NEWS IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
BLOG ME THIS, NEWSMAN
ARM WRESTLING ADVERTISERS
COCKTAIL CHATTER – GOD’S GOLF BALL
NEWS IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: A study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism has found major differences between the news presented on mainstream media news sites versus user generated sites. For example, taking one week in June, the study authors found that 10% of all the news on the mainstream media sites dealt with the war in Iraq. In the user generated sites, the war accounted for only one percent of the news. The project authors used three sites as examples of user generated sites – Reddit, Digg and Del.icio.us. They also did a comparison with the news.yahoo.com website. (There is no explanation why they didn’t use news.google.com.) Need another example? The immigration debate dominated the mainstream media news sites. On the three user generated sites, it came up only once as a top ten story. Instead, the user generated sites ‘news’ were more “lifestyle” focused stories.
Okay, now, you may have heard or read some of this, but dig a little deeper in the report (as your friendly neighborhood consultant did) and you find some more interesting data. For example, in the mainstream media, ten stories account for more than half (51%) of all the stories carried on the mainstream media websites. This is a fact noted in previous Project reports, that mainstream media tell you a lot about a little. In comparison, no single story dominated the user generated sites to the same extent. Okay, the iPhone controversy came close, but even it did not reach the same level of dominance. Instead, the user generated sites news agenda was “more diverse, yet also more fragmented and transitory” than that of their mainstream cousins. The other major point the authors make is that four out of ten (40%) of the stories on the user generated sites came from blogs with three out of ten (31%) coming from non-news, information sites such as YouTube, Technorati, or WebMD and only a quarter (25%) coming from more traditional news sites such as the BBC or Slate.
Some of the findings in the report may fall in the Homer Simpson “doh” category. For example, the user generated sites are all very U.S.-centric in their focus with nine out of ten stories being domestic. Yahoo which has a broader, global base had more foreign news coverage than the mainstream media. (Sunday, when I looked at news.yahoo.com, the ‘most popular’ story was about a gas-guzzling tax proposal in the U.K. In stark contrast, when I looked at news.google.com, the ‘most popular’ story was that there were nude pictures of the female star of the Disney television hit High School Musical.)
The report says the key area of interest was technology and science reports. Well, doh, these sites are dominated by tech-savvy individuals. That said, what was particularly interesting was the difference on news.yahoo.com, in particular, between what the editors picked versus the most recommended, the most e-mail and the most viewed. User-ranked stories tended to be more about health and medicine, lifestyle and crime. Its ‘most recommended’ page was more likely to be ‘news you can use’ articles; its most e-mailed page had those kinds of stories, butthis section was more diverse with big stories but also “oddball” stories; the ‘most viewed’ page was the “most sensational,” according to the report, with stories about celebrities and crime.
Footnote: The study authors make the point that the percentage of Americans who rely on user generated sites for news is only a fraction of the number who use mainstream news sites. But the big question, they say, is whether there will be further divergence over the coming years between user-driven sites and mainstream media sites. (I should note that the website MySpace has started a news website, and it says something that when you go to it, the so-called news stories only get one or two votes, despite the enormous size of the MySpace audience.)
Lessons to be Learned: Let me offer a thought about the findings. I would never recommend setting a news agenda based on such user generated preferences. But I would raise the question about defining your marketing agenda using the topics highlighted on the user generated sites.
BLOG ME THIS, NEWSMAN: So, you’ve now read that blogs accounted for more stories than traditional media on the user-generated sites. Here’s the other shoe dropping. According to a survey by market research firm BIGResearch, bloggers are considered more trustworthy by the American public than the media. Admittedly the numbers are small, but still significant with people 18-34 more likely to pick bloggers (8.5%) than the media (5%) and people 35-54 also picking bloggers (6.1%) over the media (3.8%). Only people over the age of 55 picked the media. If it’s any consolation, bloggers also scored higher in ‘trustworthiness’ than the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate. Only the President scored higher with one in seven (14.2%) of those over the age of 18 rating him “more trustworthy.” Possibly more disturbing is that roughly seven out of ten (69% to 72%) of those surveyed, regardless of age or gender, said, “I don’t trust any of the above.”
The Wall Street Journal in its Act One column talks about the growth of bloggers and a ‘blogging elite’ even though “the blog business model hasn’t been proven by a tough economy.” The article focuses on Washington, D.C., which is the fourth ‘bloggiest’ city in America, according to blog research site Outside In. The ‘bloggiest’ city – Boston, with 89 blog posts per 100,000 residents, closely followed by Philadelphia at 88, Pittsburgh at 53, Washington, D.C., at 51 and Portland at 49. The study authors, semi-tongue-in-cheek, say ‘blogginess’ is a reflection of “growth, civic activism and writerly population.”
ARM WRESTLING ADVERTISERS: Two separate reports, with two different sets of numbers, but the same basic conclusion. The Internet has officially beaten Radio in two out of three falls for advertising dollars. Market research firm eMarketer says the Internet will nudge out Radio by about a Billion dollars this year. But more critically, the Internet is growing while Radio is, in the words of the report, “anemic.” The same message from market research and consulting firm TNS Media Intelligence which says that in the first half of 2006, Radio led the Internet in a tight race in terms of advertising dollars, but now a year later, in the first half of 2007, the Internet took the lead, nudging past radio. But more importantly, while Radio is showing a slight decline, the Internet continues to show double-digit growth. Both reports are careful to note that the Internet advertising growth isn’t entirely at the expense of radio. The eMarketer report even goes further, urging advertisers to “combine the two to take advantage of the unique attributes of each.”
Okay, it’s trite, but I’ll use it anyway. I have some good news and some bad news for local TV Internet advertising. First, the bad news. Local online advertising, in the words of the eMarketer people, is a situation where the promise is greater than the reality. In other words, it’s not living up to expectations, and partly because of the intrusion of operations like Google and Yahoo. The good news is that local online advertising should “accelerate” as small and mid-size companies see its potential, and local Internet sites and services grow as well. Even better news, at least if you’re in television, is that local TV websites are finally beginning to pay off with one in four adults saying they’ve visited a local TV website in the past 30 days, according to a study from The Media Audit.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: One in three Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11 attacks, according to a recent CBS/ New York Times poll, even though this myth was debunked by official sources, including the White House. On April 13, 1945, General Patton forced the residents of the German village Ohrdruf to view a nearby concentration camp that they claimed to know nothing about. The next day the mayor and his wife committed suicide. (From Polaris, the magazine of WWII subvets.) A Civil War buff has determined that, based on the actual battles cited, the pregnancy of the character Melanie in the classic novel Gone With The Wind, lasted 21 months. And this is not a factoid of any sort, but I found it so amusing that I had to include it. The editor of the Star and Beacon newspaper in 96, South Carolina, in an editorial urging people to walk with Christ, ends by saying, “it’s the least we can do with our lives here on ‘God’s golf ball’ before the Almighty putts us back into a black hole on the cosmic back nine.”
Monday, September 17, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Message From Michael -- September 10,2007
9/11
THE SILVER BULLET
BROADCAST JOURNALISM IN A MULTIMEDIA WORLD
WORD OF MOUTH FOLLOW-UP
WEBLISH VS. LEETSPEAK
9/11: Two numbers that speak volumes. Mark the day. Recognize it. Yes, I know it’s ‘only’ the 6th anniversary. But the fact is that the growing controversy over the Iraq war, the fact that General Petraeus is supposed to release his report on Iraq, the fact that Osama bin Laden has released another tape only adds to the occasion. Even so, that’s not the point. The point is that it is a defining moment in America. Marketers – produce :04 second ID’s, :10 and :15 second spots memorializing the day, saluting the military men and women. Newsies – there should be stories in every newscast (local and national) and your anchor team should acknowledge the event. Let your audience know that you remember… and you care. That’s a powerful message to send viewers.
PS: For those General Managers who do editorials, this is a perfect topic. Hint. Hint.
THE SILVER BULLET: Increase efficiency. Improve morale. Reduce turnover. Raise the ratings. How, you ask? One word – communication. Yes, I know that sounds like a trite answer, but a professor at the University of Miami has done a survey that ‘proves’ just that. Terry Adams at the University’s School of Communication surveyed producers and directors in various markets around the country. Part of what he found out, anybody who has been in a television newsroom knows. Most directors are older males who have been at the same station for a long time while most producers are young females who have only been at the station for a couple of years. Interestingly, although not surprisingly, the producers had a generally positive view of the directors with nearly all of the producers (97%) saying the director helped the process and nearly as many (88%) saying the director provided the information necessary and four-fifths (80%) rating the director as “competent.” It wasn’t quite the opposite with directors, but it was substantially different, with less than half (48%) of the directors agreeing that the producer helped in the process, and only slightly more (54%) saying the producer provided all the information necessary and nearly half (46%) of the directors rating the producer as “incompetent.”
Even more interesting and the key take-away from the survey (at least, to me) was Adams’ finding that there was a “significant relationship” between whether producers and directors held a show meeting and how they assessed each other’s competence. Those who held show meetings were more likely to consider their counterpart either the best they had worked with or at least competent. And it gets even more interesting. Adams found that the “quality of information” the producers and/or directors received from their counterpart was “significantly correlated” to their overall job satisfaction. That, in turn, also showed a relationship to job turnover which Adams rightly noted is a major problem with producers. And both defined the “perfect” producer or director in terms of communication. Finally, the piece de resistance, the stations with the highest reported levels of communication also had the highest ratings. In Academic speak, Adams says, “correlation analysis shows ratings to be significantly related to the amount of information relayed.” To his credit, he also put in plain English: “simply put, companies can make money out of good communication.”
YET… yet… (do you detect a note of frustration?), three quarters of the producers (75.9%) and directors (73%) did not have regular daily show meetings. And most (68%) work in different parts of the building so any ad hoc communication is impossible. Directors are less likely to take part in meetings in the news department than the other way around. Adams says the key finding is that not only do producers and directors not communicate well, they don’t even communicate minimally although, as he rightfully notes, “one cannot succeed without the other’s participation and involvement.”
And that note of frustration? That’s the consultant in me. I have recommended at EVERY station I have either worked at or consulted that the director be part of the editorial meeting. And there’s always excuses why the director can’t do it. As a final footnote, I contacted Adams who turns out to be a former director with ten years in the business.
BROADCAST JOURNALISM IN A MULTIMEDIA WORLD: That’s the title of a new book which argues that “multiplatform journalism is simply a fact of life for any up-and-coming journalist.” The book, designed as a text, looks at the specific strengths and advantages of the different platforms and how students can go beyond re-purposing to actually advancing their stories to the next level for any medium, according to the blurb on publisher CQPress’s website. It was written by MfM friend Deborah Potter, former CBS and CNN correspondent and now NewsLab executive director, and Deborah Wenger, former executive producer and now associate professor media convergence and new media at Virginia Commonwealth University. Okay, I admit this is plugola, and candidly I can’t endorse the book because I have only read the summary, but the fact is that it addresses an issue that seasoned and student journalists have to wrestle with now.
WORD OF MOUTH FOLLOW-UP: My previous MfM talked about the power of Word of Mouth in marketing, advertising and news. Further confirmation of the power of WOM comes from a New York Times article about music producer Rick Rubin and Columbia Records. As part of their marketing effort, they surveyed the 20 college student interns they had brought in who told them that: “a) no one listens to the radio anymore, b) they mostly steal music but they don’t consider it stealing, and c) they get most of their music from iTunes on their iPod. They told us that MySpace is over, it’s just not cool anymore; that Facebook is still cool, but that might not last much longer; and the biggest thing in their life is word of mouth. That’s how they hear about music, bands, everything.” (Thanks to Tim Livingston of WNWO/ Toledo and David Toma of WECT/ Wilmington for pointing this article out to me.)
Another study, this one by MTV and Nickelodeon found that four out of five (83%) of ‘tech-savvy’ teenagers visited a website based on the recommendation of a friend and half of all teenagers (55%) found out about a viral video through word of mouth. The study also found that 14 to 24 year olds have an average of 53 friends, both online and ‘off-line.’
WIDGETS FOLLOW-UP: I’ll keep this brief. USA Today has become the first major newspapers to develop widgets that can be used on people’s personal websites and that use Flash technology. (Readers will remember me talking about widgets several editions back.)
LEETSPEAK VS WEBLISH: Have you heard of either? Well, “weblish” is, as the name implies, a combination of English and Web-centric words. The latest addition to the so-called “weblish” dictionary – Bacn, which is a variation on spam and spim, and is defined as email consumers may want (such as my newsletter, niche product announcements, social network updates) but which still clog up your e-mail box. Now, there is a version, tentatively nicknamed “leetspeak” in which the shorthand vocabulary is used in regular communication including a spoken version. For example, LOL (Laugh Out Loud) is pronounced ‘lawl’ and PWN (which is gamer talk for annihilating an opponent) is pronounced ‘pone.’ An article in The Wall Street Journal says the changes are already underway and if you don’t believe it, the harbinger of bad taste, South Park, had a recent episode in which one of the characters shouted out, “looks like you’re about to get poned.”
THE SILVER BULLET
BROADCAST JOURNALISM IN A MULTIMEDIA WORLD
WORD OF MOUTH FOLLOW-UP
WEBLISH VS. LEETSPEAK
9/11: Two numbers that speak volumes. Mark the day. Recognize it. Yes, I know it’s ‘only’ the 6th anniversary. But the fact is that the growing controversy over the Iraq war, the fact that General Petraeus is supposed to release his report on Iraq, the fact that Osama bin Laden has released another tape only adds to the occasion. Even so, that’s not the point. The point is that it is a defining moment in America. Marketers – produce :04 second ID’s, :10 and :15 second spots memorializing the day, saluting the military men and women. Newsies – there should be stories in every newscast (local and national) and your anchor team should acknowledge the event. Let your audience know that you remember… and you care. That’s a powerful message to send viewers.
PS: For those General Managers who do editorials, this is a perfect topic. Hint. Hint.
THE SILVER BULLET: Increase efficiency. Improve morale. Reduce turnover. Raise the ratings. How, you ask? One word – communication. Yes, I know that sounds like a trite answer, but a professor at the University of Miami has done a survey that ‘proves’ just that. Terry Adams at the University’s School of Communication surveyed producers and directors in various markets around the country. Part of what he found out, anybody who has been in a television newsroom knows. Most directors are older males who have been at the same station for a long time while most producers are young females who have only been at the station for a couple of years. Interestingly, although not surprisingly, the producers had a generally positive view of the directors with nearly all of the producers (97%) saying the director helped the process and nearly as many (88%) saying the director provided the information necessary and four-fifths (80%) rating the director as “competent.” It wasn’t quite the opposite with directors, but it was substantially different, with less than half (48%) of the directors agreeing that the producer helped in the process, and only slightly more (54%) saying the producer provided all the information necessary and nearly half (46%) of the directors rating the producer as “incompetent.”
Even more interesting and the key take-away from the survey (at least, to me) was Adams’ finding that there was a “significant relationship” between whether producers and directors held a show meeting and how they assessed each other’s competence. Those who held show meetings were more likely to consider their counterpart either the best they had worked with or at least competent. And it gets even more interesting. Adams found that the “quality of information” the producers and/or directors received from their counterpart was “significantly correlated” to their overall job satisfaction. That, in turn, also showed a relationship to job turnover which Adams rightly noted is a major problem with producers. And both defined the “perfect” producer or director in terms of communication. Finally, the piece de resistance, the stations with the highest reported levels of communication also had the highest ratings. In Academic speak, Adams says, “correlation analysis shows ratings to be significantly related to the amount of information relayed.” To his credit, he also put in plain English: “simply put, companies can make money out of good communication.”
YET… yet… (do you detect a note of frustration?), three quarters of the producers (75.9%) and directors (73%) did not have regular daily show meetings. And most (68%) work in different parts of the building so any ad hoc communication is impossible. Directors are less likely to take part in meetings in the news department than the other way around. Adams says the key finding is that not only do producers and directors not communicate well, they don’t even communicate minimally although, as he rightfully notes, “one cannot succeed without the other’s participation and involvement.”
And that note of frustration? That’s the consultant in me. I have recommended at EVERY station I have either worked at or consulted that the director be part of the editorial meeting. And there’s always excuses why the director can’t do it. As a final footnote, I contacted Adams who turns out to be a former director with ten years in the business.
BROADCAST JOURNALISM IN A MULTIMEDIA WORLD: That’s the title of a new book which argues that “multiplatform journalism is simply a fact of life for any up-and-coming journalist.” The book, designed as a text, looks at the specific strengths and advantages of the different platforms and how students can go beyond re-purposing to actually advancing their stories to the next level for any medium, according to the blurb on publisher CQPress’s website. It was written by MfM friend Deborah Potter, former CBS and CNN correspondent and now NewsLab executive director, and Deborah Wenger, former executive producer and now associate professor media convergence and new media at Virginia Commonwealth University. Okay, I admit this is plugola, and candidly I can’t endorse the book because I have only read the summary, but the fact is that it addresses an issue that seasoned and student journalists have to wrestle with now.
WORD OF MOUTH FOLLOW-UP: My previous MfM talked about the power of Word of Mouth in marketing, advertising and news. Further confirmation of the power of WOM comes from a New York Times article about music producer Rick Rubin and Columbia Records. As part of their marketing effort, they surveyed the 20 college student interns they had brought in who told them that: “a) no one listens to the radio anymore, b) they mostly steal music but they don’t consider it stealing, and c) they get most of their music from iTunes on their iPod. They told us that MySpace is over, it’s just not cool anymore; that Facebook is still cool, but that might not last much longer; and the biggest thing in their life is word of mouth. That’s how they hear about music, bands, everything.” (Thanks to Tim Livingston of WNWO/ Toledo and David Toma of WECT/ Wilmington for pointing this article out to me.)
Another study, this one by MTV and Nickelodeon found that four out of five (83%) of ‘tech-savvy’ teenagers visited a website based on the recommendation of a friend and half of all teenagers (55%) found out about a viral video through word of mouth. The study also found that 14 to 24 year olds have an average of 53 friends, both online and ‘off-line.’
WIDGETS FOLLOW-UP: I’ll keep this brief. USA Today has become the first major newspapers to develop widgets that can be used on people’s personal websites and that use Flash technology. (Readers will remember me talking about widgets several editions back.)
LEETSPEAK VS WEBLISH: Have you heard of either? Well, “weblish” is, as the name implies, a combination of English and Web-centric words. The latest addition to the so-called “weblish” dictionary – Bacn, which is a variation on spam and spim, and is defined as email consumers may want (such as my newsletter, niche product announcements, social network updates) but which still clog up your e-mail box. Now, there is a version, tentatively nicknamed “leetspeak” in which the shorthand vocabulary is used in regular communication including a spoken version. For example, LOL (Laugh Out Loud) is pronounced ‘lawl’ and PWN (which is gamer talk for annihilating an opponent) is pronounced ‘pone.’ An article in The Wall Street Journal says the changes are already underway and if you don’t believe it, the harbinger of bad taste, South Park, had a recent episode in which one of the characters shouted out, “looks like you’re about to get poned.”
