Monday, June 7, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
"Ander Monson’s ‘Vanishing Point’: The Future of the Book - Paper Cuts Blog" - NYTimes.com
This interlinking of text and electronics is where I have long urged newspapers to go, and so few, if any, have yet arrived.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Comments - how can there be a limit?
I was going to post a comment on the New York Times website to alert them to the planned closing of Austrian airspace tonight. The NYT has a great colleciton of current information on many airports but at this writing, Austrian aireports are not included. So here is what I saw on the page when I clicked to add the note:
"readers' comments
Volcanic Ash to Curtail Air Traffic Into Midday FridayBack to Article »
By NICOLA CLARK and LIZ ROBBINS
The plume of ash from a volcano in Iceland forced aviation authorities to order the restrictions, affecting thousands of flights in a wide arc from Ireland to Scandinavia.
Are you affected by the travel disruptions? Share your experience.
Comments are no longer being accepted."
I added the bold face for the last line. Is that dumb or what on the part of the Times? A great example of some techie at the Times not asking reporters if they wanted to maintain a flow of input from readers, I bet.
"readers' comments
Volcanic Ash to Curtail Air Traffic Into Midday FridayBack to Article »
By NICOLA CLARK and LIZ ROBBINS
The plume of ash from a volcano in Iceland forced aviation authorities to order the restrictions, affecting thousands of flights in a wide arc from Ireland to Scandinavia.
Are you affected by the travel disruptions? Share your experience.
Comments are no longer being accepted."
I added the bold face for the last line. Is that dumb or what on the part of the Times? A great example of some techie at the Times not asking reporters if they wanted to maintain a flow of input from readers, I bet.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Doctor and Patient - Doctors and Patients, Lost in Paperwork - NYTimes.com
Part of the societal evolution affecting printed newspapers are the changing balances for so many people between what they read and what they write. Historically, apart from education, much of what most people did was to read, in part because writing always required so much more of an effort - the pen that needed to refilled, the pager that needed to be had, the mistakes that needed to be corrected, etc. That eveolved with technology as writing instruments got better, easier and cheper. It also evolved as machines have made it easier to write from typewriters to computer and handheld devices.
So, too, professional work has evolved in a similar but not exactly parallel fashion.
Printed newspapers, however, have taken little of this into account except in pre-press, as newspapers call it, and general conputeriszaiton.
How, in the case of this linked story, does a newspaper become the best friend of the young doctor suffering udner the weight of kestroking deands. If newspapers cannot see a way to help, they ought not be in their business.
So, too, professional work has evolved in a similar but not exactly parallel fashion.
Printed newspapers, however, have taken little of this into account except in pre-press, as newspapers call it, and general conputeriszaiton.
How, in the case of this linked story, does a newspaper become the best friend of the young doctor suffering udner the weight of kestroking deands. If newspapers cannot see a way to help, they ought not be in their business.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
"Weighty Dramas Flourish on Cable" - NYTimes.com
What could printed newspapers learn from this? Think again.
Another point of sale almost going away....
We have had a nice little newsstand/shop closest to our home in Nice. They sold a huge array of magazines, all of the national French papers and many from other countries.
It is in the process of changing owners and changing more. They have stopped selling overseas newspapers for the moment and all magazines. The only paper available there is the local Nice Matin. Instead of the magazines, the shelves have lettuce, artichokes and those sorts of things on offer.
The current owners are very unhappy about how this has evolved; in their case, they wanted to stay but could not.
In mid April, they are supposed to start selling more newspapers again, but one will have to wait to see if this happens.
It is sad to see so many newspaepr and printed publications points of sale disappearing so very fast here.
It is in the process of changing owners and changing more. They have stopped selling overseas newspapers for the moment and all magazines. The only paper available there is the local Nice Matin. Instead of the magazines, the shelves have lettuce, artichokes and those sorts of things on offer.
The current owners are very unhappy about how this has evolved; in their case, they wanted to stay but could not.
In mid April, they are supposed to start selling more newspapers again, but one will have to wait to see if this happens.
It is sad to see so many newspaepr and printed publications points of sale disappearing so very fast here.
Friday, April 2, 2010
"A nos internautes..." - nicematin.com
The local newspaper, Nice-Matin, is on strike and there are no printed copies for sale today. Where is the note to print readers on the website reporting on this? It's astounding that newspapers don't understand that most people by now live in some portion of the print and electronic at the same time.
Permanent record...
I watched a brief item this morning on the electronic book market in France. It is now less than 1%. Will it grow to talke over print? That's the debate of the momentl There are those who assume it will happen and those who say that people will never give up the desire for the "feel" of the printed book.
For newspapers, I wonder where they fit? First rough drafts of history to be discarded and replaced by a book. A website?
I think we need to rethink the whole order of our information and where we want it to be. Is paper more permanent than an electronic record?
How could nrwspapers make more of this?
Could they talk about how accurate yesterday's newspaepr was compared to yesterday's rants and blog posts?
Is there a way to combine the pernanence of the book with the paper of the newspaper and make it just more important than even its own self on the web?
For newspapers, I wonder where they fit? First rough drafts of history to be discarded and replaced by a book. A website?
I think we need to rethink the whole order of our information and where we want it to be. Is paper more permanent than an electronic record?
How could nrwspapers make more of this?
Could they talk about how accurate yesterday's newspaepr was compared to yesterday's rants and blog posts?
Is there a way to combine the pernanence of the book with the paper of the newspaper and make it just more important than even its own self on the web?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
"Reflections of a Newsosaur: How to plug the $17B newspaper sales gap"
I gave this same advice to newspapers long before the internet appeared, back when we were talking about proprietary electronic information services of one sort or another. They did not take the advice then and they will not now, I fear.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
French televisoin coverage of the printed newspaper
I continue to be struck by the extent to which the morning televisoin programs in France report what is appearing - in print - in today's French newspapers. It is illustrated by the front pages and other pages of the printed newspapers as the television people related what the newspapers are publishing. It is a bit surreal in many respects.
