation about saving the newspaper industry:
http://www.slideshare.net/jdojc/how-magazines-can-survive-the-digital-age
I think its ultimately about re-thinking what it means to be a newspaper and perhaps even who their audience is and/or should be. Of course re-thinking potential collaborators for this new 21st century environment, would likewise be in order.
As always, thanks for reading.