Message From Michael -- August 27, 2007
THE VICE VERSA ISSUE
IBM VS DELOITTE ON TV
CELEBRITY BLAMES VS. CELEBRITY WATCH
WORD OF MOUTH VS OTHER ADVERTISING
THE POWER OF CONSUMER GENERATED CONTENT
TRENDS TO WATCH
COCKTAIL CHATTER - WORLDWIDE
THE VICE VERSA ISSUE: I labeled this week’s MfM that because of the number of what sometimes appears to be conflicting and sometimes contradictory reports, studies and analyses that so often come out in the weekly media reports that I get.
IBM VS DELOITTE ON TV: The Internet rivals TV as a primary media source. Television still remains a core media activity. The first statement comes from the IBM Institute for Business Values. The second statement comes from Deloitte and Touche’s State of the Media Democracy report. The IBM report which covers the U.S., U.K., Japan, Germany and Australia, says two thirds of those surveyed (66%) reported viewing one to four hours of TV per day. That was only slightly more than the 60% who reported the same levels of personal Internet usage. The report says TV is “taking a back seat” to the cell phone and the personal computer among consumers age 18 to 34, and just as land line phones have replaced mobile phones in that group, cable and satellite TV risk a similar fate at the hands of the Internet. The Deloitte survey which focused on the U.S. says that even though consumers are doing more things from online searching and game playing to cell phone use, they are still watching television. In simple terms, they say, ‘it is always on.’ And even when they do go online, Deloitte says nearly half (46%) go to a TV website. The folks at Deloitte predict an increase in ‘participatory television.’
DVR’S: Both reports found some interesting anomalies in the use of DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders). The IBM report found that out of the quarter (24%) of U.S. respondents with a DVR, a third (33%) actually reported watching more television with a DVR. In the U.K., consumers used Video On Demand twice as much as they used their DVR’s. The Deloitte report found that it was the Generation X’ers and Baby Boomers using the DVR’s, rather than the Millenials. And the prime use was not so much commercial skipping (that came in third) but “season ticket” functions – being able to record an entire season of a show.
Footnote: A study by media investment company GroupM which is the parent company to many leading media agencies seems to take a middle road. It says in the short run, the Internet is expected to play a bigger role in driving advertising growth, especially from a global perspective, but also in the U.S. However, TV still remains the biggest influence in the advertising marketplace. TV is expected to account for nearly half (47%) of the GROWTH (key word) in advertising spending worldwide and more than a third (36%) of the U.S. ad spending growth. The Internet is expected to account for less than a third (30%) of the growth in worldwide ad spending and half (50%) of the U.S. growth.
CELEBRITY BLAME VS CELEBRITY WATCH: Okay, I love this one. An overwhelming majority of the American public (87%) told the researchers at the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press say there is too much celebrity scandal coverage. Not only that, more than half (54%) say news organizations are the most to blame while only a third (32%) say the public is to blame. Anyway, that announcement came out just after the celebrity watch website TMZ.com announced its TV site is gaining in popularity after the “meteoric rise” of its website. Plus video-based celebrity interview site, appropriately named No Good TV, announced it is making the leap to television “in a big way” with a possible late night franchise.
Footnote: And in the middle of all this, Maybe – and it’s a big Maybe – there is a message about the American public’s taste in the fact that trash (sorry, that is commentary) news/ reality program Anchorwoman made its debut and its finale show all in one night on Fox. Yes, the ratings put it in last place, but one has to wonder about the huge amount of negative publicity surrounding the program.
WORD OF MOUTH VS OTHER ADVERTISING: This could be part of the vice versa debate, but from everything I’ve been reading in the last month, there is no debate. Word of Mouth is the most powerful form of advertising. Along with its second cousin – peer reviews, followed by its third cousin – user generated content (which website Marketingprofs.com calls ‘word of mouth on steroids’) and its fourth cousin – Interactive Television. A report released this month by Bridge Ratings and the University of Massachusetts says consumers give family and friends a rating of 8.6 on a scale of trust from 1 to 10 while advertising rates on a 2.2. And as reported earlier, researcher firm eMarketer found that 80% of consumers trust word of mouth more than any other resource. Another study by Ketchum and the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center says more than half (55.6%) of what it calls ‘adult influencers’ turn to family and friends for information while a third (34.6%) get advice from co-workers and one in five turn to either blogs (20.7%) or social networking sites (18.6%) for information. A survey by word of mouth marketer Bazaarvoice and market researcher Vizu found that three quarters (75%) of shoppers say it is ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’ to see customer reviews before making a purchase decision. The Deloitte report, cited above, also said that word of mouth drove visits to the Internet with 82% saying they visited a site based on a personal recommendation – only slightly behind the 84% who visited a website through search engines.
And you will recall previous MfM reports that Word of Mouth is also the first source of information for many people when it comes to news as well. Last week’s MfM cited a study by Frank N. Magid and Associates that word of mouth was the #1 way people outside the home found out about the Virginia Tech story. That just confirms earlier studies cited by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. A study released by Technorati showed that, based on the number of links to them, 22 blogs (which are a form of word of mouth) ranked in the top 100 news and information sites, which is nearly double the number from the previous year.
Footnote: In television we consultants talk about marketing that focuses on testimonials as one of the most effective forms of promotion, and when you consider it, such testimonials are a form of word of mouth or peer review.
Consumer Generated Media: Going back to the IBM vs. Deloitte article above, one particular point stands out. Despite some different interpretations about TV and the Internet, the two reports agree emphatically that user generated content has become a powerful force in media. The Deloitte report says that more than half (51%) of all Internet uses consume UGC and that goes for all generations. The head of the firm’s product innovation office says he was impressed by the “real popularity” and “widespread demand” of such content. The IBM report which included the U.K., Germany, Japan and Australia as well as the U.S. found consumers are increasingly contributing content. The percentages are small for people contributing to user-generated content sites (7% to 9%) but they more than double (20% to 36%) when consumers are asked about contributing to social networking sites. I should also remind readers of a previous MfM which cited a Pew Internet and American Life Project study that found three out of five (62%) of online video viewers prefer professional content while (one out of five) 19% prefer consumer-generated content.
Two Examples: User involvement in the process is best illustrated by two start-ups in the Music industry. Sellaband celebrated its first anniversary with a SellaBration in Amsterdam, after raising more than $1 Million by inviting fans of bands to invest in their favorite group. Now, another group SlicethePie has started the same concept in the U.S., turning music fans into music investors.
TRENDS: A study by Parks Associates found that a third (34%) of adult web users played online games at least once a week, compared to less than a third (29%) who watched short video clips and only one in five (19%) who hung out at social networks once a week. But, the group says video watching is growing at a rate of 123% compared to online gaming’s 79%. A third (34%) of consumers say they are much more concerned about environmental issues today than a year ago, but only a fifth (22%) believe they can make a difference. And in keeping with the vice versa theme, while concerned about the environment, research firm Yankelovich says ‘going green’ in their everyday life is not a ‘high priority.’
COCKTAIL CHATTER: The world’s #1 cell phone maker, Nokia, reports that India has become its 2nd largest market, jumping ahead of the U.S. but behind China -- something the company had predicted but which happened three years ahead of the predicted time. One country, Afghanistan, supplies 92% of the entire world’s opium, according to an article in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. The Japanese government has cancelled a grant that funded a sign language news program after it found out that the newscasters did a striptease while reading news items, the news agency Reuters reports. And a final note, lonelygirl15, the Internet phenomenon that turned out to be a hoax but a hoax that ended up garnering all the publicity it wanted, has died.
IBM VS DELOITTE ON TV
CELEBRITY BLAMES VS. CELEBRITY WATCH
WORD OF MOUTH VS OTHER ADVERTISING
THE POWER OF CONSUMER GENERATED CONTENT
TRENDS TO WATCH
COCKTAIL CHATTER - WORLDWIDE
THE VICE VERSA ISSUE: I labeled this week’s MfM that because of the number of what sometimes appears to be conflicting and sometimes contradictory reports, studies and analyses that so often come out in the weekly media reports that I get.
IBM VS DELOITTE ON TV: The Internet rivals TV as a primary media source. Television still remains a core media activity. The first statement comes from the IBM Institute for Business Values. The second statement comes from Deloitte and Touche’s State of the Media Democracy report. The IBM report which covers the U.S., U.K., Japan, Germany and Australia, says two thirds of those surveyed (66%) reported viewing one to four hours of TV per day. That was only slightly more than the 60% who reported the same levels of personal Internet usage. The report says TV is “taking a back seat” to the cell phone and the personal computer among consumers age 18 to 34, and just as land line phones have replaced mobile phones in that group, cable and satellite TV risk a similar fate at the hands of the Internet. The Deloitte survey which focused on the U.S. says that even though consumers are doing more things from online searching and game playing to cell phone use, they are still watching television. In simple terms, they say, ‘it is always on.’ And even when they do go online, Deloitte says nearly half (46%) go to a TV website. The folks at Deloitte predict an increase in ‘participatory television.’
DVR’S: Both reports found some interesting anomalies in the use of DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders). The IBM report found that out of the quarter (24%) of U.S. respondents with a DVR, a third (33%) actually reported watching more television with a DVR. In the U.K., consumers used Video On Demand twice as much as they used their DVR’s. The Deloitte report found that it was the Generation X’ers and Baby Boomers using the DVR’s, rather than the Millenials. And the prime use was not so much commercial skipping (that came in third) but “season ticket” functions – being able to record an entire season of a show.
Footnote: A study by media investment company GroupM which is the parent company to many leading media agencies seems to take a middle road. It says in the short run, the Internet is expected to play a bigger role in driving advertising growth, especially from a global perspective, but also in the U.S. However, TV still remains the biggest influence in the advertising marketplace. TV is expected to account for nearly half (47%) of the GROWTH (key word) in advertising spending worldwide and more than a third (36%) of the U.S. ad spending growth. The Internet is expected to account for less than a third (30%) of the growth in worldwide ad spending and half (50%) of the U.S. growth.
CELEBRITY BLAME VS CELEBRITY WATCH: Okay, I love this one. An overwhelming majority of the American public (87%) told the researchers at the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press say there is too much celebrity scandal coverage. Not only that, more than half (54%) say news organizations are the most to blame while only a third (32%) say the public is to blame. Anyway, that announcement came out just after the celebrity watch website TMZ.com announced its TV site is gaining in popularity after the “meteoric rise” of its website. Plus video-based celebrity interview site, appropriately named No Good TV, announced it is making the leap to television “in a big way” with a possible late night franchise.
Footnote: And in the middle of all this, Maybe – and it’s a big Maybe – there is a message about the American public’s taste in the fact that trash (sorry, that is commentary) news/ reality program Anchorwoman made its debut and its finale show all in one night on Fox. Yes, the ratings put it in last place, but one has to wonder about the huge amount of negative publicity surrounding the program.
WORD OF MOUTH VS OTHER ADVERTISING: This could be part of the vice versa debate, but from everything I’ve been reading in the last month, there is no debate. Word of Mouth is the most powerful form of advertising. Along with its second cousin – peer reviews, followed by its third cousin – user generated content (which website Marketingprofs.com calls ‘word of mouth on steroids’) and its fourth cousin – Interactive Television. A report released this month by Bridge Ratings and the University of Massachusetts says consumers give family and friends a rating of 8.6 on a scale of trust from 1 to 10 while advertising rates on a 2.2. And as reported earlier, researcher firm eMarketer found that 80% of consumers trust word of mouth more than any other resource. Another study by Ketchum and the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center says more than half (55.6%) of what it calls ‘adult influencers’ turn to family and friends for information while a third (34.6%) get advice from co-workers and one in five turn to either blogs (20.7%) or social networking sites (18.6%) for information. A survey by word of mouth marketer Bazaarvoice and market researcher Vizu found that three quarters (75%) of shoppers say it is ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’ to see customer reviews before making a purchase decision. The Deloitte report, cited above, also said that word of mouth drove visits to the Internet with 82% saying they visited a site based on a personal recommendation – only slightly behind the 84% who visited a website through search engines.
And you will recall previous MfM reports that Word of Mouth is also the first source of information for many people when it comes to news as well. Last week’s MfM cited a study by Frank N. Magid and Associates that word of mouth was the #1 way people outside the home found out about the Virginia Tech story. That just confirms earlier studies cited by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. A study released by Technorati showed that, based on the number of links to them, 22 blogs (which are a form of word of mouth) ranked in the top 100 news and information sites, which is nearly double the number from the previous year.
Footnote: In television we consultants talk about marketing that focuses on testimonials as one of the most effective forms of promotion, and when you consider it, such testimonials are a form of word of mouth or peer review.
Consumer Generated Media: Going back to the IBM vs. Deloitte article above, one particular point stands out. Despite some different interpretations about TV and the Internet, the two reports agree emphatically that user generated content has become a powerful force in media. The Deloitte report says that more than half (51%) of all Internet uses consume UGC and that goes for all generations. The head of the firm’s product innovation office says he was impressed by the “real popularity” and “widespread demand” of such content. The IBM report which included the U.K., Germany, Japan and Australia as well as the U.S. found consumers are increasingly contributing content. The percentages are small for people contributing to user-generated content sites (7% to 9%) but they more than double (20% to 36%) when consumers are asked about contributing to social networking sites. I should also remind readers of a previous MfM which cited a Pew Internet and American Life Project study that found three out of five (62%) of online video viewers prefer professional content while (one out of five) 19% prefer consumer-generated content.
Two Examples: User involvement in the process is best illustrated by two start-ups in the Music industry. Sellaband celebrated its first anniversary with a SellaBration in Amsterdam, after raising more than $1 Million by inviting fans of bands to invest in their favorite group. Now, another group SlicethePie has started the same concept in the U.S., turning music fans into music investors.
TRENDS: A study by Parks Associates found that a third (34%) of adult web users played online games at least once a week, compared to less than a third (29%) who watched short video clips and only one in five (19%) who hung out at social networks once a week. But, the group says video watching is growing at a rate of 123% compared to online gaming’s 79%. A third (34%) of consumers say they are much more concerned about environmental issues today than a year ago, but only a fifth (22%) believe they can make a difference. And in keeping with the vice versa theme, while concerned about the environment, research firm Yankelovich says ‘going green’ in their everyday life is not a ‘high priority.’
COCKTAIL CHATTER: The world’s #1 cell phone maker, Nokia, reports that India has become its 2nd largest market, jumping ahead of the U.S. but behind China -- something the company had predicted but which happened three years ahead of the predicted time. One country, Afghanistan, supplies 92% of the entire world’s opium, according to an article in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. The Japanese government has cancelled a grant that funded a sign language news program after it found out that the newscasters did a striptease while reading news items, the news agency Reuters reports. And a final note, lonelygirl15, the Internet phenomenon that turned out to be a hoax but a hoax that ended up garnering all the publicity it wanted, has died.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Message From Michael -- August 20, 2007
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION VS. DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
SHOW ME THE MONEY
COCKTAIL CHATTER – A MUSICAL
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION: That’s the title of a report from Harvard University looking at news on the Internet. The short-hand summary is that “the Internet is redistributing the news audience in ways that is threatening some traditional news organizations” – most particularly, local newspapers. But the traditional news organizations have “brand names” that they need to capitalize on, if they’re going to compete with the non-traditional news operations. The long-hand version of the report by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy is considerably more complicated. While “brand name” national newspaper websites (New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today) are growing, the websites of the dailies in large, medium and small cities are not. (In fact, local newspapers are probably losing audience to the national ‘brand name’ newspapers.) And while “brand name” networks (Fox, CBS, NBC) and local broadcast operations ARE growing, they have a long way to catch up to the “first mover” advantage that newspapers have. And none of the traditional news organizations are growing as fast as the nontraditional news operations such as news aggregators, bloggers and search engines and search providers – growth that study author Thomas E. Patterson calls “stunning.”
Let me throw out some figures: Brand name national newspaper sites average 8.8 Million visitors compared to brand name networks’ 3.2 Million, but the network sites are growing at 35% while the national newspaper sites are growing at 10%. Large city dailies average 1.2 Million visitors compared to large city television’s 250 Thousand, but large city TV is growing at 40% while large city dailies’ growth is flat. In medium sized cities, it’s a similar pattern but in small cities it’s a tighter race with small city newspapers averaging 94 Thousand visitors to their sites compared to 60 Thousand for small city TV; but small city TV is growing (modestly at 6%) while small city newspapers are flat. But here are the figures Patterson calls “stunning” – News aggregator Digg went from 2 Million visitors to 15 Million visitors in the last year, while Topix.net went from 50 Thousand to 750 Thousand. And that’s not even counting the “general aggregators” (Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN) which are hitting the 100 Million mark in terms of visitors.
The Players: By my count, there are a dozen key categories in the Internet News war: National Newspapers and National Television (which can attract local audiences); Local Newspapers and Local Television (and this is further divided into large, medium and small cities); Magazines; Commercial Radio (whose audience is very small but growing); Public Broadcasting/ Television and Public Broadcasting/ Radio (national and local); Bloggers – national and local (community sites and citizen media); Aggregators – the general ones which do have news as an important element, specific news aggregators and what Patterson calls “aggregators with attitude” – like the Drudge Report and Huffington Post; AND non-traditional actors. This one blew me away. Never thought of it. Lobbying Groups such as the Recording Industry of America, the US Chamber of Commerce, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, American Petroleum Institute. Patterson makes the point that many of these are growing by using news as a way to attract visitors to their websites. That is why Patterson says the “largest threat” posed by the Internet to traditional news organizations is “the ease with which imaginative or well positioned players from outside the news system can use news to attract an audience.”
Considerations: Newspapers originally had the advantage because the Internet was originally more ‘print’ focused. Video and graphics are now a bigger part of the equation. On the Internet, geography is less of a factor in deciding on a news source. That is why ‘brand name’ development is so important. The report emphasizes the importance of local news operations taking advantage of their local brand identity and their offline power to promote their online product. Patterson offers an object lesson from public television and radio which surprisingly was declining. His “hunch” is the public broadcasting websites promote featured programs instead of providing the day’s news. He basically argues that you have to have a balance in your local website of local, national and international news. Local news may be obvious, but if you don’t have national news as well, you’re conceding that area of interest to the national brand names. Patterson makes the point that while it is true that the Internet is contributing to an increasingly fragmented news audience, the fact is the Internet itself has a less disbursed audience than newspapers because while there are thousands of providers on the Internet, a small number of them dominate it – something that is not true in the newspaper system, or for that matter, in television.