My question is whether there are not additional creative ways in which the televisoin can be used by the newspapers to further their interests. Instead, I get the feeling that this is a case of the newspapers thinking they should just be appreciative for the exposure they are getting and as long as they spell the name of the newspaper, so to speak, correctly, then all is good.
I think that is incredibly short-sighted.
Here is one of those programs and I cannot find any way to watch the items that deal with the printed press or to interact in any other way with the printed press.
One has to wonder what these programs would do if the newspapers ceased to offer them this programming, in effect.
And there is something out of alignment when one realizes the work that went into the newspaper article or other content, and the work that did NOT go into reading it and reporting about it on the televisoin program.
My question is whether there are not additional creative ways in which the televisoin can be used by the newspapers to further their interests. Instead, I get the feeling that this is a case of the newspapers thinking they should just be appreciative for the exposure they are getting and as long as they spell the name of the newspaper, so to speak, correctly, then all is good.
I think that is incredibly short-sighted.
Here is one of those programs and I cannot find any way to watch the items that deal with the printed press or to interact in any other way with the printed press.
One has to wonder what these programs would do if the newspapers ceased to offer them this programming, in effect.
And there is something out of alignment when one realizes the work that went into the newspaper article or other content, and the work that did NOT go into reading it and reporting about it on the televisoin program.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Arrival newspapers?
When I get off an airplane, I like to be able to buy a newspaper right away to know the news of the place where I have arrived. Rarely does this opportunity present itself.
Imagine the opportunities this offers to newspapers and travelers, and imagine further that the newspaper I could buy at the airport in the baggage claim area - generally - was wrapped in a special printed supllement designed to help me get the most out of the place that newspaper serves and where I am about to become, even if briefly, a customer of that place.
I was reminded of this last week in arriving in Nice. Although I read French, imagine if the "wrapper" were in multiple languages.
Imagine the opportunities this offers to newspapers and travelers, and imagine further that the newspaper I could buy at the airport in the baggage claim area - generally - was wrapped in a special printed supllement designed to help me get the most out of the place that newspaper serves and where I am about to become, even if briefly, a customer of that place.
I was reminded of this last week in arriving in Nice. Although I read French, imagine if the "wrapper" were in multiple languages.
Friday, March 26, 2010
More about that newsstand
Today, I spoke with the owner of the Nice newsstand that will close tomorrow. She was very discouraged and is taking retirement and will leave Nice after eight years here.
She said that they (I presume she and her husband) came 8 years ago (from having run a couple of food stores elsewhere in France) with the intention of staying for 4 years, but they have tried for 4 years to find a buyer for their store and got no one. No one in the local power structure, she said, offered to help in any way. That's why they are closing up.
I asked if it was because of all of the changes and challenges facing the periodicals that she sells, including many newspapers, that created this state of affairs. No, she said. It's becasue no one wants to work these long hours for little compensation. It's that simple, she told me.
She agreed that the community of people who rely on her shop will be sorely disappointed and the community will be hurt as a result. Many other newsstands have closed in the area relatively near by and she said most of them in Nice are for sale with no potential buyers.
This presents a different problem than I had expected, but the effect is the same - one (important) less place in the world where people can buy printed newspapers.
She said that they (I presume she and her husband) came 8 years ago (from having run a couple of food stores elsewhere in France) with the intention of staying for 4 years, but they have tried for 4 years to find a buyer for their store and got no one. No one in the local power structure, she said, offered to help in any way. That's why they are closing up.
I asked if it was because of all of the changes and challenges facing the periodicals that she sells, including many newspapers, that created this state of affairs. No, she said. It's becasue no one wants to work these long hours for little compensation. It's that simple, she told me.
She agreed that the community of people who rely on her shop will be sorely disappointed and the community will be hurt as a result. Many other newsstands have closed in the area relatively near by and she said most of them in Nice are for sale with no potential buyers.
This presents a different problem than I had expected, but the effect is the same - one (important) less place in the world where people can buy printed newspapers.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
When a newsstand closes....
It is always said, anywhere, to see a newsstand close.
Here in Nice, I stopped to buy the local newspaper this morning at a newsstand that I frequent and which is about as 100% a printed periodical reading matter store as I could imagine. They sell very little other than newspapers and magazines.
I use the present tense correctly but I learned today that come Saturday, it will no longer be so. They are closing for good, and no one is assuming ownership. So that is one more place where we will not find a printed newspaper on Sunday or any day to follow.
Could the shop have evolved and kept itself afloat? I think so, but resting on untested theories of what kinds of change would have been needed.
In any case, as I walked out of the shop, a well-dressed man stopped me and asked - since the newsstand was closing - would I like to buy a home-delivered subscription to the local newspaper that I had in my hand. I was very impressed that he and/or the local newspaper - Nice Matin - was on top of the news and pursuing it as they should, or at least pursuing it in the right direction if not the most successful manner. He did not make a sale with me.
Here in Nice, I stopped to buy the local newspaper this morning at a newsstand that I frequent and which is about as 100% a printed periodical reading matter store as I could imagine. They sell very little other than newspapers and magazines.
I use the present tense correctly but I learned today that come Saturday, it will no longer be so. They are closing for good, and no one is assuming ownership. So that is one more place where we will not find a printed newspaper on Sunday or any day to follow.
Could the shop have evolved and kept itself afloat? I think so, but resting on untested theories of what kinds of change would have been needed.
