Message From Michael 
October 20, 2010
HOW DO I MEASURE THEE
OLD PEOPLE GOT NO REASON
ADMIRABLE JOURNALISTS
ADMIRABLE MEDIA MAVENS
FREEDOM OF SPEECH WEEK
HOW DO I MEASURE THEE: With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, mainstream media measures thee to the depth, breadth and height your business can reach. But if you’re the Knight Foundation and you’re measuring the effectiveness of citizen news sites, the measurement is based on… stealing some more lines from dear Elizabeth… “to the level of everyday’s quiet need… with a passion put to use.” (Whew, is that a change from my usual Rock and Roll headlines or what?) According to a recent, and semi-candid, self analysis of its efforts to launch citizen journalism sites through its “New Voices” grants program, J-Lab Executive Director Jan Schaffer argues that the more accepted measures -- revenue raised or unique visitors reached -- just don’t work in measuring the impact of the 46 projects funded since 2005. Very simply, Schaffer and her co-authors say, “community news sites are not a business yet.” Or put in more grant-ese language, “there is a mismatch between instilling sustainable civic demand for local news information and developing sustainable economic models.” And the other revelation that will surprise no-one, “rarely did they (the new voices sites) replace coverage that had vanished from legacy news outlets, or even aspire to (do so.)” But, they argue, that is not say they haven’t been success. It all depends on how you measure success. When the United States Postal Service changes where they place mailboxes on a busy road, after New Voices website Hartsville Today in
All that may sound like excuses, when you consider NewCastleNow only has 3,000 subscribers and only 60,000 unique visitors in a year. The authors say that many of the New Voices sites consider 1,000 unique visitors a month “just fine for their small communities.” Or it may seem an excuse when you consider that the $833,000 in New Voice grants over those five years has only translated into $1.44 Million in either new grants, or donations or ad revenue among the 46 sites. That becomes even more questionable when you consider that three sites accounted for $952,000 of that amount, meaning the other sites averaged between $2,100 and $2,600. For some perspective, the Knight Foundation grant was for a ‘massive’ (yes, I’m being sarcastic) $12,000 in the first year and $5,000 in the second year. Last year the amount skyrocketed (yes, more sarcasm), to $17,000 and $8,000. Humorously, if you like black humor, Schaffer argues that the “micro-funding” is actually a good thing because it teaches them to deal with skeleton resources. Meanwhile, the report notes that the sites are competing against some of the mega-operations such as the Patch series of hyper-local news sites backed by AOL.
The report does contain a series of recommendations, including the point that technology is both a curse and a blessing. A curse when site operators get wrapped up, trying to use high-end tech stuff such as Drupal for their websites instead of open-source software. A blessing when they make use of Search Engine Optimization and the “game changing” social media. Several of the sites found that social networking increased their outreach enormously, with some sites even using social networks as their primary means of distribution. Also, even though nearly half of the sites had university connections, the university sites were “steeped in peril.” Primarily, because the academic calendar just doesn’t work for such sites. They have to be year-round. Added to that was the fact that university requirements often “deprived (the sites) of the nimbleness they needed.” To counter this, they recommend universities “create entrepreneurial centers for community outreach and engagement that can circumnavigate the red tape.” The report also notes that legacy media aren’t much better because they have not proven to be the partners that many such website entrepreneurs hoped. The report warns that youth media, such as high school students, should not be relied upon, but instead should be supplementary or ‘tertiary.’ More critical, they say, it is imperative to have a core of writers that you can rely on, because “citizen journalism is a high churn, high touch enterprise.” Many of the site founders told of training dozens, and in some cases, hundreds of people, only to have them leave after a short time. Which brings us to one of the two most important take-aways and, maybe, determinants of success (in my humble opinion.) One is that such sites are driven by people with a passion for what they do, and these people must remain deeply involved in the sites to make them successful. Second is that people visiting such sites aren’t just looking for news; they’re looking for connections… a connection to their community, which too often has been run by an established heirarchy. Hence, the point made by the Browning poem: everyday needs and passion.
FOOTNOTE: Or maybe it’s a side note, but regardless, one of the other factors playing into this are the so-called ‘content farms’ that generate ‘content’ to wrap around advertising to make it more acceptable. Yes, this has been the subject of previous messages, but more media observers are picking up on this trend. The latest, Mike Shields, of MediaWeek, notes that Demand Media, one of the larger ‘custom content’ or ‘custom publishing’ enterprises (as they prefer to be called) ranks 17th in Web traffic with 59 Million unique users, according to figures supplied by comScore.
OLD PEOPLE GOT NO REASON: To use email, or to use Facebook, or to use SMS, or to use any of the so-called new media tools. But they do, says a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life project. It says the numbers have doubled or tripled over the last year. One in five adults (20%) between the ages of 50 and 64 use social networking sites on a typical day. A year ago, it was one in ten (10%). One in seven adults (13%) over 65 use social networking sites on a typical day. A year ago, it was one third that (4%). Somewhat amazing (to me at least), one in ten (11%) of ONLINE (important distinction) adults age 50 to 64 use Twitter; And one in twenty (5) of ONLINE (again, important distinction) adults over 65 use Twitter.
FOOTNOTE: Baby Boomers represent 25% of the population, but they consume 40% of the technology, according to a report by Nielsen. An article in Advertising Age cities Nielsen, the Pew report and even a group called the Grandparent Marketing Group as further evidence of the misconceptions surrounding older people and technology. Forrester Research says that the 46 to 64 year old group actually spends more on technology than any other demographic.
ADMIRABLE JOURNALISTS: There aren’t any. How’s that for a blunt response? According to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, more than half (52%) of Americans could not (or would not) name a journalist or newsperson they most admire. The study authors say that is proof of the fragmented news environment, because that percentage has increased steadily since they started doing the survey. Three years ago, significantly less than half (42%) were unable to name someone. And they note that now cable news people are mentioned as often as network news people. Topping the list this year was Diane Sawyer, but as further indication of the erosion, only five percent named her. She was followed by Katie Couric (4%). Then it’s Bill O’Reilly and Glen Beck (3%), followed by Brian Williams and Anderson Cooper (2%). The low numbers and the slight difference are such that they are not statistically significant.
ADMIRABLE MEDIA MAVENS: There’s a dozen of them, according to AdWeek, and in sharp contrast to the journalists, most of them are about half the age of the news people cited by the Pew Study. And most of them… no, probably all of them, you’ve never heard of. Yet, one could also argue that, with their focus on the digital world, they may also be more impactful. AdWeek staff writers say this is their youngest class of Media All-Star” winners. The executive of the year is 46-year-old Phil Cowdell, CEO of MindShare North
WORTH NOTING: This week (October 18 – 24) is National Freedom of Speech Week, and while the official website (yes, there is an official website) notes that there are scores of causes that have weeks or months named after them, freedom of speech should be especially noted because it is “the language of America.” In an earlier message, we also noted the celebrity studded website, 1forall.us, which is dedicated to reminding people of the importance of The First Amendment. Another belated note: The end of last month (September 25 – October 2) was Banned Book Week and yes, there is an official website for it as well. And, in an interesting (some might say bizarre) twist on the banned book situation, the federal government, in effect, censored a book by the simple expedient of buying every one of the books published. The government bought the entire first run of the book, Operation Dark Heart, by Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer, about intelligence operations in
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