Disclaimer or Consideration: The most important one is the point that you need two to three dozen online users, or readers in the case of newspapers, to make up for ONE offline user, in terms of advertising revenue. Secondly, while one sector of the Internet News category can increase in absolute terms (in actual numbers), it could shrink in relative size because, as Patterson puts it, “like the Cosmos, the Internet is expanding.”
Footnote: In case you’re wondering, the term “creative destruction” comes from the study of Economics and describes the transformation that comes about through radical innovation which, while destroying the value of established companies, introduces a new market dynamic that actually is good for long-term economic growth. I think it’s interesting that the authors used that term instead of the more commonly used “disruptive technology” which Wikipedia defines as “a technological innovation, product or service that eventually overturns the existing dominant technology or status quo product in the market.” Study author Patterson coins a phrase of his own when he talks about “product substitution” through the Internet.
Sidenote: A survey released by Frank N. Magid and Associates further validates the issue of brand importance. While noting that TV is still the most trusted source for breaking news, TV is vulnerable to loss of audience to the Web as a story plays out. Jack MacKenzie, who heads the group’s Millennial Strategy Program, warns that “to be a news brand today, you need to be a news brand of equal import on all platforms.”
SHOW ME THE MONEY: Despite all the gnashing of journalistic teeth about the “tarting up” of the news with infotainment, the Pew Research Center for the Press and the People says there is little real evidence that Americans taste for softer news has grown over the last two decades. The authors are quick to note that doesn’t mean news outlets have, as they put it, “erred financially” in running tabloid type news because even though interest is small, in the competitive news environment, small counts. The study looks at stories people say they followed “very closely.” The center has been doing this every year since 1986. The center says the level of interest in news has changed a little over the last two decades, but not much – with about a quarter (26%) saying they follow particular stories “very closely.” While the authors admit the term “very closely” may be a high standard, they say it still ‘suggests’ that the American news audience is only modestly interested in most day-to-day reporting.
What they are interested in, pretty consistently, is “disaster news,” says the report. It is the number one area of interest with four out of ten (39%) saying they follow such stories very closely. In second place was “money news” with 34% saying they follow such stories “very closely” but even more interesting, the authors say stories about people’s finances has grown steadily in interest over the last twenty years. When asked about specific stories that would fit into the tabloid category (such as the Anna Nicole Smith death), less than one in five (18%) said they were following such stories closely – only slightly more than those following foreign news (17%).
The report also does an interesting comparison of people’s news interest versus the media’s actual coverage. You might expect that the more coverage the more interest and vice versa. Not always. For example, the stories about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and the trial of former Vice Presidential aide Scooter Libby received more coverage than the research by Pew would indicate people want. The coverage of the War in Iraq received considerable coverage and rightfully so, based on the public interest. But then there is the story about inadequate conditions at the Walter Reed Medical Center veterans’ hospital. It received what the group called “mid-level news coverage” even though it was of high interest to the public which ranked it fourth on its list of stories they followed “very closely.” Even more surprising, stories about weather did not receive as much coverage as the public interest would have indicated. For example, the “cold winter weather” in February of this year had the third highest ranking in viewer interest among all stories, but it didn’t get nearly equivalent coverage. Global warming is another example, with audience interest ranking it in the top ten, but coverage (at least during the time of the study) ranked it in the lower third. (I say “surprising” because we consultants almost always emphasize the importance of weather coverage.)
Sidenote: To put some of this in perspective, the study by the Magid group said Word of Mouth was the #1 way people who weren’t at home found out about the Virginia Tech story. it. And that was across all demos. And that study validates an earlier study by the Word of Mouth Association that word of mouth is the primary way many people find out about breaking news.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: Only one today, but it’s an interesting one. Who would have thought in today’s day and age that a musical – a musical produced by the Disney Channel, no less – would be the hottest thing on television. Disney’s High School Musical 2 became the most watched basic cable television event of all time when it premiered Friday night. The sequel to the already highly successful High School Musical drew 17.2 Million viewers. Actually, it had much more than that in this correspondent’s humble opinion because I know many students – high school and even college – who arranged viewing parties for the event, which is a double phenomenon since the show is a Tween event. TV Week put it in perspective, noting that the viewership was comparable to CBS’s CSI or ABC’s Desperate Housewives. Critics are likening High School Musical to yesteryear’s Grease, or going further back, Westside Story.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
COCKTAIL CHATTER – A MUSICAL
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION: That’s the title of a report from Harvard University looking at news on the Internet. The short-hand summary is that “the Internet is redistributing the news audience in ways that is threatening some traditional news organizations” – most particularly, local newspapers. But the traditional news organizations have “brand names” that they need to capitalize on, if they’re going to compete with the non-traditional news operations. The long-hand version of the report by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy is considerably more complicated. While “brand name” national newspaper websites (New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today) are growing, the websites of the dailies in large, medium and small cities are not. (In fact, local newspapers are probably losing audience to the national ‘brand name’ newspapers.) And while “brand name” networks (Fox, CBS, NBC) and local broadcast operations ARE growing, they have a long way to catch up to the “first mover” advantage that newspapers have. And none of the traditional news organizations are growing as fast as the nontraditional news operations such as news aggregators, bloggers and search engines and search providers – growth that study author Thomas E. Patterson calls “stunning.”
Let me throw out some figures: Brand name national newspaper sites average 8.8 Million visitors compared to brand name networks’ 3.2 Million, but the network sites are growing at 35% while the national newspaper sites are growing at 10%. Large city dailies average 1.2 Million visitors compared to large city television’s 250 Thousand, but large city TV is growing at 40% while large city dailies’ growth is flat. In medium sized cities, it’s a similar pattern but in small cities it’s a tighter race with small city newspapers averaging 94 Thousand visitors to their sites compared to 60 Thousand for small city TV; but small city TV is growing (modestly at 6%) while small city newspapers are flat. But here are the figures Patterson calls “stunning” – News aggregator Digg went from 2 Million visitors to 15 Million visitors in the last year, while Topix.net went from 50 Thousand to 750 Thousand. And that’s not even counting the “general aggregators” (Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN) which are hitting the 100 Million mark in terms of visitors.
The Players: By my count, there are a dozen key categories in the Internet News war: National Newspapers and National Television (which can attract local audiences); Local Newspapers and Local Television (and this is further divided into large, medium and small cities); Magazines; Commercial Radio (whose audience is very small but growing); Public Broadcasting/ Television and Public Broadcasting/ Radio (national and local); Bloggers – national and local (community sites and citizen media); Aggregators – the general ones which do have news as an important element, specific news aggregators and what Patterson calls “aggregators with attitude” – like the Drudge Report and Huffington Post; AND non-traditional actors. This one blew me away. Never thought of it. Lobbying Groups such as the Recording Industry of America, the US Chamber of Commerce, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, American Petroleum Institute. Patterson makes the point that many of these are growing by using news as a way to attract visitors to their websites. That is why Patterson says the “largest threat” posed by the Internet to traditional news organizations is “the ease with which imaginative or well positioned players from outside the news system can use news to attract an audience.”
Considerations: Newspapers originally had the advantage because the Internet was originally more ‘print’ focused. Video and graphics are now a bigger part of the equation. On the Internet, geography is less of a factor in deciding on a news source. That is why ‘brand name’ development is so important. The report emphasizes the importance of local news operations taking advantage of their local brand identity and their offline power to promote their online product. Patterson offers an object lesson from public television and radio which surprisingly was declining. His “hunch” is the public broadcasting websites promote featured programs instead of providing the day’s news. He basically argues that you have to have a balance in your local website of local, national and international news. Local news may be obvious, but if you don’t have national news as well, you’re conceding that area of interest to the national brand names. Patterson makes the point that while it is true that the Internet is contributing to an increasingly fragmented news audience, the fact is the Internet itself has a less disbursed audience than newspapers because while there are thousands of providers on the Internet, a small number of them dominate it – something that is not true in the newspaper system, or for that matter, in television.
Disclaimer or Consideration: The most important one is the point that you need two to three dozen online users, or readers in the case of newspapers, to make up for ONE offline user, in terms of advertising revenue. Secondly, while one sector of the Internet News category can increase in absolute terms (in actual numbers), it could shrink in relative size because, as Patterson puts it, “like the Cosmos, the Internet is expanding.”
Footnote: In case you’re wondering, the term “creative destruction” comes from the study of Economics and describes the transformation that comes about through radical innovation which, while destroying the value of established companies, introduces a new market dynamic that actually is good for long-term economic growth. I think it’s interesting that the authors used that term instead of the more commonly used “disruptive technology” which Wikipedia defines as “a technological innovation, product or service that eventually overturns the existing dominant technology or status quo product in the market.” Study author Patterson coins a phrase of his own when he talks about “product substitution” through the Internet.
Sidenote: A survey released by Frank N. Magid and Associates further validates the issue of brand importance. While noting that TV is still the most trusted source for breaking news, TV is vulnerable to loss of audience to the Web as a story plays out. Jack MacKenzie, who heads the group’s Millennial Strategy Program, warns that “to be a news brand today, you need to be a news brand of equal import on all platforms.”
SHOW ME THE MONEY: Despite all the gnashing of journalistic teeth about the “tarting up” of the news with infotainment, the Pew Research Center for the Press and the People says there is little real evidence that Americans taste for softer news has grown over the last two decades. The authors are quick to note that doesn’t mean news outlets have, as they put it, “erred financially” in running tabloid type news because even though interest is small, in the competitive news environment, small counts. The study looks at stories people say they followed “very closely.” The center has been doing this every year since 1986. The center says the level of interest in news has changed a little over the last two decades, but not much – with about a quarter (26%) saying they follow particular stories “very closely.” While the authors admit the term “very closely” may be a high standard, they say it still ‘suggests’ that the American news audience is only modestly interested in most day-to-day reporting.
What they are interested in, pretty consistently, is “disaster news,” says the report. It is the number one area of interest with four out of ten (39%) saying they follow such stories very closely. In second place was “money news” with 34% saying they follow such stories “very closely” but even more interesting, the authors say stories about people’s finances has grown steadily in interest over the last twenty years. When asked about specific stories that would fit into the tabloid category (such as the Anna Nicole Smith death), less than one in five (18%) said they were following such stories closely – only slightly more than those following foreign news (17%).
The report also does an interesting comparison of people’s news interest versus the media’s actual coverage. You might expect that the more coverage the more interest and vice versa. Not always. For example, the stories about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and the trial of former Vice Presidential aide Scooter Libby received more coverage than the research by Pew would indicate people want. The coverage of the War in Iraq received considerable coverage and rightfully so, based on the public interest. But then there is the story about inadequate conditions at the Walter Reed Medical Center veterans’ hospital. It received what the group called “mid-level news coverage” even though it was of high interest to the public which ranked it fourth on its list of stories they followed “very closely.” Even more surprising, stories about weather did not receive as much coverage as the public interest would have indicated. For example, the “cold winter weather” in February of this year had the third highest ranking in viewer interest among all stories, but it didn’t get nearly equivalent coverage. Global warming is another example, with audience interest ranking it in the top ten, but coverage (at least during the time of the study) ranked it in the lower third. (I say “surprising” because we consultants almost always emphasize the importance of weather coverage.)
Sidenote: To put some of this in perspective, the study by the Magid group said Word of Mouth was the #1 way people who weren’t at home found out about the Virginia Tech story. it. And that was across all demos. And that study validates an earlier study by the Word of Mouth Association that word of mouth is the primary way many people find out about breaking news.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: Only one today, but it’s an interesting one. Who would have thought in today’s day and age that a musical – a musical produced by the Disney Channel, no less – would be the hottest thing on television. Disney’s High School Musical 2 became the most watched basic cable television event of all time when it premiered Friday night. The sequel to the already highly successful High School Musical drew 17.2 Million viewers. Actually, it had much more than that in this correspondent’s humble opinion because I know many students – high school and even college – who arranged viewing parties for the event, which is a double phenomenon since the show is a Tween event. TV Week put it in perspective, noting that the viewership was comparable to CBS’s CSI or ABC’s Desperate Housewives. Critics are likening High School Musical to yesteryear’s Grease, or going further back, Westside Story.
Message From Michael -- August 13, 2007
THE SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE
NEWSPAPERS GETTING INTO THE ACT
NETWORKS GETTING INTO THE ACT
BROADBAND BALONEY
COCKTAIL CHATTER
THE SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE: In four years time, Internet advertising will replace newspapers as the largest ad medium. Consumers are moving away from advertising-supported media to consumer-supported platforms. Spending on non-traditional media advertising such as blogs, podcasts and RSS is growing faster than any other media category. These are just some of the startling statistics and statements from the annual communications forecast study by media investment firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. You may have read or heard about some the facts and factoids from other publications. For example, that media usage per person actually declined for the first time in ten years. But the big story isn’t so much the figures as it is the underlying theme of the report. For example, the drop in usage is explained by the simple fact that people are switching to digital alternatives for news, information and entertainment and these require less time investment than their traditional media counterparts. Or that while consumer media usage may have dropped, media usage by ‘institutional end-users’ (aka – business and government) actually grew.
Okay, we can’t go on without some facts and figures. First off, the firm says the average media usage per person last year was 3,530 hours – a drop of 0.5% from the year before. Of those hours spent with media, most of it (1,899 hours) was spent with ad-supported media, defined as broadcast television and magazines, while the rest (1,631 hours) was spent with consumer-supported media, defined as web and videogames. BUT… the time spent with ad-supported media was actually down 6.3% from five years ago while the time spent with consumer-supported media was up 19.8% from five years ago. Communications spending in the U.S. will top $1 Trillion for the first time next year, with such spending expected to reach $1.222 Trillion three years later in 2011.
Disclaimer: I don’t pretend to fully understand all the in’s and out’s of the study which covers 19 segments and more than 100 sub-segments of the U.S. media industry. (For example, I’m not sure I fully understand ‘branded entertainment.’) Plus, I can’t afford to pay the $2,495 for the full report. So, most of my information comes from a variety of sources. But, getting back to the point of overall theme, the clear message is the switch from old, analog media to new, digital media, in all its forms, is changing the media landscape dramatically and dynamically. As VSS Executive Vice President and Managing Director James Rutherford says, “time and place shifting (will) accelerate while consumers and businesses utilitize more digital media alternatives, strengthening the new media pull model at the expense of the traditional media push model.”
NEWSPAPERS GETTING INTO THE ACT: More evidence that newspapers may be leading broadcasters in Internet warfare is a study by The Bivings Report that says 92 of America’s top 100 newspapers now offer video on their websites. This is a huge jump from the year before when just 61 offered video. Even more interesting, while 26 of those newspapers use the Associated Press video streams, 13 of them offered video content from local news outlets while 39 newspapers offered original video content. The other 13 newspapers offered a conbination of video content options. In addition to the video, the report says 95 of the newspapers offered at least one reporter blog – up from 80 the year before. A third allow readers to comment on articles – up from 19 the year before. And nearly all of the newspaper websites (96) now use RSS technology.
Related Note: Internet giant, search engine and news aggregator Google is offering people or organizations mentioned in news stories the opportunity to submit their own comments which will run – unedited – alongside the Googe news links to those stories. There is no explanation yet how the Google editors will vet the comments to make sure they come from the claimed source. Regardless, many are upset, not just because of journalistic questions, but the feature will mean that Google will be offering its own version of original content.
NETWORKS GETTING INTO THE ACT: The private equity firm, Providence Equity Partners, has invested $100 Million for a 10% stake in the joint venture by NBC Universal and the News Corporation to bring their television shows and movies on the Internet. Now, I’m pretty good at Math, but it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that means the joint venture is valued at $1 Billion. And as an article in the New York Times points out, that’s even though the joint venture has no website, doesn’t even have a name, has no defined mission statement and is hoping to persuade skeptical observers that these two real-world rivals can cooperate online.
BROADBAND BALONEY: That was the headline on a Wall Street Journal commentary by Federal Communications Commissioner Robert M. McDowell on the recent analysis of broadband adoption rates around the world. As reported in last week’s MfM, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the U.S. has dropped from 4th place to 15th place in the past five years. However, McDowell argues the OECD analysis is flawed because it is based on a pure per capita basis which doesn’t take into account several other factors, including household size (in the U.S., there are more people in each household) or the size of the country. The household penetration in the U.S. is 42% compared to 23% in the European Union. And McDowell argues that 13 of the 14 countries listed as ahead of the U.S. are significantly smaller than the U.S. Only Canada was similar in size. He also makes the point that the OECD data doesn’t take into account all the myriad ways Americans get high speed access to the Internet.
OR IS IT? A separate analysis of broadband adoption rates by UK-based broadband communications services company Point Topic actually has the U.S. even lower at 25th place in the world with a HOUSEHOLD broadband adoption of just over half. The #1 country in the world is South Korea where nine out of ten households (89%) have a broadband connection. McDowell’s argument about the size of the country does appear to be a factor in most instances. The #2 country in terms of broadband penetration is the tiny country of Monaco (82.92%), followed by Hong Kong (79.78%), Iceland (75.51%), Singapore (69.59%). But ahead of the U.S. are also Canada (63.02%), the UK (52.25%) and Australia (only slightly ahead of the U.S. at 50.18%).
SIDENOTE #1: Dr. Alan Albarran, of the University of North Texas, who pointed out the article to me after last week’s MfM, says he has been in 17 of the European countries and the Internet speed varies widely. The Scandinavian countries have high speed connections but others like Spain and Portugal are at a virtual crawl with Germany and the U.K. in the middle. (I have been trying to nail down exactly what the facts are, in a comparison of Broadband speed and adoption rates. Maybe some of my overseas MfM readers can help sort this out.)
SIDENOTE #2: One in five broadband homes will have the technology to watch Internet-based video on their TV sets by the end of this year, according to an analysis by Emerging Media Dynamics. And in ten years time, by 2017, more than 72 Million homes (representing two-thirds of the broadband marketplace) will have PC/TV devices.
FOOTNOTE: The most fascinating part of Commissioner McDowell’s article – to me, at least – was his statement (un-sourced, I’m afraid) that “YouTube alone uses as much bandwidth today as the entire Internet did in 2000.” Is that a WOW statement, or what?
COCKTAIL CHATTER: Keep an eye out for the latest Smirnoff “Tea Partay” video. We told you in a previous MfM about the original video which does a parody of hip hop and rap with some New England preppy types. Now they’re putting out a new version. And as long as I’m plugging things, take a look at Gloob.tv. It is a video aggregation service, picking out the ‘best’ videos in different categories, from sports to movies, music, games and TV. The group Public Knowledge is questioning a statement by AT&T that it mistakenly deleted lyrics critical of President George W. Bush from a Pearl Jam performance of “Another Brick in the Wall.” Dana Boyd, A researcher and “social network expert” at the University of California-Berkeley, has created a firestorm of controversy after writing an essay dubbing MySpace as a working class site dominated by “kids whose parents didn’t go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school” and Facebook as a ‘suburbia’ site for “goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes and other ‘good’ kids.” You have a little more than two weeks to enter a contest sponsored by a Dutch ecology group, along with the Dutch national lottery, to dream up a greenhouse-gas-reducing product or service. The winner gets 500,000 Euro dollars. The deadline for the PICNIC Green Challenge is August 30th.