In any case, as I walked out of the shop, a well-dressed man stopped me and asked - since the newsstand was closing - would I like to buy a home-delivered subscription to the local newspaper that I had in my hand. I was very impressed that he and/or the local newspaper - Nice Matin - was on top of the news and pursuing it as they should, or at least pursuing it in the right direction if not the most successful manner. He did not make a sale with me.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
"The Daily Athenaeum - Niche publications the future of journalism, speaker says"
Note the print options. And on the bottom of this page, you can flip through a digital copy of the print edition.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Timescast or Timeslost
This new feature on The New York Times website is very well executed. It's 6.5 minutes of interesting conversation with reporters and editors covering key stories of the day, or at least it is that way today.
Why do I add "Timeslost" in the title above?
Because there is nothing said in this video either on screen or in video about either the printed editiion tomorrow and what MORE it will offer on these stories or when the stories will appear on the website or other digital offereing and where to look for them.
So while the video is well done, it seems independently suspended without the vital link I thik it should have with the two lives of the Times - on paper and in digital services.
I don'te recall having seen anythin in the print edition about this feature, but I may have missed it in recent days.
Why do I add "Timeslost" in the title above?
Because there is nothing said in this video either on screen or in video about either the printed editiion tomorrow and what MORE it will offer on these stories or when the stories will appear on the website or other digital offereing and where to look for them.
So while the video is well done, it seems independently suspended without the vital link I thik it should have with the two lives of the Times - on paper and in digital services.
I don'te recall having seen anythin in the print edition about this feature, but I may have missed it in recent days.
Monday, March 22, 2010
"Three-Minute Fiction Round Three: The Winner Is ..." - NPR
Note, again, the photo that formed the basis of this competition.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Print reading experience
It occurred to me today as I "read" The New York Times (no one ever "reads" the whole thing!) how much more rewarding it was than it will be for me once I am overseas next week and do it online. The whole process is so very different and online still removes - for me, anyway - the orderly nature of the Times or most any other newspaper. I don't think newspapers have focused enough on this in part because they have never trained readers to do what I learned long ago - if I want to get the most out of each printed newspaper I buy, I stand a far better chance of that happening if I turn every day and at least check to see if something on any page catches my attention for any reason. Online, I waste far more time waiting for pages to load and figuring out where to go and being overwhelmed with pages that are too long -- than I do turning one page of a printed newspaper and experiencing the sense of adventure that still grips me as the next two pages greet me for the first time.
In the meantime, I've torn out a number of articles from today's Times that I will read - as they merit it - them more carefully sitting in an airplane seat this afternoon. Is that easier than trying to connect to read them later online? You decide!
In the meantime, I've torn out a number of articles from today's Times that I will read - as they merit it - them more carefully sitting in an airplane seat this afternoon. Is that easier than trying to connect to read them later online? You decide!
Friday, March 19, 2010
"The Herald-Sun - Paper wins general excellence N C award"
It's nice for this paper to win this award, but without studying the winning newspaper, don't the words used here seem a little old-fashioned? Is this the sort of award that a newspaper really needs to be winning today in order to survive?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
"Arts and Leisure Preview - Reading and the Web - Texts Without Context" - NYTimes.com
Some - including me - might read this to suggest all sorts of ways in which the printed portion of a newspaper's operation could respond to what is happening in the larger digital world. We are only beginning to come to grips - or maybe just understand that we should come to grips with the issues so interestingly discussed in this review. I don't think printed newspapers have yet begun to address the antidote to some these problems that a printed newspaper may present.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
"Op-Ed Contributor - Turning Green With Literacy" - NYTimes.com
On the eve of St Patrick's Day, I cannot resist posting this relevant item!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Andy ROONEY on "60 Minutes" - The US Postal Service
There is a lot in this short video conmentary that applies to newspapers as much as the US Postal Service. How can newspapers recapture what ROONEY laments losing here?
"Dot-com's disrupt, help bring in money" - Marketplace From American Public Media
As disquieting and it may be, digitally-driven disruption may not be over for newspapers.
What's next?
What's next?
"The Media Equation - Talking Back to Your TV Set, Endlessly" - NYTimes.com
I am not sure that print can equal what television is doing, but I do think it can perform a lot better than it is in an interactive relationship with digital services.
"Online News Readers Use 5 Sites or Fewer, Study Says" - NYTimes.com
This is pretty interesting.
How do we take people's habits, as measured here, and translate that into value for the printed newspaper?
How do we take people's habits, as measured here, and translate that into value for the printed newspaper?
Promoting the newspaper
Today I was reminded in two separate full page "house" advertisements what a balkanized and ineffective job newspapers do of promoting themselves as a multi-layered service offering.
In one, The New York Times promotes how important it is - and better than the Wall Street Journal - to advertisers in New York. That's important and good to do, but, hey, I as well as potential advertisers, am a reader, and why not use that space to speak to me, too. Is it not possible for an ad to speak to two audiences at once? I think it is.
The other, a full page house advertisement in the Herald-Sun here in North Carolina promotes the link between the paper and Yahoo's HotJobs. It never mentions using printed job lisitngs in the paper. More important, I think, is that it also does not mention anything else that the newspaper thinks it is doing to "finding great jobs for our readers". I mean - really - is there nothing else besides the Yahoo deal that the newspaper feels it does for a job seeker? If the answer is "nothing else", it would be another sad day in the waning life of newspapers.
In one, The New York Times promotes how important it is - and better than the Wall Street Journal - to advertisers in New York. That's important and good to do, but, hey, I as well as potential advertisers, am a reader, and why not use that space to speak to me, too. Is it not possible for an ad to speak to two audiences at once? I think it is.
The other, a full page house advertisement in the Herald-Sun here in North Carolina promotes the link between the paper and Yahoo's HotJobs. It never mentions using printed job lisitngs in the paper. More important, I think, is that it also does not mention anything else that the newspaper thinks it is doing to "finding great jobs for our readers". I mean - really - is there nothing else besides the Yahoo deal that the newspaper feels it does for a job seeker? If the answer is "nothing else", it would be another sad day in the waning life of newspapers.
Sports section advertising?