NEWSPAPERS GETTING INTO THE ACT
NETWORKS GETTING INTO THE ACT
BROADBAND BALONEY
COCKTAIL CHATTER
THE SEISMIC SHIFT IN THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE: In four years time, Internet advertising will replace newspapers as the largest ad medium. Consumers are moving away from advertising-supported media to consumer-supported platforms. Spending on non-traditional media advertising such as blogs, podcasts and RSS is growing faster than any other media category. These are just some of the startling statistics and statements from the annual communications forecast study by media investment firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. You may have read or heard about some the facts and factoids from other publications. For example, that media usage per person actually declined for the first time in ten years. But the big story isn’t so much the figures as it is the underlying theme of the report. For example, the drop in usage is explained by the simple fact that people are switching to digital alternatives for news, information and entertainment and these require less time investment than their traditional media counterparts. Or that while consumer media usage may have dropped, media usage by ‘institutional end-users’ (aka – business and government) actually grew.
Okay, we can’t go on without some facts and figures. First off, the firm says the average media usage per person last year was 3,530 hours – a drop of 0.5% from the year before. Of those hours spent with media, most of it (1,899 hours) was spent with ad-supported media, defined as broadcast television and magazines, while the rest (1,631 hours) was spent with consumer-supported media, defined as web and videogames. BUT… the time spent with ad-supported media was actually down 6.3% from five years ago while the time spent with consumer-supported media was up 19.8% from five years ago. Communications spending in the U.S. will top $1 Trillion for the first time next year, with such spending expected to reach $1.222 Trillion three years later in 2011.
Disclaimer: I don’t pretend to fully understand all the in’s and out’s of the study which covers 19 segments and more than 100 sub-segments of the U.S. media industry. (For example, I’m not sure I fully understand ‘branded entertainment.’) Plus, I can’t afford to pay the $2,495 for the full report. So, most of my information comes from a variety of sources. But, getting back to the point of overall theme, the clear message is the switch from old, analog media to new, digital media, in all its forms, is changing the media landscape dramatically and dynamically. As VSS Executive Vice President and Managing Director James Rutherford says, “time and place shifting (will) accelerate while consumers and businesses utilitize more digital media alternatives, strengthening the new media pull model at the expense of the traditional media push model.”
NEWSPAPERS GETTING INTO THE ACT: More evidence that newspapers may be leading broadcasters in Internet warfare is a study by The Bivings Report that says 92 of America’s top 100 newspapers now offer video on their websites. This is a huge jump from the year before when just 61 offered video. Even more interesting, while 26 of those newspapers use the Associated Press video streams, 13 of them offered video content from local news outlets while 39 newspapers offered original video content. The other 13 newspapers offered a conbination of video content options. In addition to the video, the report says 95 of the newspapers offered at least one reporter blog – up from 80 the year before. A third allow readers to comment on articles – up from 19 the year before. And nearly all of the newspaper websites (96) now use RSS technology.
Related Note: Internet giant, search engine and news aggregator Google is offering people or organizations mentioned in news stories the opportunity to submit their own comments which will run – unedited – alongside the Googe news links to those stories. There is no explanation yet how the Google editors will vet the comments to make sure they come from the claimed source. Regardless, many are upset, not just because of journalistic questions, but the feature will mean that Google will be offering its own version of original content.
NETWORKS GETTING INTO THE ACT: The private equity firm, Providence Equity Partners, has invested $100 Million for a 10% stake in the joint venture by NBC Universal and the News Corporation to bring their television shows and movies on the Internet. Now, I’m pretty good at Math, but it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that means the joint venture is valued at $1 Billion. And as an article in the New York Times points out, that’s even though the joint venture has no website, doesn’t even have a name, has no defined mission statement and is hoping to persuade skeptical observers that these two real-world rivals can cooperate online.
BROADBAND BALONEY: That was the headline on a Wall Street Journal commentary by Federal Communications Commissioner Robert M. McDowell on the recent analysis of broadband adoption rates around the world. As reported in last week’s MfM, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the U.S. has dropped from 4th place to 15th place in the past five years. However, McDowell argues the OECD analysis is flawed because it is based on a pure per capita basis which doesn’t take into account several other factors, including household size (in the U.S., there are more people in each household) or the size of the country. The household penetration in the U.S. is 42% compared to 23% in the European Union. And McDowell argues that 13 of the 14 countries listed as ahead of the U.S. are significantly smaller than the U.S. Only Canada was similar in size. He also makes the point that the OECD data doesn’t take into account all the myriad ways Americans get high speed access to the Internet.
OR IS IT? A separate analysis of broadband adoption rates by UK-based broadband communications services company Point Topic actually has the U.S. even lower at 25th place in the world with a HOUSEHOLD broadband adoption of just over half. The #1 country in the world is South Korea where nine out of ten households (89%) have a broadband connection. McDowell’s argument about the size of the country does appear to be a factor in most instances. The #2 country in terms of broadband penetration is the tiny country of Monaco (82.92%), followed by Hong Kong (79.78%), Iceland (75.51%), Singapore (69.59%). But ahead of the U.S. are also Canada (63.02%), the UK (52.25%) and Australia (only slightly ahead of the U.S. at 50.18%).
SIDENOTE #1: Dr. Alan Albarran, of the University of North Texas, who pointed out the article to me after last week’s MfM, says he has been in 17 of the European countries and the Internet speed varies widely. The Scandinavian countries have high speed connections but others like Spain and Portugal are at a virtual crawl with Germany and the U.K. in the middle. (I have been trying to nail down exactly what the facts are, in a comparison of Broadband speed and adoption rates. Maybe some of my overseas MfM readers can help sort this out.)
SIDENOTE #2: One in five broadband homes will have the technology to watch Internet-based video on their TV sets by the end of this year, according to an analysis by Emerging Media Dynamics. And in ten years time, by 2017, more than 72 Million homes (representing two-thirds of the broadband marketplace) will have PC/TV devices.
FOOTNOTE: The most fascinating part of Commissioner McDowell’s article – to me, at least – was his statement (un-sourced, I’m afraid) that “YouTube alone uses as much bandwidth today as the entire Internet did in 2000.” Is that a WOW statement, or what?
COCKTAIL CHATTER: Keep an eye out for the latest Smirnoff “Tea Partay” video. We told you in a previous MfM about the original video which does a parody of hip hop and rap with some New England preppy types. Now they’re putting out a new version. And as long as I’m plugging things, take a look at Gloob.tv. It is a video aggregation service, picking out the ‘best’ videos in different categories, from sports to movies, music, games and TV. The group Public Knowledge is questioning a statement by AT&T that it mistakenly deleted lyrics critical of President George W. Bush from a Pearl Jam performance of “Another Brick in the Wall.” Dana Boyd, A researcher and “social network expert” at the University of California-Berkeley, has created a firestorm of controversy after writing an essay dubbing MySpace as a working class site dominated by “kids whose parents didn’t go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school” and Facebook as a ‘suburbia’ site for “goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes and other ‘good’ kids.” You have a little more than two weeks to enter a contest sponsored by a Dutch ecology group, along with the Dutch national lottery, to dream up a greenhouse-gas-reducing product or service. The winner gets 500,000 Euro dollars. The deadline for the PICNIC Green Challenge is August 30th.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Message from Michael -- August 7, 2007
ALL NEWS IS LOCAL
STATISTICS THAT TELL A STORY
TOPS IN BRAND IDENTITY
NOT SO TOPS IN BROADBAND ADOPTION
MEDIA MOGUL OR MEDIA MARAUDER
COCKTAIL CHATTER
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
ALL NEWS IS LOCAL: How often have you heard that aphorism? We consultants use it a lot. Two recent set of statistics prove that it is true, and not true, depending on how you interpret the phrase. Research firm Hitwise says its analysis of websites in the category of ‘news and media’ shows that LOCAL websites contributed 90% of all the traffic to this category of site. I’m going to throw some numbers at you, so stay with me. The researchers say that ‘news and media’ websites accounted for 3.47% of ALL Internet traffic. Local websites received 3.13% of all those visits. A very much related study by comScore Networks found that local search services are beating out the more generalized search services. Local search, using such services as Internet Yellow Pages, grew 24% while general search, using such services as Google, Yahoo and MSN, grew 14%. Even better, according to the survey commissioned by TMP Directional Marketing, four out of five people (82%) using local web search sites followed their research up with action – in store visits, phone calls, e-mails and purchases. The group said they were surprised to learn that a third of the respondents said they continue to rely on print Yellow Pages as their main source of local business information. Of course, that means two-thirds choose online services, but the company noted that those searches are divided amongst a variety of sites.
Okay, back to that Hitwise analysis, some more confusing numbers. So, stay with me. Nearly a third (29.59%) of the visits, just to the ‘news and media’ category, went to the top 10 websites and more than half (56.59%) went to the top 100 websites. The average visit duration for the news and media industry category was 6 minutes and 35 seconds.
And remember the point in a previous MfM about Nielsen/ Net Ratings changing its way of measuring website rankings? Hitwise ranks the top 30 websites in three ways. Using number of visits – Yahoo News came in first, followed by The Weather Channel, MSNBC, CNN, and People Magazine. Using page views – Yahoo News again came in first, but People Magazine came in second, followed by The Weather Channel, MSNBC, and CNN. But when measuring by time spent at the site (session duration), the ranking changes dramatically. In first place is RedOrbit.com where visitors spent more than an hour (1:07:28), followed by Entrepreneur.com (1:10:03), NewsNow, which is a U.K. operation (53:37), Startup Journal (41.10), ABC News Discussion (36:38), Apple Daily Online (31:01), and my favorite, Muscular Development Magazine (28:51), just ahead of SouthAsiaNews.com (28.41).
STATISTICS THAT TELL A STORY: But exactly what kind of story, I’m not sure. For example, the top two Presidential candidates’ websites are Barack Obama (with 29.59% of the market share) followed by Hilary Clinton (with 17.35%), according to a Hitwise survey of websites. Okay, that makes sense. But the third highest ranked presidential candidate’s website is – Ron Paul, the Republican Texas congressman and political unknown, with 12.76%. Followed by John Edwards (10.33%), former Alaska senator Mike Gravel (5.86%) (And if you just said Who? – don’t feel bad), who led Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney 3.92%) and Rudy Giuliani (3.83%). At the bottom of the website indexes was Virginia governor Jim Gilmore (for many, another – Who?) with 0.08%.
On a slightly more serious note, Hitwise, did a breakout of the top U.S. broadcast network TV show websites. Not surprisingly, with the movie coming out, The Simpsons led the pack with a fifth (21.90%) of the market share of visits. After that, the numbers drop dramatically with Pirate Master in second place (7.15%), America’s Got Talent (6.88%), American Idol (6.19%), So You Think You Can Dance (5.81%), America’s Most Wanted (4.23%), Deal or No Deal (3.17%), Hell’s Kitchen (2.69%), Grey’s Anatomy (2.21%) and Age of Love (1.85%).
TOPS IN BRAND IDENTITY: You may have seen the story on the world’s top 100 brands, with Coca-Cola in the number one spot. But the analysis by Interbrand had some exclusions. For example, to qualify, a company must get at least a third of its revenue outside its home country, be recognizable outside its home country, and have publicly available marketing and financial data. So, that excludes Wal-Mart and other companies which operate under different names in other countries. And it excludes companies, like Visa, which are privately held. Proving yet again that I need a life, counting the number of brands and their countries of origin, not surprisingly, the U.S. had the highest count with 42 brands making the top 100 list. The number two country was a tight race with Germany (10 brands) narrowly beating France (9), Japan (8) and Britain (6). China didn’t make it with any brands, but tiny Netherlands did with two companies (Phillips and ING). And Bermuda did with consulting firm Accenture (Yeah, I thought that was an American company, too.)
NOT SO TOP IN BROADBAND ADOPTION: Okay, the point about brand identification was the good news for the U.S., now the bad news. In five years (from 2001 to 2006), the U.S. has dropped from 4th in Broadband penetration in the world to 15th. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development releases a per capita ranking of broadband adoption rates every six months. The group says the U.S. has 19.6 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. That’s behind Denmark at number one (31.9), Netherlands (31.8), Iceland (29.7), Korea (29.1), Switzerland (28.5), Norway (27.7), Finland (27.2), Sweden (26), Canada (23.8), Belgium (22.5), United Kingdom (21.6), Luxembourg (20.4), France (20.3) and Japan (20.2). We did beat Australia (19.2), Austria (17.3), German (17.1), Spain (15.3) and Italy (14.8).
However, it should be noted that a Pew Internet Project study showed the percentage of Americans with HOME Broadband connections is 47%. That’s double the 24% penetration three years earlier. Researchers at Pew say broadband penetration should pass the half way mark (50%) this year. And to put that in perspective, they note that it took 10 years for CD players to reach 50%, 15 years for cell phones and 18 years for color TV.
MEDIA MOGUL OR MEDIA MARAUDER: And you know who I’m talking about – Rupert Murdoch, of course. With the news that he will purchase Dow Jones and Co., with its flagship Wall Street Journal newspaper, I decided to look at two earlier MfM’s which quoted heavily from Murdoch’s letter to shareholders. In those reports, Murdoch called the print business “the heart” of the News Corp Company. He says it’s too early to declare the death of print media even with surveys showing people finding alternative means of getting the news. He makes it clear that his company will be providing those alternatives, saying, for example, that he “hopes and expects” that in the near future the Internet will be where Cable is today. All because, he says, “the hunger for news and information – for content – is not fading. It is intensifying.”
What stands out in re-reading those MfM’s is the hyperbole that borders somewhere between cocky and confident. For example, he refers to his company as “the most innovative and fearless media company in the world today.” He talks in the letter several times about the need for an “innovative, entrepreneurial spirit.” He talks about the “digital revolution” having the potential of “changing our world as fundamentally as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.” Topping his list of ‘business principles’ is the admonition that one needs to “be willing to ignore or even take on conventional wisdom.”
Considering the $5 Billion price tag he offered for the WSJ which translated into a 50% or more per share price, his other business principles are particularly interesting – invest wisely and early in a new business – be patient as the new effort finds its footing – enjoy the growth and profitability as the business matures but always be thinking about and building the next generation of offerings. Lastly, I offer the thought that Murdoch may have used the word “customer” more in his letter to shareholders than anybody else, but not as a company focus so much as a revenue target.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: The first recorded spam e-mail was in 1978, according to an article in The New Yorker, when a marketer for Digital Equipment Corporation sent out an e-mail to the thousand or so people on Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet, touting the wonders of DEC’s new computer system. The man, Gary Thuerk, was harshly reprimanded by the system administrator but his company sold 20 of the computers at a million dollars apiece. Students headed to college this fall are part of the most wired generation yet, according to a study released by research firm eMarketer and reported in MediaLife Magazine. The percentage grew 2% from last year to this year, so that 95% of college students use the Internet. That translates into 17.1 Million college students who log on to do everything from register for classes to reserving dormitory washing machines.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail me at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at my website MediaConsultant.tv.
STATISTICS THAT TELL A STORY
TOPS IN BRAND IDENTITY
NOT SO TOPS IN BROADBAND ADOPTION
MEDIA MOGUL OR MEDIA MARAUDER
COCKTAIL CHATTER
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
ALL NEWS IS LOCAL: How often have you heard that aphorism? We consultants use it a lot. Two recent set of statistics prove that it is true, and not true, depending on how you interpret the phrase. Research firm Hitwise says its analysis of websites in the category of ‘news and media’ shows that LOCAL websites contributed 90% of all the traffic to this category of site. I’m going to throw some numbers at you, so stay with me. The researchers say that ‘news and media’ websites accounted for 3.47% of ALL Internet traffic. Local websites received 3.13% of all those visits. A very much related study by comScore Networks found that local search services are beating out the more generalized search services. Local search, using such services as Internet Yellow Pages, grew 24% while general search, using such services as Google, Yahoo and MSN, grew 14%. Even better, according to the survey commissioned by TMP Directional Marketing, four out of five people (82%) using local web search sites followed their research up with action – in store visits, phone calls, e-mails and purchases. The group said they were surprised to learn that a third of the respondents said they continue to rely on print Yellow Pages as their main source of local business information. Of course, that means two-thirds choose online services, but the company noted that those searches are divided amongst a variety of sites.
Okay, back to that Hitwise analysis, some more confusing numbers. So, stay with me. Nearly a third (29.59%) of the visits, just to the ‘news and media’ category, went to the top 10 websites and more than half (56.59%) went to the top 100 websites. The average visit duration for the news and media industry category was 6 minutes and 35 seconds.
And remember the point in a previous MfM about Nielsen/ Net Ratings changing its way of measuring website rankings? Hitwise ranks the top 30 websites in three ways. Using number of visits – Yahoo News came in first, followed by The Weather Channel, MSNBC, CNN, and People Magazine. Using page views – Yahoo News again came in first, but People Magazine came in second, followed by The Weather Channel, MSNBC, and CNN. But when measuring by time spent at the site (session duration), the ranking changes dramatically. In first place is RedOrbit.com where visitors spent more than an hour (1:07:28), followed by Entrepreneur.com (1:10:03), NewsNow, which is a U.K. operation (53:37), Startup Journal (41.10), ABC News Discussion (36:38), Apple Daily Online (31:01), and my favorite, Muscular Development Magazine (28:51), just ahead of SouthAsiaNews.com (28.41).
STATISTICS THAT TELL A STORY: But exactly what kind of story, I’m not sure. For example, the top two Presidential candidates’ websites are Barack Obama (with 29.59% of the market share) followed by Hilary Clinton (with 17.35%), according to a Hitwise survey of websites. Okay, that makes sense. But the third highest ranked presidential candidate’s website is – Ron Paul, the Republican Texas congressman and political unknown, with 12.76%. Followed by John Edwards (10.33%), former Alaska senator Mike Gravel (5.86%) (And if you just said Who? – don’t feel bad), who led Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney 3.92%) and Rudy Giuliani (3.83%). At the bottom of the website indexes was Virginia governor Jim Gilmore (for many, another – Who?) with 0.08%.
On a slightly more serious note, Hitwise, did a breakout of the top U.S. broadcast network TV show websites. Not surprisingly, with the movie coming out, The Simpsons led the pack with a fifth (21.90%) of the market share of visits. After that, the numbers drop dramatically with Pirate Master in second place (7.15%), America’s Got Talent (6.88%), American Idol (6.19%), So You Think You Can Dance (5.81%), America’s Most Wanted (4.23%), Deal or No Deal (3.17%), Hell’s Kitchen (2.69%), Grey’s Anatomy (2.21%) and Age of Love (1.85%).
TOPS IN BRAND IDENTITY: You may have seen the story on the world’s top 100 brands, with Coca-Cola in the number one spot. But the analysis by Interbrand had some exclusions. For example, to qualify, a company must get at least a third of its revenue outside its home country, be recognizable outside its home country, and have publicly available marketing and financial data. So, that excludes Wal-Mart and other companies which operate under different names in other countries. And it excludes companies, like Visa, which are privately held. Proving yet again that I need a life, counting the number of brands and their countries of origin, not surprisingly, the U.S. had the highest count with 42 brands making the top 100 list. The number two country was a tight race with Germany (10 brands) narrowly beating France (9), Japan (8) and Britain (6). China didn’t make it with any brands, but tiny Netherlands did with two companies (Phillips and ING). And Bermuda did with consulting firm Accenture (Yeah, I thought that was an American company, too.)
NOT SO TOP IN BROADBAND ADOPTION: Okay, the point about brand identification was the good news for the U.S., now the bad news. In five years (from 2001 to 2006), the U.S. has dropped from 4th in Broadband penetration in the world to 15th. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development releases a per capita ranking of broadband adoption rates every six months. The group says the U.S. has 19.6 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. That’s behind Denmark at number one (31.9), Netherlands (31.8), Iceland (29.7), Korea (29.1), Switzerland (28.5), Norway (27.7), Finland (27.2), Sweden (26), Canada (23.8), Belgium (22.5), United Kingdom (21.6), Luxembourg (20.4), France (20.3) and Japan (20.2). We did beat Australia (19.2), Austria (17.3), German (17.1), Spain (15.3) and Italy (14.8).
However, it should be noted that a Pew Internet Project study showed the percentage of Americans with HOME Broadband connections is 47%. That’s double the 24% penetration three years earlier. Researchers at Pew say broadband penetration should pass the half way mark (50%) this year. And to put that in perspective, they note that it took 10 years for CD players to reach 50%, 15 years for cell phones and 18 years for color TV.
MEDIA MOGUL OR MEDIA MARAUDER: And you know who I’m talking about – Rupert Murdoch, of course. With the news that he will purchase Dow Jones and Co., with its flagship Wall Street Journal newspaper, I decided to look at two earlier MfM’s which quoted heavily from Murdoch’s letter to shareholders. In those reports, Murdoch called the print business “the heart” of the News Corp Company. He says it’s too early to declare the death of print media even with surveys showing people finding alternative means of getting the news. He makes it clear that his company will be providing those alternatives, saying, for example, that he “hopes and expects” that in the near future the Internet will be where Cable is today. All because, he says, “the hunger for news and information – for content – is not fading. It is intensifying.”
What stands out in re-reading those MfM’s is the hyperbole that borders somewhere between cocky and confident. For example, he refers to his company as “the most innovative and fearless media company in the world today.” He talks in the letter several times about the need for an “innovative, entrepreneurial spirit.” He talks about the “digital revolution” having the potential of “changing our world as fundamentally as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.” Topping his list of ‘business principles’ is the admonition that one needs to “be willing to ignore or even take on conventional wisdom.”
Considering the $5 Billion price tag he offered for the WSJ which translated into a 50% or more per share price, his other business principles are particularly interesting – invest wisely and early in a new business – be patient as the new effort finds its footing – enjoy the growth and profitability as the business matures but always be thinking about and building the next generation of offerings. Lastly, I offer the thought that Murdoch may have used the word “customer” more in his letter to shareholders than anybody else, but not as a company focus so much as a revenue target.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: The first recorded spam e-mail was in 1978, according to an article in The New Yorker, when a marketer for Digital Equipment Corporation sent out an e-mail to the thousand or so people on Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet, touting the wonders of DEC’s new computer system. The man, Gary Thuerk, was harshly reprimanded by the system administrator but his company sold 20 of the computers at a million dollars apiece. Students headed to college this fall are part of the most wired generation yet, according to a study released by research firm eMarketer and reported in MediaLife Magazine. The percentage grew 2% from last year to this year, so that 95% of college students use the Internet. That translates into 17.1 Million college students who log on to do everything from register for classes to reserving dormitory washing machines.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail me at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at my website MediaConsultant.tv.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Message From Michael -- July 23, 2007
THE VIDEO RACE IS ON
THE OTHER LEG OF THE VIDEO RACE
WHITHER THE WIDGET
NOTES FOR REPORTERS
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE
KIDS SAY EMAIL IS, LIKE, SOOO DEAD
COCKTAIL CHATTER
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
THE VIDEO RACE IS ON: And television is still the rabbit of the race, but the tortoise, otherwise known as online video, is going to make a run for it. And, according to research by The Nielsen Company, both may come out winners. The study commissioned by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing found that traditional home television ratings are minimally, if at all, affected by broadband video viewing over the Internet because broadband viewing was largely incremental NEW viewing rather than substitute viewing. A third of those surveyed (33%) said watching video over broadband Internet actually increased their television viewing time, compared to one out of seven (13%) who said it decreased their traditional television viewing. It may reach what the study authors called a “Tipping Point” when Internet video becomes more easily accessible on home television sets. Another study, this one by comScore, says watching video on the Internet has become “standard practice” for Web users. Its Video Metrix report found that three quarters (74%) of Web users (about 132 Million Americans) watched an average of more than two and a half hours of videos (158 minutes, to be exact) during the month of May.
Need More Proof? Niche online video company Next New Networks, launched by former Nickelodeon president Herb Scannell, says its independent film-themed site, Indy Mogul, generated more than a million video streams in June. Former United Talent Agency exec Brett Weinstein has left the firm to head a Web video startup. Video content site Veoh has expanded its user base to 14.3 Million as of June. Video content site Revver has upped the ante on videos produced and aired on its site by users. TV/ Internet combo Babelgum (the main competitor to Joost, mentioned in previous MfM’s) has struck a deal to offer more than 200 hours of documentary programming for its video service. And Joost continues to line up more sponsors and more video partnerships, it seems, every day.
THE OTHER LEG OF THE VIDEO RACE: Marketing research firm eMarketer says in 2011, the “floodgates” of online video advertising (note the addition of the word – advertising) will open up. In that year, it projects spending on online video advertising will reach $4.3 Billion. However, to put that in perspective, television advertising in 2011 is projected to be $46.3 Billion. (Also, as reported by BusinessWeek.com, the eMarketer report said that online video advertising in 2011 will account for only $1 for each $10 of total Internet advertising. So, does that mean Internet advertising will be $43 Billion in 2011?) To add another layer of perspective, many of you will remember from a previous MfM the unusual fact that newspapers are actually leading the way in online video advertising. Still, the folks at eMarketer insist that the line between television and web video will be “so blurred” that advertisers will begin directing more of their marketing budgets to the online version and that they will “converge.” Another caveat -- BusinessWeek.com cited a study by Burst Media that three quarters of the users (77%) found online ads intrusive. But then again, we’ve heard that about TV ads as well.
Need More Proof? Website NewTeeVee says car advertisers are leading the way in online video advertising, especially in high definition. And we all know how important car advertisers are to business. More than 30 car manufacturers have launched a website that provides test drivers and 360-degree virtual tours of their cars. The website, DriverTV, has been named one of the 50 best websites of 2007 by Time.com.
WHITHER THE WIDGET: Also from the pages of BusinessWeek, a story about widgets, and the prediction that they may be a “web revolution in the making.” Okay, folks, you heard it here first in the June 19th edition of MfM. To remind you, widgets are software modules that you drag and drop on your website, other websites, your personal page of your social network or your blog, and they will link to just about anything. Some people use them for selling products; storing their favorite song of the day, news snippets or video clips. The Business Week article cites, as an example, the NBA’s widgets which have generated more than 100 million views from 175,000 locations. The article claims that there are dozens of widget makers in Silicon Valley, commanding valuations north of $100 Million.
NOTES FOR REPORTERS: It’s almost standard advice from us consultants in broadcast news writing workshops that you have only have six to eight seconds to grab the viewers’ attention. The point was driven home in a writing workshop I attended this weekend (Yes, I not only give writing workshops, I attend them.) Ralph McInerney, author of the Father Dowling Mystery series, told of visiting a publishing house and watching a secretary go through the ‘slush pile’ of manuscripts. She would open up the manila envelope, read the first few lines, and then drop a standard rejection letter into the envelope, put it in the out-going mail box and go on to the next one. And the same thing happened again and again. So, that’s why we tell you to make your lead ‘grabby.’
KIDS SAY EMAIL IS, LIKE, SOOO DEAD: That was the too cute, but funny, headline on a CNet story that may mark a major trend development. Staff Writer Stefanie Olsen says a check of teen entrepreneurs found that many, if not most, of them are using social networks like Facebook or MySpace to communicate with friends and that e-mail is for “professional relationships or communicating with adults.”
TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO MENTION: Despite extensive coverage. The decision by Nielsen/ Net Ratings to change the way it ranks the most popular Websites. Instead of counting unique users, it rates the time an average user spends on a site. Based on the new system, AOL leaped to the front of the pack as the #1 Website, ahead of Google, Yahoo, MySpace, and MSN. Nielsen competitor comScore ranked AOL second, below Yahoo but above Google, based on unique visitors.
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: Returning to last year’s MfM’s, the news was minorities in the media with the annual RTNDA/ Ball State University survey showing the level of minority representation in television newsrooms (at 22.2%) was – well ahead of the 13.7% reported for newspapers but well behind the 33.6% minority population in the U.S. as a whole. A survey by public relations firm Manning Selvage and Lee in the summer of last year reported that nearly half of advertising executives said they had paid for broadcast or editorial placement of their products.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: A story carried by the Associated Press reports several people have been struck by lighting while listening to their iPod, or other personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman, and laptop computers outdoors during storms. A study released by The Media Audit of radio formats found that listeners to Christian Contemporary are more likely to be affiliated with the Republican Party while Urban Adult Contemporary listeners are more likely to identify themselves as Democrat. News/Talk/Sports was the second highest ranking format among Republicans while Rhythm and Blues/ Urban Jazz had the second highest following among Democrats. According to a Pew Research Center survey, helping with the household chores is almost as important to a happy marriage as good sex. The most important part of a happy marriage is faithfulness (cited by 93%) and that has stayed true every year of the survey. Sexual relations (70%) comes in second. But helping with the household chores moved up dramatically (from 47% in 1990 to 62%). What’s equally interesting is that EVERYBODY -- men and women, younger and older, singles and married -- said the same thing about household chores. The report also cited an earlier University of Maryland report that fathers spent 9.6 hours a week on household chores, double the hours (4.4) cited in 1965, but that is still only about half as much time as mothers (18.1 hours).
And in what may be an ironic twist and an appropriate way to end this Internet vs. TV edition of MfM, the Pew Research Center also reports that many Americans are aware of the Spoof Campaign Videos produced by the various Presidential candidates’ campaigns for the web. But most of them had heard about them or seen them on TV, not on the Internet.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
THE OTHER LEG OF THE VIDEO RACE
WHITHER THE WIDGET
NOTES FOR REPORTERS
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE
KIDS SAY EMAIL IS, LIKE, SOOO DEAD
COCKTAIL CHATTER
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
THE VIDEO RACE IS ON: And television is still the rabbit of the race, but the tortoise, otherwise known as online video, is going to make a run for it. And, according to research by The Nielsen Company, both may come out winners. The study commissioned by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing found that traditional home television ratings are minimally, if at all, affected by broadband video viewing over the Internet because broadband viewing was largely incremental NEW viewing rather than substitute viewing. A third of those surveyed (33%) said watching video over broadband Internet actually increased their television viewing time, compared to one out of seven (13%) who said it decreased their traditional television viewing. It may reach what the study authors called a “Tipping Point” when Internet video becomes more easily accessible on home television sets. Another study, this one by comScore, says watching video on the Internet has become “standard practice” for Web users. Its Video Metrix report found that three quarters (74%) of Web users (about 132 Million Americans) watched an average of more than two and a half hours of videos (158 minutes, to be exact) during the month of May.
Need More Proof? Niche online video company Next New Networks, launched by former Nickelodeon president Herb Scannell, says its independent film-themed site, Indy Mogul, generated more than a million video streams in June. Former United Talent Agency exec Brett Weinstein has left the firm to head a Web video startup. Video content site Veoh has expanded its user base to 14.3 Million as of June. Video content site Revver has upped the ante on videos produced and aired on its site by users. TV/ Internet combo Babelgum (the main competitor to Joost, mentioned in previous MfM’s) has struck a deal to offer more than 200 hours of documentary programming for its video service. And Joost continues to line up more sponsors and more video partnerships, it seems, every day.
THE OTHER LEG OF THE VIDEO RACE: Marketing research firm eMarketer says in 2011, the “floodgates” of online video advertising (note the addition of the word – advertising) will open up. In that year, it projects spending on online video advertising will reach $4.3 Billion. However, to put that in perspective, television advertising in 2011 is projected to be $46.3 Billion. (Also, as reported by BusinessWeek.com, the eMarketer report said that online video advertising in 2011 will account for only $1 for each $10 of total Internet advertising. So, does that mean Internet advertising will be $43 Billion in 2011?) To add another layer of perspective, many of you will remember from a previous MfM the unusual fact that newspapers are actually leading the way in online video advertising. Still, the folks at eMarketer insist that the line between television and web video will be “so blurred” that advertisers will begin directing more of their marketing budgets to the online version and that they will “converge.” Another caveat -- BusinessWeek.com cited a study by Burst Media that three quarters of the users (77%) found online ads intrusive. But then again, we’ve heard that about TV ads as well.
Need More Proof? Website NewTeeVee says car advertisers are leading the way in online video advertising, especially in high definition. And we all know how important car advertisers are to business. More than 30 car manufacturers have launched a website that provides test drivers and 360-degree virtual tours of their cars. The website, DriverTV, has been named one of the 50 best websites of 2007 by Time.com.
WHITHER THE WIDGET: Also from the pages of BusinessWeek, a story about widgets, and the prediction that they may be a “web revolution in the making.” Okay, folks, you heard it here first in the June 19th edition of MfM. To remind you, widgets are software modules that you drag and drop on your website, other websites, your personal page of your social network or your blog, and they will link to just about anything. Some people use them for selling products; storing their favorite song of the day, news snippets or video clips. The Business Week article cites, as an example, the NBA’s widgets which have generated more than 100 million views from 175,000 locations. The article claims that there are dozens of widget makers in Silicon Valley, commanding valuations north of $100 Million.
NOTES FOR REPORTERS: It’s almost standard advice from us consultants in broadcast news writing workshops that you have only have six to eight seconds to grab the viewers’ attention. The point was driven home in a writing workshop I attended this weekend (Yes, I not only give writing workshops, I attend them.) Ralph McInerney, author of the Father Dowling Mystery series, told of visiting a publishing house and watching a secretary go through the ‘slush pile’ of manuscripts. She would open up the manila envelope, read the first few lines, and then drop a standard rejection letter into the envelope, put it in the out-going mail box and go on to the next one. And the same thing happened again and again. So, that’s why we tell you to make your lead ‘grabby.’
KIDS SAY EMAIL IS, LIKE, SOOO DEAD: That was the too cute, but funny, headline on a CNet story that may mark a major trend development. Staff Writer Stefanie Olsen says a check of teen entrepreneurs found that many, if not most, of them are using social networks like Facebook or MySpace to communicate with friends and that e-mail is for “professional relationships or communicating with adults.”
TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO MENTION: Despite extensive coverage. The decision by Nielsen/ Net Ratings to change the way it ranks the most popular Websites. Instead of counting unique users, it rates the time an average user spends on a site. Based on the new system, AOL leaped to the front of the pack as the #1 Website, ahead of Google, Yahoo, MySpace, and MSN. Nielsen competitor comScore ranked AOL second, below Yahoo but above Google, based on unique visitors.
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: Returning to last year’s MfM’s, the news was minorities in the media with the annual RTNDA/ Ball State University survey showing the level of minority representation in television newsrooms (at 22.2%) was – well ahead of the 13.7% reported for newspapers but well behind the 33.6% minority population in the U.S. as a whole. A survey by public relations firm Manning Selvage and Lee in the summer of last year reported that nearly half of advertising executives said they had paid for broadcast or editorial placement of their products.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: A story carried by the Associated Press reports several people have been struck by lighting while listening to their iPod, or other personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman, and laptop computers outdoors during storms. A study released by The Media Audit of radio formats found that listeners to Christian Contemporary are more likely to be affiliated with the Republican Party while Urban Adult Contemporary listeners are more likely to identify themselves as Democrat. News/Talk/Sports was the second highest ranking format among Republicans while Rhythm and Blues/ Urban Jazz had the second highest following among Democrats. According to a Pew Research Center survey, helping with the household chores is almost as important to a happy marriage as good sex. The most important part of a happy marriage is faithfulness (cited by 93%) and that has stayed true every year of the survey. Sexual relations (70%) comes in second. But helping with the household chores moved up dramatically (from 47% in 1990 to 62%). What’s equally interesting is that EVERYBODY -- men and women, younger and older, singles and married -- said the same thing about household chores. The report also cited an earlier University of Maryland report that fathers spent 9.6 hours a week on household chores, double the hours (4.4) cited in 1965, but that is still only about half as much time as mothers (18.1 hours).
And in what may be an ironic twist and an appropriate way to end this Internet vs. TV edition of MfM, the Pew Research Center also reports that many Americans are aware of the Spoof Campaign Videos produced by the various Presidential candidates’ campaigns for the web. But most of them had heard about them or seen them on TV, not on the Internet.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Message From Michael -- July 16, 2007
DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
TO BE JOURNALISM OR NOT TO BE JOURNALISM
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
DISCLAIMER: This week’s edition of MfM is a little longer than usual, because there were three significant studies that came out and that I am going to attempt to summarize briefly. Which leads to disclaimer number two, they are so brief that they are subject to some distortion of interpretation.
DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: And if you remember the line from the old Sam Cook song about teen love, you will remember that Sam also didn’t know much about biology, science, French and algebra. Well, now add to that – News. According to a survey by the Joan Shorenstein on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, teenagers and young adults are paying less attention to news than their counterparts of two or three decades ago. No news there, but the DEGREE OF DISCONNECT is news – not just newspapers, but national and local television, radio and the Internet. One out of four teens (28%) and one out of four young adults (24%) paid almost no attention to news, whatever the source. And another third of the teens (32%) and another quarter of the young adults (24%) paid little or no attention to three of the mediums and made only ‘moderate’ use of the fourth. Simply put, “daily news is not an integral part of the daily lives of most teens and young adults.” The survey showed that while teenagers and young adults may say they watch, read or listen to the news (because it is the ‘socially desirable response’), in actual fact they ‘skim’ the newspaper, watch TV for a ‘short while,’ listen to news on radio when it ‘happens to come on’ and read news on the Internet when they ‘come across’ it.