I continue to be befuddled by the absence of advertisers in newspapr sports sections. What, exactly, is the problem? Does no one read those sections and therefore advertisers would be advertising on trees that no one hears fall in the forest? I don't think so. Are advertising sales staffs not creative enough in their marketing? What is it? Today's The New York Times is a perfect example. There is exactly one-half page of advertising in the entire section today - an advertisement for the restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday's.
What am I missing? It seems like a golden opportunity only very faintly realized for the printed newspaper world.
What am I missing? It seems like a golden opportunity only very faintly realized for the printed newspaper world.
"Ultra-local could herald new 'golden age' for journalism" - Press Gazette
What are some of the best strategies being deployed by newspapers - in print - to deal with this phenomenon? How are newspapers coming to grips with how to combine the local focus with a printed offering? Is it doable or hopeless?
Imagine the street on which you live. Today, in many places there are websites, blogs, e-mail lists and other digital applications that make it quite easy for the people on some of those streets to communicate with one another and to be better informed about the news of that street, or affecting that street.
Given the perceived added value of print, is there a way that some of that can be captured better by a newspaper and sent periodically, in print, to the people who live on your street? As I think of my own street, I could imagine a nice little insert for one or another of our local newspapers that is affiliated with the newspaper and offers the news of my street drawn from digital sources and shoe leather.
Imagine the street on which you live. Today, in many places there are websites, blogs, e-mail lists and other digital applications that make it quite easy for the people on some of those streets to communicate with one another and to be better informed about the news of that street, or affecting that street.
Given the perceived added value of print, is there a way that some of that can be captured better by a newspaper and sent periodically, in print, to the people who live on your street? As I think of my own street, I could imagine a nice little insert for one or another of our local newspapers that is affiliated with the newspaper and offers the news of my street drawn from digital sources and shoe leather.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
"RDU can't ban newspaper racks" - Local/State - NewsObserver.com
I have several reactions to this decision about selling printed newspapers.
One, as a taxpayer in this jurisdiction, I am offended to think that "we" will have to pay three-quarters' of a million dollars to cover the costs of this litigation. It should never have been commenced in the first place. Perhaps the decrease in revenues from shops in the airport will be substantial and make matters worse, but I would be surprised if that is the case.
Second, one of my traveler and newspaper reader frustrations given today's security mania at airports is that the entire - not just mostly, but the entire - focus is on departing passengers. When I get off an airplane, I'd like to buy a local newspaper. How often does that happen? Next to never in my experience.
It will be very interesting to see if the newspapers who choose to place racks at the airport wind up dividing them equally, more or less, between arrivals and departures.
One, as a taxpayer in this jurisdiction, I am offended to think that "we" will have to pay three-quarters' of a million dollars to cover the costs of this litigation. It should never have been commenced in the first place. Perhaps the decrease in revenues from shops in the airport will be substantial and make matters worse, but I would be surprised if that is the case.
Second, one of my traveler and newspaper reader frustrations given today's security mania at airports is that the entire - not just mostly, but the entire - focus is on departing passengers. When I get off an airplane, I'd like to buy a local newspaper. How often does that happen? Next to never in my experience.
It will be very interesting to see if the newspapers who choose to place racks at the airport wind up dividing them equally, more or less, between arrivals and departures.
Friday, March 12, 2010
"No Ink, No Paper: What's The Value Of An E-Book?" - NPR
This interesting story got me thinking about the pricing of newspapers - both digital and in print.
Consider this.....
How good a job do we do of explaining the process that brings news to reader customers? When was the last story you read in a newspaper that ran through the cost of that story, taking into account everything from the fully allocated cost of the reporter, her/his expenses, support tools and facilities...and on through the publicaiton process in whichever media? Imagine that this covered the range from a foreign correspondent in a conflict area to the coverage of what's happening at the corner store.
That helps readers and potential readers understand more of the cost side of the business, and I think it could be done occasionally in print and permanently (but updated) on any newspaper website. It helps reader customers think of themselves as being more insiders than we usually treat them as being.
Then think about the value delivered and how we do it.
There are two pieces to this.
One is the value of both news and advertising (as well as any other content) to real people. I am repeatedly disappointed to see promotions for newspaper sales talk only about the "deal" and virtually not at all about the content and service delivered if you sign up. We can do such a better job - being in the story-telling business! - of conveying that value generally and in terms of real people for whom one or more thing in the newspaper made a difference in their lives. Those stories are out there; we just never go look for them other than the occasional promotion department mention.
There is a print advertisement running locally here for a local bank. It is well done in that it features several local business people who are that bank's customers and allows them to talk about the bank in more than a movie review snippet. I am not suggesting that this is what newspapers should do more often, but it might be included. What I am suggesting is that telling the story in actual articles with good graphic support, objectively, of how the newspaper impacted various lives is what we should do.
The second piece is how we communicate the value of what is in the paper, today.
In one of our local newspapers here today, I found a full page of coupons from a moderately large food retailer - Harris Teeter. It is unusual in that it offers discounts only to people holding the Harris-Teeter loyalty card, but the added value is that you can apply a total of $16 in discounts to any products of your choice up to a maximum of ten and you must do it during three days.
That makes that page of newsprint, to Harris-Teeter loyalty card holders, worth up to $16. The price of the newspaper is about 5% of that.
I almost missed it in that it is on a back page that usually has nothing of special interest to me.
There is nothing on the Harris-Teeter website about this.
My point - on this second piece - is that newspapers have an incentive and surely have the technological and reportorial skills needs to communicate (another newspaper purported skill) to us customers the value of what is in the printed paper today.
Suppose the newspaper simply maintained a mailing list of people interested in knowing when something especially noteworthy or valuable like this was going to be in the paper. I bet a lot of people - given this example - might very well sign up.