HARD NEWS VERSUS SOFT NEWS: The Shorenstein report also found that the difference in familiarity between hard news stories (such as the 400-point plunge in the Dow at the time) and soft news stories (such as Anna Nicole Smith’s death) was “nothing short of extraordinary.” Three out of four (75%) of the respondents OF ALL AGES knew about the typical soft news story while less than half (45%) knew about the typical hard news story. And two thirds (68%) correctly identified the factual elements of a soft news story while less than half again (45%) did so for the hard news story. A “puzzling finding”, according to the survey, was that while other research shows older adults are more likely to discuss public affairs, younger adults were three times more likely to say they had heard about a story from another person – although, in most cases it was a soft news story. The report did note that many hard news stories “have a numbing sameness – another act of Congress or another presidential speech – that can block them from memory even when they get heavy coverage.”
THE NEW MEDIA ROLE: Yes, the Internet is an important source for news for teenagers and young adults, according to the report. But it is a matter of degree. Two out of five teens (41%) and young adults (47%) say they became aware of a story through TV while only one in five (18%) say they became aware of a story through the Internet. Interestingly, one in four teenagers (28%) and one in ten young adults (12%) say they found out about a story through ‘another person.’ The report says Radio is actually the most “underrated news medium” because of its large “inadvertent news audience.”
THE NEW NEWS MATRIX. In the “old days,” there was a correlation between news interest and news consumption regardless of the medium, says the report. Mom and Dad read the morning newspaper at the breakfast table and would watch the evening news. By default the kids acquired a news habit of their own, almost because they had no choice. The report says this “forced feeding” of the news habit came to an end in the 1980’s with the spread of cable television. Now the big question mark is whether the Internet will make news consumption greater because of its 24/7 availability or break down news consumption even more because of that same on-demand feature. The problem, say the researchers, is that online news exposure is less fixed by time, place and routine – elements that have a ritual ability to reinforce news habits. Now news consumption becomes more ‘inadvertent.’ And even though young people may say they are interested in news, their behavior says otherwise. It may be a matter of different medium for different needs. Newspapers for public affairs coverage; Television for entertainment programs; the Internet for gaming and social interaction. The report authors say media use today is largely a solitary affair that only reinforces existing preferences and doesn’t create news ones, like news use. They quote Aristotle who wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do.” The fact that young people don’t repeatedly ‘do news’ is “a basis for pessimism about the future of daily news and young adults.”
You can access the full report at: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/carnegie_knight/young_news_web.pdf
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS: Several recent reports cited a study by Edison Media Research that the Internet is close to beating television as “most essential” medium. In keeping with MfM’s focus on going behind the headlines, we can say -- WRONGO-GONGO. The Internet has beaten Television. At least, for people under the age of 44. Not only that, the Internet beats out television as the “most cool” and “exciting” medium for people under the age of 54 as well. Some consolation for my television brethren, on the flip side of the equation, more people (24%) deemed the Internet the “least essential” medium, compared to television (18%) and radio (18%). No consolation for my newspaper brethren, newspapers were deemed the “least essential” medium by more people (35%) than any other media. All this represents a fairly dramatic change from when the survey was taken five years ago in 2002.
Not surprisingly, the Internet beat out Television by a whopping 15 percentage points (46% to 31%) among the 12-17 crowd when it came to “most essential.” Somewhat surprisingly, the Internet also beat out Television by a substantial 12 percentage points (40% to 28%) among the 35-44 crowd in that arena. The race was much tighter among the 18-24 group (38% to 35%) and the 25-34 group (38% to 33%). It’s only when you get to the 45—plus crowd that Television beats out the Internet but by a mere 6 percentage points, but a substantial 16 percentage points in the 55-plus group and a whop-whopping 34% among the 65-plus.
And when it comes to being “most cool,” the figures for the Internet are even more staggering with the Internet beating Television by 20 percentage points in the 12-17 group; 19 percentage points in the 18-24’s; another 14 points in the 25-34; 17 points in the 35-44 group but a mere one point in the 45-54 group. Once you get to the 55-plus crowd (that Television doesn’t sell), Television beats out the Internet by 12 points and an incredible 35 points in the 65-plus crowd as “most cool.”
WHO’S STALE AND BORING: More consolation for my Television brethren, fewer people (24%) think Television is “stale and boring” in 2007 than thought so in 2002, when it was 36%. No consolation for my Newspaper brethren, more people (35%) now think they have become “stale and boring” than in 2002, when it was 30%. And for those radio readers of MfM, radio dropped 9 percentage points in terms of being “most essential,” increased 4 percentage points in being “least essential”; is flat over the five year period in terms of being “stale and boring”; but dropped dramatically in terms of being “used more.” The Internet (at 34%) beat radio (18%) and barely trailed Television (37%) when people were asked, “Are you using it more lately.”
THE KICKER: But here’s the kicker for you Television folks out there. When asked, “Who would you turn to first in the event of a major breaking news story,” Television dominates with 62% of the respondents picking TV, beating out the Internet (at 18%) by more than a three to one margin. The television figure is down from 2002 when it was 74% and the Internet is up from 2002 when it was a mere 8%. Radio is down, at 10% this year compared to 12% five years ago, and newspapers increased a tad, at 8% this year versus 6% five years ago.
(Okay, let me explain the headline. The Devil is in the Details can be translated a number of ways: you have to watch the details or they will trip you up; things are more difficult to accomplish because of the various details to be taken care of; or, the plan may appear simple but there is a lot of detail work to be done. The flip side of that is “God is in the Details” which some translate as meaning you can find big things in small packages, sort of along the line of ‘less is more’; or that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; details are important.)
You can access the full report at: http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/Q3%20Media%20Perceptions%20-%20large%20slides%20_2_.pdf
TO BE JOURNALISM OR NOT TO BE JOURNALISM: A report by the University of Maryland’s J-Lab “Institute for Interactive Journalism” says four out of five “citizen media” websites consider what they do to be journalism and three out of four have pronounced their efforts a “success.” Of course, success has multiple definitions, including watch-dogging local government, providing news that couldn’t otherwise be had, helping their community to solve problems and nudging local media to improve. The Knight Citizen News Network (kcnn.org) has identified more than 450 “citizen media” sites in the United States. Both groups have adopted the term “citizen media” as their preferred definition of these sites, although both groups use the term interchangeably with “citizen journalism.” The J-Lab group identified several variations of the citizen media model – community cooperatives run by volunteers; trained citizen journalist sites using traditional journalism values and training to non-journalists; professional journalists who are operating for profit and not for profit sites; solo enterprise sites created by individuals, few of whom have journalism training; blog aggregators which act as one-stop community repositories; and legacy media sites launched by newspapers or broadcasters as places where the users dominate the content, as opposed to their own websites where journalists dominate the work. The report cites examples of each, and they run the gamut from people like Jonathon Weber, former editor of The Industry Standard (at newwest.net); former Boston Globe editor and now M-I-T Media Lab editor-in-residence Jack Driscoll (ryereflections.org); to “life and business partners” Christopher Grotke and Lise LePage who run a web design business in Brattleboro, Vermont (ibrattleboro.com)
J-Lab Director Jan Schaffer says her group believes citizen media sites “will become an enduring part of the emerging newscape” and urges legacy media groups to partner and support such sites instead of trying to compete with them. The report says ‘old media’ companies have launched such sites for a variety of reasons – to offset loss of editorial staff, to build community and thereby interest in local news coverage, and, candidly, to preserve or maybe expand market share among consumers and advertisers. Meanwhile, many ‘new media’ companies are struggling to harness citizen and advertising contributions to create profitable online revenue models. In short, both are looking for the right ‘business model.’ As a foot note, one of the larger, multiple citizen media sites, backfence.com, has gone out of business since the J-Lab report was issued.
You can access the full report at: http://www.kcnn.org/research/citizen_media_report/ and even have a hard copy sent to you.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
TO BE JOURNALISM OR NOT TO BE JOURNALISM
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
DISCLAIMER: This week’s edition of MfM is a little longer than usual, because there were three significant studies that came out and that I am going to attempt to summarize briefly. Which leads to disclaimer number two, they are so brief that they are subject to some distortion of interpretation.
DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: And if you remember the line from the old Sam Cook song about teen love, you will remember that Sam also didn’t know much about biology, science, French and algebra. Well, now add to that – News. According to a survey by the Joan Shorenstein on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, teenagers and young adults are paying less attention to news than their counterparts of two or three decades ago. No news there, but the DEGREE OF DISCONNECT is news – not just newspapers, but national and local television, radio and the Internet. One out of four teens (28%) and one out of four young adults (24%) paid almost no attention to news, whatever the source. And another third of the teens (32%) and another quarter of the young adults (24%) paid little or no attention to three of the mediums and made only ‘moderate’ use of the fourth. Simply put, “daily news is not an integral part of the daily lives of most teens and young adults.” The survey showed that while teenagers and young adults may say they watch, read or listen to the news (because it is the ‘socially desirable response’), in actual fact they ‘skim’ the newspaper, watch TV for a ‘short while,’ listen to news on radio when it ‘happens to come on’ and read news on the Internet when they ‘come across’ it.
HARD NEWS VERSUS SOFT NEWS: The Shorenstein report also found that the difference in familiarity between hard news stories (such as the 400-point plunge in the Dow at the time) and soft news stories (such as Anna Nicole Smith’s death) was “nothing short of extraordinary.” Three out of four (75%) of the respondents OF ALL AGES knew about the typical soft news story while less than half (45%) knew about the typical hard news story. And two thirds (68%) correctly identified the factual elements of a soft news story while less than half again (45%) did so for the hard news story. A “puzzling finding”, according to the survey, was that while other research shows older adults are more likely to discuss public affairs, younger adults were three times more likely to say they had heard about a story from another person – although, in most cases it was a soft news story. The report did note that many hard news stories “have a numbing sameness – another act of Congress or another presidential speech – that can block them from memory even when they get heavy coverage.”
THE NEW MEDIA ROLE: Yes, the Internet is an important source for news for teenagers and young adults, according to the report. But it is a matter of degree. Two out of five teens (41%) and young adults (47%) say they became aware of a story through TV while only one in five (18%) say they became aware of a story through the Internet. Interestingly, one in four teenagers (28%) and one in ten young adults (12%) say they found out about a story through ‘another person.’ The report says Radio is actually the most “underrated news medium” because of its large “inadvertent news audience.”
THE NEW NEWS MATRIX. In the “old days,” there was a correlation between news interest and news consumption regardless of the medium, says the report. Mom and Dad read the morning newspaper at the breakfast table and would watch the evening news. By default the kids acquired a news habit of their own, almost because they had no choice. The report says this “forced feeding” of the news habit came to an end in the 1980’s with the spread of cable television. Now the big question mark is whether the Internet will make news consumption greater because of its 24/7 availability or break down news consumption even more because of that same on-demand feature. The problem, say the researchers, is that online news exposure is less fixed by time, place and routine – elements that have a ritual ability to reinforce news habits. Now news consumption becomes more ‘inadvertent.’ And even though young people may say they are interested in news, their behavior says otherwise. It may be a matter of different medium for different needs. Newspapers for public affairs coverage; Television for entertainment programs; the Internet for gaming and social interaction. The report authors say media use today is largely a solitary affair that only reinforces existing preferences and doesn’t create news ones, like news use. They quote Aristotle who wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do.” The fact that young people don’t repeatedly ‘do news’ is “a basis for pessimism about the future of daily news and young adults.”
You can access the full report at: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/carnegie_knight/young_news_web.pdf
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS: Several recent reports cited a study by Edison Media Research that the Internet is close to beating television as “most essential” medium. In keeping with MfM’s focus on going behind the headlines, we can say -- WRONGO-GONGO. The Internet has beaten Television. At least, for people under the age of 44. Not only that, the Internet beats out television as the “most cool” and “exciting” medium for people under the age of 54 as well. Some consolation for my television brethren, on the flip side of the equation, more people (24%) deemed the Internet the “least essential” medium, compared to television (18%) and radio (18%). No consolation for my newspaper brethren, newspapers were deemed the “least essential” medium by more people (35%) than any other media. All this represents a fairly dramatic change from when the survey was taken five years ago in 2002.
Not surprisingly, the Internet beat out Television by a whopping 15 percentage points (46% to 31%) among the 12-17 crowd when it came to “most essential.” Somewhat surprisingly, the Internet also beat out Television by a substantial 12 percentage points (40% to 28%) among the 35-44 crowd in that arena. The race was much tighter among the 18-24 group (38% to 35%) and the 25-34 group (38% to 33%). It’s only when you get to the 45—plus crowd that Television beats out the Internet but by a mere 6 percentage points, but a substantial 16 percentage points in the 55-plus group and a whop-whopping 34% among the 65-plus.
And when it comes to being “most cool,” the figures for the Internet are even more staggering with the Internet beating Television by 20 percentage points in the 12-17 group; 19 percentage points in the 18-24’s; another 14 points in the 25-34; 17 points in the 35-44 group but a mere one point in the 45-54 group. Once you get to the 55-plus crowd (that Television doesn’t sell), Television beats out the Internet by 12 points and an incredible 35 points in the 65-plus crowd as “most cool.”
WHO’S STALE AND BORING: More consolation for my Television brethren, fewer people (24%) think Television is “stale and boring” in 2007 than thought so in 2002, when it was 36%. No consolation for my Newspaper brethren, more people (35%) now think they have become “stale and boring” than in 2002, when it was 30%. And for those radio readers of MfM, radio dropped 9 percentage points in terms of being “most essential,” increased 4 percentage points in being “least essential”; is flat over the five year period in terms of being “stale and boring”; but dropped dramatically in terms of being “used more.” The Internet (at 34%) beat radio (18%) and barely trailed Television (37%) when people were asked, “Are you using it more lately.”
THE KICKER: But here’s the kicker for you Television folks out there. When asked, “Who would you turn to first in the event of a major breaking news story,” Television dominates with 62% of the respondents picking TV, beating out the Internet (at 18%) by more than a three to one margin. The television figure is down from 2002 when it was 74% and the Internet is up from 2002 when it was a mere 8%. Radio is down, at 10% this year compared to 12% five years ago, and newspapers increased a tad, at 8% this year versus 6% five years ago.
(Okay, let me explain the headline. The Devil is in the Details can be translated a number of ways: you have to watch the details or they will trip you up; things are more difficult to accomplish because of the various details to be taken care of; or, the plan may appear simple but there is a lot of detail work to be done. The flip side of that is “God is in the Details” which some translate as meaning you can find big things in small packages, sort of along the line of ‘less is more’; or that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; details are important.)
You can access the full report at: http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/Q3%20Media%20Perceptions%20-%20large%20slides%20_2_.pdf
TO BE JOURNALISM OR NOT TO BE JOURNALISM: A report by the University of Maryland’s J-Lab “Institute for Interactive Journalism” says four out of five “citizen media” websites consider what they do to be journalism and three out of four have pronounced their efforts a “success.” Of course, success has multiple definitions, including watch-dogging local government, providing news that couldn’t otherwise be had, helping their community to solve problems and nudging local media to improve. The Knight Citizen News Network (kcnn.org) has identified more than 450 “citizen media” sites in the United States. Both groups have adopted the term “citizen media” as their preferred definition of these sites, although both groups use the term interchangeably with “citizen journalism.” The J-Lab group identified several variations of the citizen media model – community cooperatives run by volunteers; trained citizen journalist sites using traditional journalism values and training to non-journalists; professional journalists who are operating for profit and not for profit sites; solo enterprise sites created by individuals, few of whom have journalism training; blog aggregators which act as one-stop community repositories; and legacy media sites launched by newspapers or broadcasters as places where the users dominate the content, as opposed to their own websites where journalists dominate the work. The report cites examples of each, and they run the gamut from people like Jonathon Weber, former editor of The Industry Standard (at newwest.net); former Boston Globe editor and now M-I-T Media Lab editor-in-residence Jack Driscoll (ryereflections.org); to “life and business partners” Christopher Grotke and Lise LePage who run a web design business in Brattleboro, Vermont (ibrattleboro.com)
J-Lab Director Jan Schaffer says her group believes citizen media sites “will become an enduring part of the emerging newscape” and urges legacy media groups to partner and support such sites instead of trying to compete with them. The report says ‘old media’ companies have launched such sites for a variety of reasons – to offset loss of editorial staff, to build community and thereby interest in local news coverage, and, candidly, to preserve or maybe expand market share among consumers and advertisers. Meanwhile, many ‘new media’ companies are struggling to harness citizen and advertising contributions to create profitable online revenue models. In short, both are looking for the right ‘business model.’ As a foot note, one of the larger, multiple citizen media sites, backfence.com, has gone out of business since the J-Lab report was issued.
You can access the full report at: http://www.kcnn.org/research/citizen_media_report/ and even have a hard copy sent to you.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
Message From Michael -- July 2, 2007
BASHING AMERICA
ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL
FACTS TO THINK ABOUT
POLITICIANS AND THE MEDIA
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE
A MURROW MEA CULPA
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
SWEEPS: Guess what? There is a sweeps period. It’s called July. Although most stations don’t pay much attention to it because of the low viewing. But I had to at least mention it.
BASHING AMERICA: Okay, not really. I wouldn’t want to do that, but a review of recently released studies and statistics draws a different picture of America the beautiful’s stance in the world. They show that other parts of the world are growing faster than the United States. Accounting and research consultancy Price Waterhouse Coopers says the U.S. remains the world’s largest but also slowest growing media market in the world, expanding at an estimated 5.3% compound annual growth rate, which is a half to a third of other countries’ growth rate. Leading forecaster Robert J. Coen, senior vice president at Universal McCann, says growth in overseas ad spending would continue to outpace the rate in the United States, as it has done every year for the last four years. He revised downward his projected ad spending for this year for the U.S., but revised upward his forecast for overseas spending because of “robust growth” in countries like Brazil, China and India. A report by the Communication Workers of America found that the U.S. lags far behind most other industrialized nations in terms of Internet speed. The median U.S. download speed is 1.7 megabits per second, compared to speed king Japan’s 61 megabits, South Korea’s 45 megabits, France at 17 megabits and even the Canadians beat us at 7 megabits. The report notes that the Federal Communication Commission defines “high speed” as 200 kilobits per second, a standard adopted more than a decade ago and now not even recognized as broadband in most countries. Mobile phone use is growing faster in other parts of the world than in the U.S., as well. Mobile phone use in Europe has reached the point that it is more than 100% of the actual population, according to U.K. based telecom analysis company The Mobile World. While ‘mobisodes’ (video for mobile phones) are just starting here in the U.S., in the Asia-Pacific region, distribution of TV programming on mobile phones is expected to reach $6.5 Billion in 2011, from the current spending of a mere $16 Million, a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%, compared to 5.5% for the rest of the world.
By the way, if you’re interested, you can find the relative Internet speeds for every state, listed on the website speedmatters.org, as well as a speed test for checking your own Internet connection speed.
NET NEUTRALITY: As a side note to the technology issues, it’s worth noting, even though it’s been in the news, that the Federal Trade Commission urged Congress to be cautious about any move to regular broadband Internet access. Or, put more simply – don’t enact any new laws on net neutrality. And, as blogger Declan McCullagh put it on the CNet blog site, this is coming from “the lifelong bureaucrats… (who) are hardly a bunch of Hayek-quoting, Ron Paul-voting libertarians.”
ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL: Internet advertising reached a record $16.9 Billion in the U.S. last year, a 35% increase over the year before, according to figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Sounds great, right? Wait, there’s more. In the first quarter of this year, Internet advertising revenues reached a new record of $4.9 Billion, a 26% increase over the first quarter of last year. Wait, there’s even more. The folks at Universal McCann predict that Internet advertising will be up 17% this year over last. And one more. The firm, Price Waterhouse Coopers, mentioned earlier, expects Internet advertising and ‘access spending’ to grow worldwide from an estimated $177 Billion last year to $332 Billion in 2011. Now, the other side of the story. Those same folks at Price Waterhouse Coopers predict that in two years, in 2009, spending on Internet advertising and access will pass spending on newspaper publishing. And forecasting guru Robert J. Coen, mentioned earlier, lowered his projections for advertising spending this year, in part because of a slowing in local dollar spending caused by a migration of local classified advertising from the HIGHER priced print ads of newspapers to the LOWER priced online ads of their websites.
SOME FACTS TO THINK ABOUT: Global mobile phone use will top 3.25 Billion in 2007. To put that in perspective, the world population is forecast to hit 6.6 Billion this month. In other worlds, mobile phone use is equivalent to half the world’s population. According to a survey by The Mobile World, mentioned above, more than 1,000 new customers are signing up for mobile phones every minute around the world. The median age of the American television viewing audience is 48. To put this number in perspective, the media age of the U.S. population is 37. According to a report by Magna/ Global, the ABC viewer is 48, the NBC viewer is 49, the CBS viewer 53, Fox is 42 and the CW viewer is 32. Again, for perspective, I checked last year’s figures. ABC was 46, NBC was 49, CBS was 52, Fox was 39 and the WB, (remember, a year ago) was 37 while the UPN was 32.
POLITICIANS AND THE MEDIA: I know you may have already seen this, but it’s interesting that two former politicians jumped on the media’s case recently. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a journalism think tank at Oxford University that technology has turned the media into a “feral beast” in which all that matter is “impact” – rising above the clamor, getting noticed, getting a competitive edge. And that accuracy is “often secondary.” Former U.S. President Bill Clinton called on marketers at a Promax convention to help politicians deliver complex messages without turning them into “two dimensional cartoons.” He says some political candidate’s messages don’t get covered because they don’t fit in with how parties and issues are “pre-branded” by the press.
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: A year ago, the name dominating the MfM news was Frank Maggio. He’s the Florida developer who tried to buy Nielsen Media Research and, when that failed, announced he was launching his own TV ratings service. Well, a check up since then shows that he did indeed launch a service called Erin Media, which promises a “new approach to the science of television audience analysis.” And he also writes a blog on Media Post’s TV Board. In the June 12 edition of MfM last year, we listed many of the photo and video sharing websites operating then. You can find the entire list by going to media-consultant.blogspot.com and look up that edition in the 2006 archives. And in keeping with the “bash America” theme above, a report released a year ago by Reporters Without Borders put the U.S. at 44th out of a list of 167 countries in terms of press freedom. Seven countries tied for first (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland). North Korea was last.
A MURROW MEA CULPA: My apologies to my good friends at the University of Missouri for failing to note that KBIA-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate staffed by students and managed by university faculty members, won a Murrow award for investigative reporting – its second Murrow in a row. Pretty embarrassing since I used to teach there.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL
FACTS TO THINK ABOUT
POLITICIANS AND THE MEDIA
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE
A MURROW MEA CULPA
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
SWEEPS: Guess what? There is a sweeps period. It’s called July. Although most stations don’t pay much attention to it because of the low viewing. But I had to at least mention it.
BASHING AMERICA: Okay, not really. I wouldn’t want to do that, but a review of recently released studies and statistics draws a different picture of America the beautiful’s stance in the world. They show that other parts of the world are growing faster than the United States. Accounting and research consultancy Price Waterhouse Coopers says the U.S. remains the world’s largest but also slowest growing media market in the world, expanding at an estimated 5.3% compound annual growth rate, which is a half to a third of other countries’ growth rate. Leading forecaster Robert J. Coen, senior vice president at Universal McCann, says growth in overseas ad spending would continue to outpace the rate in the United States, as it has done every year for the last four years. He revised downward his projected ad spending for this year for the U.S., but revised upward his forecast for overseas spending because of “robust growth” in countries like Brazil, China and India. A report by the Communication Workers of America found that the U.S. lags far behind most other industrialized nations in terms of Internet speed. The median U.S. download speed is 1.7 megabits per second, compared to speed king Japan’s 61 megabits, South Korea’s 45 megabits, France at 17 megabits and even the Canadians beat us at 7 megabits. The report notes that the Federal Communication Commission defines “high speed” as 200 kilobits per second, a standard adopted more than a decade ago and now not even recognized as broadband in most countries. Mobile phone use is growing faster in other parts of the world than in the U.S., as well. Mobile phone use in Europe has reached the point that it is more than 100% of the actual population, according to U.K. based telecom analysis company The Mobile World. While ‘mobisodes’ (video for mobile phones) are just starting here in the U.S., in the Asia-Pacific region, distribution of TV programming on mobile phones is expected to reach $6.5 Billion in 2011, from the current spending of a mere $16 Million, a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%, compared to 5.5% for the rest of the world.
By the way, if you’re interested, you can find the relative Internet speeds for every state, listed on the website speedmatters.org, as well as a speed test for checking your own Internet connection speed.
NET NEUTRALITY: As a side note to the technology issues, it’s worth noting, even though it’s been in the news, that the Federal Trade Commission urged Congress to be cautious about any move to regular broadband Internet access. Or, put more simply – don’t enact any new laws on net neutrality. And, as blogger Declan McCullagh put it on the CNet blog site, this is coming from “the lifelong bureaucrats… (who) are hardly a bunch of Hayek-quoting, Ron Paul-voting libertarians.”
ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL: Internet advertising reached a record $16.9 Billion in the U.S. last year, a 35% increase over the year before, according to figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Sounds great, right? Wait, there’s more. In the first quarter of this year, Internet advertising revenues reached a new record of $4.9 Billion, a 26% increase over the first quarter of last year. Wait, there’s even more. The folks at Universal McCann predict that Internet advertising will be up 17% this year over last. And one more. The firm, Price Waterhouse Coopers, mentioned earlier, expects Internet advertising and ‘access spending’ to grow worldwide from an estimated $177 Billion last year to $332 Billion in 2011. Now, the other side of the story. Those same folks at Price Waterhouse Coopers predict that in two years, in 2009, spending on Internet advertising and access will pass spending on newspaper publishing. And forecasting guru Robert J. Coen, mentioned earlier, lowered his projections for advertising spending this year, in part because of a slowing in local dollar spending caused by a migration of local classified advertising from the HIGHER priced print ads of newspapers to the LOWER priced online ads of their websites.
SOME FACTS TO THINK ABOUT: Global mobile phone use will top 3.25 Billion in 2007. To put that in perspective, the world population is forecast to hit 6.6 Billion this month. In other worlds, mobile phone use is equivalent to half the world’s population. According to a survey by The Mobile World, mentioned above, more than 1,000 new customers are signing up for mobile phones every minute around the world. The median age of the American television viewing audience is 48. To put this number in perspective, the media age of the U.S. population is 37. According to a report by Magna/ Global, the ABC viewer is 48, the NBC viewer is 49, the CBS viewer 53, Fox is 42 and the CW viewer is 32. Again, for perspective, I checked last year’s figures. ABC was 46, NBC was 49, CBS was 52, Fox was 39 and the WB, (remember, a year ago) was 37 while the UPN was 32.
POLITICIANS AND THE MEDIA: I know you may have already seen this, but it’s interesting that two former politicians jumped on the media’s case recently. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a journalism think tank at Oxford University that technology has turned the media into a “feral beast” in which all that matter is “impact” – rising above the clamor, getting noticed, getting a competitive edge. And that accuracy is “often secondary.” Former U.S. President Bill Clinton called on marketers at a Promax convention to help politicians deliver complex messages without turning them into “two dimensional cartoons.” He says some political candidate’s messages don’t get covered because they don’t fit in with how parties and issues are “pre-branded” by the press.
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: A year ago, the name dominating the MfM news was Frank Maggio. He’s the Florida developer who tried to buy Nielsen Media Research and, when that failed, announced he was launching his own TV ratings service. Well, a check up since then shows that he did indeed launch a service called Erin Media, which promises a “new approach to the science of television audience analysis.” And he also writes a blog on Media Post’s TV Board. In the June 12 edition of MfM last year, we listed many of the photo and video sharing websites operating then. You can find the entire list by going to media-consultant.blogspot.com and look up that edition in the 2006 archives. And in keeping with the “bash America” theme above, a report released a year ago by Reporters Without Borders put the U.S. at 44th out of a list of 167 countries in terms of press freedom. Seven countries tied for first (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland). North Korea was last.
A MURROW MEA CULPA: My apologies to my good friends at the University of Missouri for failing to note that KBIA-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate staffed by students and managed by university faculty members, won a Murrow award for investigative reporting – its second Murrow in a row. Pretty embarrassing since I used to teach there.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Message From Michael -- June 25, 2007
THE JESUS PHONE
INTERNET OVER THE AIR
ONLINE VIEWING GROWTH
NETWORK AND CABLE NEWS DIFFERENCE
TECHNOLOGY INDIFFERENCE
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE
COCKTAIL CHATTER
MURROW AWARD CONGRATULATIONS
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
THE JESUS PHONE: That’s the somewhat cynical description by media technology site SYS-CON MEDIA of the Apple iPhone because they say it’s being hyped like “it was the Second Coming.” Adding to the hype, Apple has announced it will be able to play YouTube video clips. It’s supposed to be released this Friday, June 29th, after what technology website Engadget.com calls “years of speculation on perhaps the most intensely followed unconfirmed product in Apple’s history.” Technology guru Mike Wendland who writes for the Detroit Free Press admits he is not as enamored of the device as many but he’ll still be standing in one of those long lines waiting to buy one. His concerns are the fact that it is using AT&T’s lower level broadband network, that it won’t allow direct music downloads (you have to go through your computer) and that it doesn’t have an actual keyboard.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced its own “second coming” device – surface computing, or as some call it, table technology. It’s a coffee table like computer that allows you to move and redesign pictures by simply touching the surface, or download pictures from your cellphone by simply laying it on the surface, or… well, you name it. I can’t do it justice by writing about it, but it’s worth viewing. Just go to Microsoft.com/surface.
INTERNET OVER THE AIR: As long as we’re on a technology kick, a group of major technology companies are joining forces to convince the federal government to allow high-speed Internet access to be provided over TV airwaves. Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Philips say they have developed a prototype device which would use idle TV channels, known as white space, to beam the Internet out, according to an article in Washingtonpost.com. They say the device will take WiFi to a new level. Meanwhile, as the article says, the major telephone and cable companies are “watching warily from the sidelines.”
Keeping on the technology theme, researchers at MIT have shown that it’s possible to wirelessly power a 60-watt lightbulb. The power was only a short distance away (two meters), but the researchers say the experiment paves the way for wirelessly charging batteries in laptops, mobile phones and music players as well as cutting the electric cords on household appliances.
ONLINE VIEWING GROWTH: Two different reports and different sets of numbers but the same end conclusion. More people are watching more videos online. The Magid Media Futures national online survey found that a majority (52%) of online Americans 12 to 64 are using online video once a week or more. A survey of online users by the Online Publishers Association put the number at 44%. (Oddly, the same number Magid reported for last year.) The numbers are also different when it comes to daily use with Magid reporting 14% watching videos online every day while OPA reports 8% watching online daily. (Again, oddly, almost the same as Magid reported last year.) Both say the prime users are young males. And both say the top content items are news. OPA says nearly half (45%) access news videos weekly while Magid says more than a third watch online video news stories regularly. Both also put weather as a top online video content item, followed by jokes and bloopers. The OPA report says the Internet dominates all other media during the purchase process, leading in terms of initial awareness of a product, learning more about a product, deciding where to buy and, finally, in the actual purchase decision. Of course, this was a survey of online users, but the report says the numbers range from 48% to 57%. The second most influential part of the purchase process – Word of Mouth. The Magid report says nearly half (41%) of Internet homes have wireless networks and predicts that TV sets will be part of home networks in the years ahead.
NETWORK AND CABLE NEWS DIFFERENCE: One of the criticisms we often hear from the public is that all local news “looks the same.” Well, now research from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds the same criticism of network news BUT not so much for cable news. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of those surveyed say network news operations ABC, CBS and NBC are “all pretty much the same.” (Despite ABC’s recent jump in the ratings.) Only a fifth (18%) say there are real differences. But while two-fifths (40%) of the public say cable news operations CNN, Fox and MSNBC are pretty much the same, nearly half (48%) see real differences. Further evidence that people think they’re all the same was the fact that the first word out of their mouths when asked to describe either network, cable or public radio news was the word “good.” OK was the second word used when people were asked to describe their impression of network news. Excellent was the second word used to describe Fox and NPR. The second most common word used to describe CNN was informative. Other words used for the various news organizations were liberal and biased. Consolation for the network news executives is that two-thirds (63%) say they regularly get their news about national and international news from one of the three major network news organizations while cable news operations was regularly viewed by about a third or less (37% for Fox, 35% for CNN and 26% for MSNBC.)
TECHNOLOGY INDIFFERENCE: Another part of the Pew group, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly half of Americans (45%) say information and communication technology gives them less control over their lives OR makes no difference. And a third (32%) of those with either cell phones or Internet say they need help setting up or using their new electronic gadgets. Reviewing why some people still refuse to join the communication revolution, associate director John B. Horrigan argues that the technology industry needs to improve its design of electronic gadgets and the industry needs to improve its sell of the benefit of such gadgets. Although he notes there are some “contrarians” who just don’t want to adapt or adopt the new devices. As a lesson to all, he quotes a report by the World Economic Forum on “digital ecosystems,” which says that while “not all companies that experimented with new organizational structure have flourished, all companies that failed to experiment have floundered.”
You may remember from a previous MfM that the Pew group provided a quiz to find out what kind of technology type you are – an omnivore, mobile centric or whatever. If you want to find out where you fit, the link is http://wwww.pewinternet.org/quiz.
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: Anybody out there remember Peabody and Mr. Sherman? Okay, never mind. In any case, a new feature for the weekly MfM is an occasional look back at what was ‘making the news’ in the MfM this time last year.
This time last year AOL relaunched Netscape.com with readers voting on the hot stories of the day. The site is still up and running but the voting is still low with stories garnering anywhere from three votes to 99 votes but not much more than that. Also this time last year we announced the launch of two new websites designed to broker people’s pictures to the press. The sites, scoopt.com and celljournalist.com are still up and running. The Online Publishers Association reported in June of last year that the Web was the dominant medium during work hours (followed by radio) and the second most used medium at home (after TV), proving, according to association president Pam Horan, that the Web’s “rise to mass media status is now clear and incontrovertible.”
COCKTAIL CHATTER: The invention of barbecue may be a key reason for humans developing larger brains. Scientists say that 1.9 Million years ago the brain of Homo erectus doubled in size. Harvard professor Richard Wrangham says that coincided with the development of cooked meat which allowed more calories to be consumed faster which led to a shrinking of gastrointestinal organs and an increase in brain size, essentially trading “guts for gray matter,” as MIT’s Technology Review puts it. The National Science Foundation has given two professors $150,000 to develop video games that can be used to teach students computer science, according to the website Next Generation which focuses on “interactive entertainment.” A study sponsored by a group called Electronic Arts in the U.K. and conducted by FutureLab, a non-profit education ‘advancement’ organization found that video games could be useful in teaching several other subjects as well. California is the fourth largest wine producer in the world, behind France, Italy and Spain with Australia in sixth place.
MURROW AWARD CONGRATULATIONS: To all the stations that won Murrow awards, but a special Mazel Tov to Belo-owned KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas, and friend Frank Volpicella for winning for Overall Excellence in small market television. Ironically my friends at KEYE-TV, also in Austin, won for news series. Another Mazel Tov goes to Media General-owned WSLS-TV in Roanoke and friend Shane Moreland for winning for best newscast. Media General-owned WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky and friend Mark Pimentel won for spot news coverage. Another irony is that my friends at Gray communications-owned WKYT-TV, also in Lexington, won for continuing coverage. And a final Mazel Tov to Jeff Hoffman and Raycom media-owned WAFF-TV in Huntsville for winning best website.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
INTERNET OVER THE AIR
ONLINE VIEWING GROWTH
NETWORK AND CABLE NEWS DIFFERENCE
TECHNOLOGY INDIFFERENCE
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE
COCKTAIL CHATTER
MURROW AWARD CONGRATULATIONS
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
THE JESUS PHONE: That’s the somewhat cynical description by media technology site SYS-CON MEDIA of the Apple iPhone because they say it’s being hyped like “it was the Second Coming.” Adding to the hype, Apple has announced it will be able to play YouTube video clips. It’s supposed to be released this Friday, June 29th, after what technology website Engadget.com calls “years of speculation on perhaps the most intensely followed unconfirmed product in Apple’s history.” Technology guru Mike Wendland who writes for the Detroit Free Press admits he is not as enamored of the device as many but he’ll still be standing in one of those long lines waiting to buy one. His concerns are the fact that it is using AT&T’s lower level broadband network, that it won’t allow direct music downloads (you have to go through your computer) and that it doesn’t have an actual keyboard.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced its own “second coming” device – surface computing, or as some call it, table technology. It’s a coffee table like computer that allows you to move and redesign pictures by simply touching the surface, or download pictures from your cellphone by simply laying it on the surface, or… well, you name it. I can’t do it justice by writing about it, but it’s worth viewing. Just go to Microsoft.com/surface.