In a weekly e-mail that I receive from Harris-Teeter, which attempts to tell me how personalized it is, there is a graphic telling me to look in my local newspaper for the page that I have described here. Wouldn't it be so much more powerful if that mentioned the newspapers - by name - in my area where the ad is appearing? Did the newspapers try to make this happen?
Consider this.....
How good a job do we do of explaining the process that brings news to reader customers? When was the last story you read in a newspaper that ran through the cost of that story, taking into account everything from the fully allocated cost of the reporter, her/his expenses, support tools and facilities...and on through the publicaiton process in whichever media? Imagine that this covered the range from a foreign correspondent in a conflict area to the coverage of what's happening at the corner store.
That helps readers and potential readers understand more of the cost side of the business, and I think it could be done occasionally in print and permanently (but updated) on any newspaper website. It helps reader customers think of themselves as being more insiders than we usually treat them as being.
Then think about the value delivered and how we do it.
There are two pieces to this.
One is the value of both news and advertising (as well as any other content) to real people. I am repeatedly disappointed to see promotions for newspaper sales talk only about the "deal" and virtually not at all about the content and service delivered if you sign up. We can do such a better job - being in the story-telling business! - of conveying that value generally and in terms of real people for whom one or more thing in the newspaper made a difference in their lives. Those stories are out there; we just never go look for them other than the occasional promotion department mention.
There is a print advertisement running locally here for a local bank. It is well done in that it features several local business people who are that bank's customers and allows them to talk about the bank in more than a movie review snippet. I am not suggesting that this is what newspapers should do more often, but it might be included. What I am suggesting is that telling the story in actual articles with good graphic support, objectively, of how the newspaper impacted various lives is what we should do.
The second piece is how we communicate the value of what is in the paper, today.
In one of our local newspapers here today, I found a full page of coupons from a moderately large food retailer - Harris Teeter. It is unusual in that it offers discounts only to people holding the Harris-Teeter loyalty card, but the added value is that you can apply a total of $16 in discounts to any products of your choice up to a maximum of ten and you must do it during three days.
That makes that page of newsprint, to Harris-Teeter loyalty card holders, worth up to $16. The price of the newspaper is about 5% of that.
I almost missed it in that it is on a back page that usually has nothing of special interest to me.
There is nothing on the Harris-Teeter website about this.
My point - on this second piece - is that newspapers have an incentive and surely have the technological and reportorial skills needs to communicate (another newspaper purported skill) to us customers the value of what is in the printed paper today.
Suppose the newspaper simply maintained a mailing list of people interested in knowing when something especially noteworthy or valuable like this was going to be in the paper. I bet a lot of people - given this example - might very well sign up.
In a weekly e-mail that I receive from Harris-Teeter, which attempts to tell me how personalized it is, there is a graphic telling me to look in my local newspaper for the page that I have described here. Wouldn't it be so much more powerful if that mentioned the newspapers - by name - in my area where the ad is appearing? Did the newspapers try to make this happen?
"Advertising - Instant Ads Set the Pace on the Web" - NYTimes.com
I wonder if there is not a printed newspaper parallel?
Imagine the largely unused options to make use - in a sophisticated way - of post-press insert options, point of sale insert possibilities and delivery potential. What could be tailored, with high value, to be of greater importance to the person buying or receiving/reading the newspaper because it is inserted at the "last" minute, is timely, and efficient along with relevant and as close to essential as it can be?
Imagine the largely unused options to make use - in a sophisticated way - of post-press insert options, point of sale insert possibilities and delivery potential. What could be tailored, with high value, to be of greater importance to the person buying or receiving/reading the newspaper because it is inserted at the "last" minute, is timely, and efficient along with relevant and as close to essential as it can be?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
"Dissents From the Bench Hint at a Polarized Supreme Court" - NYTimes.com
This is worth a moment of reflection.
The story talks about how the printed dissents of US Supreme Court justices just don't seem to get the attention their authors would like, and so they have taken to reading them out loud - and in the Court - when the decisions are reported. In other words, print is not enough; a soundtrack is needed as well.
What might that tell us about how, creatively, we can add more impact, more power, to what a newspaper prints?
The story talks about how the printed dissents of US Supreme Court justices just don't seem to get the attention their authors would like, and so they have taken to reading them out loud - and in the Court - when the decisions are reported. In other words, print is not enough; a soundtrack is needed as well.
What might that tell us about how, creatively, we can add more impact, more power, to what a newspaper prints?
"Doubts About ‘Digital Natives’" - Idea of the Day Blog - NYTimes.com
The future of printed newspapers has a lot to do - well, everything, really - with future generations.
That's why this piece is important. We've spent a lot of time doing readership studies, etc. but I wonder if we done the right kind. Have we looked at what newspapers really need to know about how young people are conducting their lives? Have we thought creatively about the role of non-newspaper printed stuff in their lives? Have we thought about how to make newspapers a bigger part of that?
We need to keep reminding ourselves that what we don't know about our customers, including the newest ones, is gigantic compared to what we think we know.
That's why this piece is important. We've spent a lot of time doing readership studies, etc. but I wonder if we done the right kind. Have we looked at what newspapers really need to know about how young people are conducting their lives? Have we thought creatively about the role of non-newspaper printed stuff in their lives? Have we thought about how to make newspapers a bigger part of that?
We need to keep reminding ourselves that what we don't know about our customers, including the newest ones, is gigantic compared to what we think we know.
Monday, March 8, 2010
"National Enquirer’s Coverage of Edwards Earns Recognition" - NYTimes.com
My guess is that the Enquirer is a lot more print-dependent than are most newspapers in the US, but that's an idea to be examined. What I mean is that the impact and importance of the print edition is higher with the Enquirer because of the power of what can be done with the printed page, especially page one.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Some user experiences, as they say...
I am a devoted subscriber to The New York Times and have been for more than 40 years.
That said, I have some problems that relate to the printed edition....