INTERNET OVER THE AIR: As long as we’re on a technology kick, a group of major technology companies are joining forces to convince the federal government to allow high-speed Internet access to be provided over TV airwaves. Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Philips say they have developed a prototype device which would use idle TV channels, known as white space, to beam the Internet out, according to an article in Washingtonpost.com. They say the device will take WiFi to a new level. Meanwhile, as the article says, the major telephone and cable companies are “watching warily from the sidelines.”
Keeping on the technology theme, researchers at MIT have shown that it’s possible to wirelessly power a 60-watt lightbulb. The power was only a short distance away (two meters), but the researchers say the experiment paves the way for wirelessly charging batteries in laptops, mobile phones and music players as well as cutting the electric cords on household appliances.
ONLINE VIEWING GROWTH: Two different reports and different sets of numbers but the same end conclusion. More people are watching more videos online. The Magid Media Futures national online survey found that a majority (52%) of online Americans 12 to 64 are using online video once a week or more. A survey of online users by the Online Publishers Association put the number at 44%. (Oddly, the same number Magid reported for last year.) The numbers are also different when it comes to daily use with Magid reporting 14% watching videos online every day while OPA reports 8% watching online daily. (Again, oddly, almost the same as Magid reported last year.) Both say the prime users are young males. And both say the top content items are news. OPA says nearly half (45%) access news videos weekly while Magid says more than a third watch online video news stories regularly. Both also put weather as a top online video content item, followed by jokes and bloopers. The OPA report says the Internet dominates all other media during the purchase process, leading in terms of initial awareness of a product, learning more about a product, deciding where to buy and, finally, in the actual purchase decision. Of course, this was a survey of online users, but the report says the numbers range from 48% to 57%. The second most influential part of the purchase process – Word of Mouth. The Magid report says nearly half (41%) of Internet homes have wireless networks and predicts that TV sets will be part of home networks in the years ahead.
NETWORK AND CABLE NEWS DIFFERENCE: One of the criticisms we often hear from the public is that all local news “looks the same.” Well, now research from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds the same criticism of network news BUT not so much for cable news. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of those surveyed say network news operations ABC, CBS and NBC are “all pretty much the same.” (Despite ABC’s recent jump in the ratings.) Only a fifth (18%) say there are real differences. But while two-fifths (40%) of the public say cable news operations CNN, Fox and MSNBC are pretty much the same, nearly half (48%) see real differences. Further evidence that people think they’re all the same was the fact that the first word out of their mouths when asked to describe either network, cable or public radio news was the word “good.” OK was the second word used when people were asked to describe their impression of network news. Excellent was the second word used to describe Fox and NPR. The second most common word used to describe CNN was informative. Other words used for the various news organizations were liberal and biased. Consolation for the network news executives is that two-thirds (63%) say they regularly get their news about national and international news from one of the three major network news organizations while cable news operations was regularly viewed by about a third or less (37% for Fox, 35% for CNN and 26% for MSNBC.)
TECHNOLOGY INDIFFERENCE: Another part of the Pew group, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly half of Americans (45%) say information and communication technology gives them less control over their lives OR makes no difference. And a third (32%) of those with either cell phones or Internet say they need help setting up or using their new electronic gadgets. Reviewing why some people still refuse to join the communication revolution, associate director John B. Horrigan argues that the technology industry needs to improve its design of electronic gadgets and the industry needs to improve its sell of the benefit of such gadgets. Although he notes there are some “contrarians” who just don’t want to adapt or adopt the new devices. As a lesson to all, he quotes a report by the World Economic Forum on “digital ecosystems,” which says that while “not all companies that experimented with new organizational structure have flourished, all companies that failed to experiment have floundered.”
You may remember from a previous MfM that the Pew group provided a quiz to find out what kind of technology type you are – an omnivore, mobile centric or whatever. If you want to find out where you fit, the link is http://wwww.pewinternet.org/quiz.
STEPPING INTO THE WAYBACK MACHINE: Anybody out there remember Peabody and Mr. Sherman? Okay, never mind. In any case, a new feature for the weekly MfM is an occasional look back at what was ‘making the news’ in the MfM this time last year.
This time last year AOL relaunched Netscape.com with readers voting on the hot stories of the day. The site is still up and running but the voting is still low with stories garnering anywhere from three votes to 99 votes but not much more than that. Also this time last year we announced the launch of two new websites designed to broker people’s pictures to the press. The sites, scoopt.com and celljournalist.com are still up and running. The Online Publishers Association reported in June of last year that the Web was the dominant medium during work hours (followed by radio) and the second most used medium at home (after TV), proving, according to association president Pam Horan, that the Web’s “rise to mass media status is now clear and incontrovertible.”
COCKTAIL CHATTER: The invention of barbecue may be a key reason for humans developing larger brains. Scientists say that 1.9 Million years ago the brain of Homo erectus doubled in size. Harvard professor Richard Wrangham says that coincided with the development of cooked meat which allowed more calories to be consumed faster which led to a shrinking of gastrointestinal organs and an increase in brain size, essentially trading “guts for gray matter,” as MIT’s Technology Review puts it. The National Science Foundation has given two professors $150,000 to develop video games that can be used to teach students computer science, according to the website Next Generation which focuses on “interactive entertainment.” A study sponsored by a group called Electronic Arts in the U.K. and conducted by FutureLab, a non-profit education ‘advancement’ organization found that video games could be useful in teaching several other subjects as well. California is the fourth largest wine producer in the world, behind France, Italy and Spain with Australia in sixth place.
MURROW AWARD CONGRATULATIONS: To all the stations that won Murrow awards, but a special Mazel Tov to Belo-owned KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas, and friend Frank Volpicella for winning for Overall Excellence in small market television. Ironically my friends at KEYE-TV, also in Austin, won for news series. Another Mazel Tov goes to Media General-owned WSLS-TV in Roanoke and friend Shane Moreland for winning for best newscast. Media General-owned WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky and friend Mark Pimentel won for spot news coverage. Another irony is that my friends at Gray communications-owned WKYT-TV, also in Lexington, won for continuing coverage. And a final Mazel Tov to Jeff Hoffman and Raycom media-owned WAFF-TV in Huntsville for winning best website.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
Message From Michael -- June 19, 2007
THE WORLD OF WIDGETS
THE TWO SIDES OF TEXAS TV
THE OTHER SIDE OF TV NEWS
RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS
COCKTAIL CHATTER
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
THE WORLD OF WIDGETS: It sounds like the title of a Disney movie, but there is a “widget universe” and a “widget economy” that reaches 177 Million people worldwide or roughly a fifth of the entire worldwide online audience. Digital measurement firm comScore recently announced a new service to track the use of widgets across the web. NBC-Universal announced it is providing widgets for its news and entertainment programs. And Facebook announced it is going to open its doors to third-party widget developers, which will probably mean an explosion in widget use. So, what the heck is a widget? The last time I dealt with them was in my Accounting-101 course in which I had to balance the books of the make-believe Widget Manufacturing Company. Widgets are basically mini-Web applications, or data files, that can be embedded into a site’s HTML code to provide customized content. Or in the Wiki definition, a widget enables a web user to view on demand “capsuled information from predetermined data sources.” Have I lost you yet? They’re like what we used to call macros, that can link to either advertising, pictures, music or any form of content you want to create and do it in an easy, one-touch button. The largest provider in the world (117 Million users) is Slide.com which helps people create widgets for use on their websites or blogs and link to music or slide shows of pictures. Yahoo offers an array of widget creation tools. You can use them to create downloadable interactive tools such as polls, quizzes, the latest news, advertising messages, or whatever you like on your company website or personal website or your mobile phone. And, folks, you heard it here first – they are the wave of the future. So, go get your own widgets.
THE TWO SIDES OF TEXAS TV NEWS: In East Texas (Tyler, to be specific), CBS affiliate KYTX-TV/ CBS19 has debuted their new “anchor” described in various reports as a “buxom blonde, bikini model, diva and former world wresting show hostess.” It is a 30-day gig, arranged by the Fox network to be part of an upcoming reality show titled “Anchor Woman.” The woman, Lauren Jones, told the local newspaper that she always wanted to be an anchor woman and that newscasting is a lot harder than acting. The director of the Fox show says Ms. Jones “wants to be the next Katie Couric.” Okay, what can I say? Probably best to say nothing. Just let you watch. Here is a report she did on an asthma camp: http://www.cbs19.tv/video/newplayer.php?id=2541. Meanwhile, in West Texas (Odessa, to be specific), the TVGuide channel has filmed a behind-the-scenes look at newsgathering at station KOSA-TV. Titled Making News Texas Style, the show displays “the interworkings and personalities involved in producing a local news broadcast.” Again, there is nothing I can say. Better to let you watch, and you can online at: http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/making-news-texas/288348.
THE OTHER SIDE OF TV NEWS: It seems from my readings that the last week has seen a rising tide of criticisms of journalism. Coincidental to the Texas experiments, you’ve no doubt heard about the controversy surrounding former CBS anchor Dan Rather’s comments about the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. The controversy centers on whether Rather’s comments about “tarting” up the news was sexist, but that aside, the Columbia Journalism Review notes that Rather’s comments are “timely” but could also have been made 20 years ago when Rather held the anchor chair. And even though it has received plenty of publicity, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Project for Excellence in Journalism study which reported that Fox News provided dramatically less coverage of the Iraq War (6% of daytime coverage) than either CNN (20%) or MSNBC (18%).
A worldwide poll by Harris Interactive released at the World Association of Newspapers conference found that in four out of seven countries surveyed (U.S., France, Italy and Spain) readers expect online news to overtake TV news as their main source of news in five years. Now, that part you may have heard about. What the poll also showed was that one of the reasons cited by the people for not reading a newspaper was that they’re too biased or narrow in their reporting and that news and newspapers need to improve the quality of their journalism and ensure that all views are fairly represented. A group calling itself the Culture and Media Institute says the media is assaulting moral values. As proof, the group whose motto is “advancing truth and virtue in the public square,” says two thirds (63%) of heavy TV users believe government should be primarily responsible for healthcare and two thirds (64%) believe government should be primarily responsible for retirement.
YET ANOTHER SIDE OF NEWS: The more pragmatic ‘other side’ of news is the so-called citizen journalism movement which is impacting traditional news media in several ways. A bill before the House judiciary committee titled the “Free Flow of Information Act of 2007” would provide a federal shield law for journalists. What’s particularly interesting about the bill, according to lawyer Scott Gant writing in The Washington Post, is that the bill adopts a much broader view of journalists, extending it far beyond employees of established news organizations. Gant who wrote a book titled “We’re All Journalists Now” argues that the sponsors of the bill “rightly view journalism as an endeavor that belongs to all of us.” Former Newsweek Interactive editor Todd Oppenheimer reviewing three recent books about the state of journalism in the San Francisco Chronicle raises similar questions about the impact of the so-called ‘digerati’ and the deluge of news and information online. But he has more concerns than compliments, writing “the media urgently needs teams of people who can manage today’s growing information deluge – people who can assess the material’s worth, synthesize it and turn it into something you and I want to read.”
You can read the full article at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/17/RVG7FQA8LB1.DTL&feed=rss.books.
RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS: Find out about the ‘blue carrot’ supermarket in Tucson, the ‘weird sandwich’ fundraiser for the Congressional candidate in Albuquerque, or the public access show being taped in Memphis. Website http://outside.in compiles stories from newspaper and television websites along with local bloggers and citizen media groups for 60 different cities around the country. Check out if you’re one of them and add it to your assignment list of checks. Or want to know how your Congressman is voting and why? Website maplight.org puts together campaign contributions AND Congressional voting records to paint an often unflattering picture of which wheels get the congressional grease.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: Website ABC.com was the top visited entertainment website in May, according to Media Metrix and Nielsen/ NetRatings while NYTimes.com was the most visited newspaper site in May. Comedy Central’s animated satire Lil’ Bush which started out as a mobile phone download made its linear TV debut and drew the most viewers for a premiere on the network in three years. Marketers in England are being asked to remove an ad laid out in a field that can be seen by airline passengers flying into Gatwick Airport. The ad promotes an erotic website and features a silhouette of a naked female pole dancer. It’s 100,000 square feet in size.
Finally, on a completely un-related note to anything, congratulations to former CNN Executive Vice President and former Medill University broadcast chairman Jon Petrovich for being named to head the domestic broadcast operations for the Associated Press.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
THE TWO SIDES OF TEXAS TV
THE OTHER SIDE OF TV NEWS
RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS
COCKTAIL CHATTER
We encourage people to pass on copies of Message from Michael. But if you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.
THE WORLD OF WIDGETS: It sounds like the title of a Disney movie, but there is a “widget universe” and a “widget economy” that reaches 177 Million people worldwide or roughly a fifth of the entire worldwide online audience. Digital measurement firm comScore recently announced a new service to track the use of widgets across the web. NBC-Universal announced it is providing widgets for its news and entertainment programs. And Facebook announced it is going to open its doors to third-party widget developers, which will probably mean an explosion in widget use. So, what the heck is a widget? The last time I dealt with them was in my Accounting-101 course in which I had to balance the books of the make-believe Widget Manufacturing Company. Widgets are basically mini-Web applications, or data files, that can be embedded into a site’s HTML code to provide customized content. Or in the Wiki definition, a widget enables a web user to view on demand “capsuled information from predetermined data sources.” Have I lost you yet? They’re like what we used to call macros, that can link to either advertising, pictures, music or any form of content you want to create and do it in an easy, one-touch button. The largest provider in the world (117 Million users) is Slide.com which helps people create widgets for use on their websites or blogs and link to music or slide shows of pictures. Yahoo offers an array of widget creation tools. You can use them to create downloadable interactive tools such as polls, quizzes, the latest news, advertising messages, or whatever you like on your company website or personal website or your mobile phone. And, folks, you heard it here first – they are the wave of the future. So, go get your own widgets.
THE TWO SIDES OF TEXAS TV NEWS: In East Texas (Tyler, to be specific), CBS affiliate KYTX-TV/ CBS19 has debuted their new “anchor” described in various reports as a “buxom blonde, bikini model, diva and former world wresting show hostess.” It is a 30-day gig, arranged by the Fox network to be part of an upcoming reality show titled “Anchor Woman.” The woman, Lauren Jones, told the local newspaper that she always wanted to be an anchor woman and that newscasting is a lot harder than acting. The director of the Fox show says Ms. Jones “wants to be the next Katie Couric.” Okay, what can I say? Probably best to say nothing. Just let you watch. Here is a report she did on an asthma camp: http://www.cbs19.tv/video/newplayer.php?id=2541. Meanwhile, in West Texas (Odessa, to be specific), the TVGuide channel has filmed a behind-the-scenes look at newsgathering at station KOSA-TV. Titled Making News Texas Style, the show displays “the interworkings and personalities involved in producing a local news broadcast.” Again, there is nothing I can say. Better to let you watch, and you can online at: http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/making-news-texas/288348.
THE OTHER SIDE OF TV NEWS: It seems from my readings that the last week has seen a rising tide of criticisms of journalism. Coincidental to the Texas experiments, you’ve no doubt heard about the controversy surrounding former CBS anchor Dan Rather’s comments about the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. The controversy centers on whether Rather’s comments about “tarting” up the news was sexist, but that aside, the Columbia Journalism Review notes that Rather’s comments are “timely” but could also have been made 20 years ago when Rather held the anchor chair. And even though it has received plenty of publicity, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Project for Excellence in Journalism study which reported that Fox News provided dramatically less coverage of the Iraq War (6% of daytime coverage) than either CNN (20%) or MSNBC (18%).
A worldwide poll by Harris Interactive released at the World Association of Newspapers conference found that in four out of seven countries surveyed (U.S., France, Italy and Spain) readers expect online news to overtake TV news as their main source of news in five years. Now, that part you may have heard about. What the poll also showed was that one of the reasons cited by the people for not reading a newspaper was that they’re too biased or narrow in their reporting and that news and newspapers need to improve the quality of their journalism and ensure that all views are fairly represented. A group calling itself the Culture and Media Institute says the media is assaulting moral values. As proof, the group whose motto is “advancing truth and virtue in the public square,” says two thirds (63%) of heavy TV users believe government should be primarily responsible for healthcare and two thirds (64%) believe government should be primarily responsible for retirement.
YET ANOTHER SIDE OF NEWS: The more pragmatic ‘other side’ of news is the so-called citizen journalism movement which is impacting traditional news media in several ways. A bill before the House judiciary committee titled the “Free Flow of Information Act of 2007” would provide a federal shield law for journalists. What’s particularly interesting about the bill, according to lawyer Scott Gant writing in The Washington Post, is that the bill adopts a much broader view of journalists, extending it far beyond employees of established news organizations. Gant who wrote a book titled “We’re All Journalists Now” argues that the sponsors of the bill “rightly view journalism as an endeavor that belongs to all of us.” Former Newsweek Interactive editor Todd Oppenheimer reviewing three recent books about the state of journalism in the San Francisco Chronicle raises similar questions about the impact of the so-called ‘digerati’ and the deluge of news and information online. But he has more concerns than compliments, writing “the media urgently needs teams of people who can manage today’s growing information deluge – people who can assess the material’s worth, synthesize it and turn it into something you and I want to read.”
You can read the full article at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/17/RVG7FQA8LB1.DTL&feed=rss.books.
RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS: Find out about the ‘blue carrot’ supermarket in Tucson, the ‘weird sandwich’ fundraiser for the Congressional candidate in Albuquerque, or the public access show being taped in Memphis. Website http://outside.in compiles stories from newspaper and television websites along with local bloggers and citizen media groups for 60 different cities around the country. Check out if you’re one of them and add it to your assignment list of checks. Or want to know how your Congressman is voting and why? Website maplight.org puts together campaign contributions AND Congressional voting records to paint an often unflattering picture of which wheels get the congressional grease.
COCKTAIL CHATTER: Website ABC.com was the top visited entertainment website in May, according to Media Metrix and Nielsen/ NetRatings while NYTimes.com was the most visited newspaper site in May. Comedy Central’s animated satire Lil’ Bush which started out as a mobile phone download made its linear TV debut and drew the most viewers for a premiere on the network in three years. Marketers in England are being asked to remove an ad laid out in a field that can be seen by airline passengers flying into Gatwick Airport. The ad promotes an erotic website and features a silhouette of a naked female pole dancer. It’s 100,000 square feet in size.
Finally, on a completely un-related note to anything, congratulations to former CNN Executive Vice President and former Medill University broadcast chairman Jon Petrovich for being named to head the domestic broadcast operations for the Associated Press.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, e-mail newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line. Also, back issues of MfM are available at the website, media-consultant.blogspot.com. You can reach me directly at Michael@MediaConsultant.tv.
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