For example:
+ Why is it so hard to look up the electronic version of stories in "search" that I find in the printed newspaper? It seems like they only select a few words for search and don't tell us in print what they are. Why not a code or at least tell us which words by some unique typeface or just something to reduce the searching frustration.
+ The Sunday The New York Times did not make it to my driveway today. I got no e-mail or phone call telling me that it would not arrive. When I called, I got no message of apology or explanation from the robot voice. Nothing. Still nothing later in the day after I asked for credit. No call, no e-mail, nothing to explain why and apologize? How dumb is that?
+ I drove to a newsrack nearby early today and no newspapers there either. Later, I called a nearby food store and they said they had two copies and would hold one for me. They did, and I got the paper, being reminded that it costs over $6. When I paid for my copy, I asked the person checking me out if he did not think that was expensive. He responded that he did not know - "I'm not in the habit of looking at newspapers," the young man told me.
I sure think all of that is recipe for a remedy or a disaster, and I fear the latter, but eternally hope for the former!
That said, I have some problems that relate to the printed edition....
For example:
+ Why is it so hard to look up the electronic version of stories in "search" that I find in the printed newspaper? It seems like they only select a few words for search and don't tell us in print what they are. Why not a code or at least tell us which words by some unique typeface or just something to reduce the searching frustration.
+ The Sunday The New York Times did not make it to my driveway today. I got no e-mail or phone call telling me that it would not arrive. When I called, I got no message of apology or explanation from the robot voice. Nothing. Still nothing later in the day after I asked for credit. No call, no e-mail, nothing to explain why and apologize? How dumb is that?
+ I drove to a newsrack nearby early today and no newspapers there either. Later, I called a nearby food store and they said they had two copies and would hold one for me. They did, and I got the paper, being reminded that it costs over $6. When I paid for my copy, I asked the person checking me out if he did not think that was expensive. He responded that he did not know - "I'm not in the habit of looking at newspapers," the young man told me.
I sure think all of that is recipe for a remedy or a disaster, and I fear the latter, but eternally hope for the former!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
"Curbed LA: What Crash? OC Register Launching New Real Estate Section"
This is another example of a printed newspaper carrying - in print - some of the electronic content generated by its digital operations. In this case, it is blog excerpts, but there are so many other possibilities as well!
"'First in Print' emphasizes value of Enquirer content" - cincinnati.com - Cincinnati.Com
I think this is sound judgment.
There are three ideas that come to mind.
First, I'd promote the devil out of this idea in the newspaper, online, in other promotion/advertising. After the fact, I'd promote the value of the story that was available only in print.
But, second, I'd allow anyone - whether a regular subscriber or not - to set up an account with the newspaper to allow them to buy any article they wanted to read (free to paid subscribers of the printed version), but with legal restrictions, technology blocks and lots of warnings about what the newspaper will do if it catches anyone pasing along a copy to another person without obtaining permission.
Third, I'd send out a message, electronically, to anyone who subscribes for free - at the time the newspaper goes to press, discussing what's going to be in the paper tomorrow, what's going to be online, what not, and where and when the printed edition will be available for purchase, both locally and if available in any distant locations.
There are three ideas that come to mind.
First, I'd promote the devil out of this idea in the newspaper, online, in other promotion/advertising. After the fact, I'd promote the value of the story that was available only in print.
But, second, I'd allow anyone - whether a regular subscriber or not - to set up an account with the newspaper to allow them to buy any article they wanted to read (free to paid subscribers of the printed version), but with legal restrictions, technology blocks and lots of warnings about what the newspaper will do if it catches anyone pasing along a copy to another person without obtaining permission.
Third, I'd send out a message, electronically, to anyone who subscribes for free - at the time the newspaper goes to press, discussing what's going to be in the paper tomorrow, what's going to be online, what not, and where and when the printed edition will be available for purchase, both locally and if available in any distant locations.
Friday, March 5, 2010
"How To Clean a Window with Newspaper" - Home Hacks - Apartment Therapy Re-Nest
"More reason to believe in the future of the printed newspaper?"
"Tindle launches four new papers - Media" - guardian.co.uk
What a great strategy! I look forward to seeing the newspapers and following their evolution.
"Consumers Still Prefer Print to eReaders" - AdWorld
This item reports on interesting research from Ireland.
The question for newspapers - printed - is not to tak heart from this, but rather to understand why people reacted the way they did in preferring printed to e-reader newspapers and how to build upon that. What can be learned from the study that might lead newspapers to do something differently or at least to promote their printed products in such a way that this - reading print - becomes or a more widely shared view.
The question for newspapers - printed - is not to tak heart from this, but rather to understand why people reacted the way they did in preferring printed to e-reader newspapers and how to build upon that. What can be learned from the study that might lead newspapers to do something differently or at least to promote their printed products in such a way that this - reading print - becomes or a more widely shared view.
"Times Wire" - The New York Times
I wonder if we are doing all that we could to review what people are finding valuable online that might be incorporated into some printed newspaper offering.
Take the "Wire" page of The New York Times, for example. I find myself checking it regularly in the course of most days. There is something about the way they run, have designed it, etc. that apeals to me and I think it is judged to be successful by the Times.
My point is that if we understood better why I and others like this so much, that might trigger, for example, the idea of adding an overnight, locally printed rundown of "Wire" items printed just before physical delivery. Or something more anchored in the regular printed paper itself that simply reinforces the printed-digital link that occurs in so many lives like mine. For those who do not make that link, they don't know what they are missing and people in the communications business ought, above all, be able to describe that in words and pictures for those who have not seen and lived it. No?
Take the "Wire" page of The New York Times, for example. I find myself checking it regularly in the course of most days. There is something about the way they run, have designed it, etc. that apeals to me and I think it is judged to be successful by the Times.
My point is that if we understood better why I and others like this so much, that might trigger, for example, the idea of adding an overnight, locally printed rundown of "Wire" items printed just before physical delivery. Or something more anchored in the regular printed paper itself that simply reinforces the printed-digital link that occurs in so many lives like mine. For those who do not make that link, they don't know what they are missing and people in the communications business ought, above all, be able to describe that in words and pictures for those who have not seen and lived it. No?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
"Google Blogger - Print Your Blog, Sell Your Blog Book!"
Even in the digital age, there remains a special place for print as this service shows.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
"The Herald-Sun - Trusted & Essential"
This is one of the printed newspapers that is delivered to my home every day.
When one goes to their website, two restrictions are imposed on visitors.
If not a print subscriber, you must pay to access the archives.
It is the second restriction that I find interesting and I am not sure how I feel about it. As a subscriber, it irritates me, and I am sure non-subscribers feel the same way.
What is it?
If you try to copy all or part of any of their articles electronically, up pops a window that stops the copying -- saying "I'm sorry. The image you are trying to copy is the property of The Herald Sun."
What's confusing and interesting at the same time is that there is no similar block on the printing of anything on the website.
Is the latter something newspapers should consider? If you, the customer, want it printed, you'll have to pay for it.
Imagine that once logged in, I could get x number of articles printed every month with my subscription and would have to pay for more than that. Ditto for a non-subscriber who would have to start an account before being able to print anything.
When one goes to their website, two restrictions are imposed on visitors.
If not a print subscriber, you must pay to access the archives.
It is the second restriction that I find interesting and I am not sure how I feel about it. As a subscriber, it irritates me, and I am sure non-subscribers feel the same way.
What is it?
If you try to copy all or part of any of their articles electronically, up pops a window that stops the copying -- saying "I'm sorry. The image you are trying to copy is the property of The Herald Sun."
What's confusing and interesting at the same time is that there is no similar block on the printing of anything on the website.
Is the latter something newspapers should consider? If you, the customer, want it printed, you'll have to pay for it.
Imagine that once logged in, I could get x number of articles printed every month with my subscription and would have to pay for more than that. Ditto for a non-subscriber who would have to start an account before being able to print anything.
Making the daily print to electronic leap
Each day, I receive multiple printed newspapers, and try to make my way "through" all of them. Whem I am finished, I usually have a stack of articles and pages that I have torn out because something in them caught my attention.
From there, I do various things with them ranging from sharing with a friend and putting in a paper file to looking up the article to send to someone electronically or simply following up on the lead created by the printed piece to do something else online.
I have always felt that printed newspapers either don't believe there are many people like me or don't care. They do very little to make the jump from the newspaper's printed product to one of its electronic offerings - directly on the same item be it news or advertising - very easy most of the time.
Can't we do better? Shouldn't we try?
From there, I do various things with them ranging from sharing with a friend and putting in a paper file to looking up the article to send to someone electronically or simply following up on the lead created by the printed piece to do something else online.
I have always felt that printed newspapers either don't believe there are many people like me or don't care. They do very little to make the jump from the newspaper's printed product to one of its electronic offerings - directly on the same item be it news or advertising - very easy most of the time.
Can't we do better? Shouldn't we try?
Names in newspapers
There is a newspaper here in North Carolina that prides itself on having an extraordinarily high penetration level in its market - over 100%, or at least that's what it was a few years ago.
I asked the publisher why and learned that he thinks the secret is how many names are printed in the paper every day, every week, every year. All of those names cement a certain loyalty that stays in place, he says.
As we think about the printed newspaper, I think it is useful to remember the perceived personal value - call it ego if you like - that comes from having one's name in print. Have we thought about that phenomenon enough in terms of how we print newspapers and what we might do a little differently in design, distribution, alerts, etc. that would build on this notion of how much more important the newspaper is when it has your name in it?
I asked the publisher why and learned that he thinks the secret is how many names are printed in the paper every day, every week, every year. All of those names cement a certain loyalty that stays in place, he says.
As we think about the printed newspaper, I think it is useful to remember the perceived personal value - call it ego if you like - that comes from having one's name in print. Have we thought about that phenomenon enough in terms of how we print newspapers and what we might do a little differently in design, distribution, alerts, etc. that would build on this notion of how much more important the newspaper is when it has your name in it?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
"Postmaster delivers bundle of bad news" - washingtonpost.com
This is an important story in order to bring the entire picture of newspaper printing into focus.
Two hundred years ago, 90% - more or less - of the items carried by the Post Office in the US were newspapers.
Today, newspapers' involvement with the Postal Service is complicated, but notable. Very few actual newspapers are delivered to customers by the Postal Service. Most of the relationship involves the mailing of advertising materials.
What makes this story important, however, is what the current state of the Postal Service says about the printed word. What can newspapers learn from this? What should they do in response?
Two hundred years ago, 90% - more or less - of the items carried by the Post Office in the US were newspapers.
Today, newspapers' involvement with the Postal Service is complicated, but notable. Very few actual newspapers are delivered to customers by the Postal Service. Most of the relationship involves the mailing of advertising materials.
What makes this story important, however, is what the current state of the Postal Service says about the printed word. What can newspapers learn from this? What should they do in response?
Monday, March 1, 2010
"Survey Finds Slack Standards at Magazine Web Sites" - NYTimes.com
I wonder what a survey of newspapers would show on the same point?
"RMG to Brand 850 Screens as the NYTimes.com Today Network" - NYTimes.com
Do we think that newspapers have exhausted the opportunities in print to promote what they do? I don't think so.
"News Units at ABC and CBS Try to Navigate Uncertain Times" - NYTimes.com
The printed newspaper has the potential as these trends continue to become either once again or at least more strongly, the central record of any market the newspaper serves. With other comprehensive news services declining so rapidly, a printed newspaper has the chance to be the daily printed record of the market the paper serves. How many newspapers can say that they are really doing this now?
"Eyewitness to History" - The Folio Society
Robert FOX, who edited this compendium, spoke on the BBC today. In talking about eyewitness accounts today, he expresses concern that we receive so many of them without filters today that our sense of truth and accuracy is being badly damaged. Once again, a value of the printed newspaper if it does its job well. There is something about the "sorting out" process in print that simply has greater certainty and surely permanence associated with it.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
"YouTube - I Just Can't Live (Without My Daily Snailpaper)"
This is great fun! More of the background here.
"In a Country of Monopoly Newspapers, Palo Alto Is Awash in Competition" - NYTimes.com
Note the print-only Daily Post!
"We aim to preserve value of print newspaper" - The Indianapolis Star
Well said as a snapshot of where so many newspapers are in their thinking.
"Let s teach news literacy" - Herald-Sun
Imagine a daily run-down of errors, ommissions, mileading content, etc in the web as it affects a printed newspaper's market?
Print offers a huge advantage, I think, to be the error-corrector of the internet as it affects the newspaper's market.
What else should be able to challenge a newspaper to be the authoritative source of truth? That assumes that the newspaper is doing its job in the first place!
Print offers a huge advantage, I think, to be the error-corrector of the internet as it affects the newspaper's market.
What else should be able to challenge a newspaper to be the authoritative source of truth? That assumes that the newspaper is doing its job in the first place!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
"Shortcuts - The Paralyzing Problem of Too Many Choices" - NYTimes.com
This is an excellent article and tells a great story.
It seems to me that this presents newspapers with a tremendous opportunity to help people at least tread water in a rising sea of choices - in terms of both news and information and products and services.
The printed newspaper can organize those parts of our lives that we choose to ask it to do for us, and do so in a very orderly manner.
Communicating with customers about this could be a great first step, and quickly offering some initial organizing content to customers as a test. This does not even have to be personalized to start. Imagine, for example, the newspaper's recommendations of three choices - in priority order - for what a reader might watch on television this evening and tomorrow morning? That's the sort of thing that is so much easier to use during the day without having to fire up a device, although it surely could be presented electronically as well.
It seems to me that this presents newspapers with a tremendous opportunity to help people at least tread water in a rising sea of choices - in terms of both news and information and products and services.
The printed newspaper can organize those parts of our lives that we choose to ask it to do for us, and do so in a very orderly manner.
Communicating with customers about this could be a great first step, and quickly offering some initial organizing content to customers as a test. This does not even have to be personalized to start. Imagine, for example, the newspaper's recommendations of three choices - in priority order - for what a reader might watch on television this evening and tomorrow morning? That's the sort of thing that is so much easier to use during the day without having to fire up a device, although it surely could be presented electronically as well.
"How do i print newspaper text onto another surface?" - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers
Lots of people want to print newspapers!
"Cellphone Applications Let Shoppers Point, Click and Buy" - NYTimes.com
Why isn't this happening with newspapers as well? In other words, why not "point, click and purchase" by using your device with something printed a newspaper page?
Friday, February 26, 2010
"Newspaper earns top honors for printing quality" - Standard Speaker
This is quite an impressive story about ciruclation gains....
"Ace Hardware Stores"
This hardware retailer is a significant printed newspaper advertiser in many US newspaper markets.
I am including it here because of an observation of what I saw both here on its principle website and in its printed materials, both brochures and in local newspapers.
The firm includes - now as standard practice apparently - a suggestion (with appropriate logos) to go to the firm's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages to "find us" or "stay connected".
What's wrong with this picture from a newspaper's perspective, I ask?
There is no suggestion in print or online that the local newspaper is a part of its store-with-customer relationship. There is no suggestion to go to dailybugle.com and to do anything there that advances the shared customer's interest.
If there ever was a missed opportunity for newspaper as digital services explode, this is it. Insert yourselves with powerful printed products and digital services into the lives of your customers as they relate to whatever it is that you give them - from Ace Hardware advertising and catalogues to humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti.
I am including it here because of an observation of what I saw both here on its principle website and in its printed materials, both brochures and in local newspapers.
The firm includes - now as standard practice apparently - a suggestion (with appropriate logos) to go to the firm's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages to "find us" or "stay connected".
What's wrong with this picture from a newspaper's perspective, I ask?
There is no suggestion in print or online that the local newspaper is a part of its store-with-customer relationship. There is no suggestion to go to dailybugle.com and to do anything there that advances the shared customer's interest.
If there ever was a missed opportunity for newspaper as digital services explode, this is it. Insert yourselves with powerful printed products and digital services into the lives of your customers as they relate to whatever it is that you give them - from Ace Hardware advertising and catalogues to humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Daily guide to (audio) book reviews and much more
The printed version of a newspaper is headed - if newspapers can see through too much of their own fog - toward becoming a market/community organizer. For dailies, that means a kind of daily guide to life in that market. Some of that is simply a reference to what's going on, but to win a greater share of customers' time and attention, a huge portion of it needs to be offerings that come from newspapers.
Just one example: The Economist has just launched a podcast service offering book reviews. How did they tell me as a customer about this? In the printed "newspaper". (The New York Times does the same thing, apparently, but I learned about it on the newspaper's website.)
Alas, there are endless potential examples and very few that newspapers are actually doing. It's big hole that newspapers need to fill.....very quickly.
Just one example: The Economist has just launched a podcast service offering book reviews. How did they tell me as a customer about this? In the printed "newspaper". (The New York Times does the same thing, apparently, but I learned about it on the newspaper's website.)
Alas, there are endless potential examples and very few that newspapers are actually doing. It's big hole that newspapers need to fill.....very quickly.
"Pakistani Newspaper Attributes Mystical Powers to Diplomat" - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com
The world would be quite a different place without great newspapers, right?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
"Threat to Web Freedom Seen in Italian Google Case" - NYTimes.com
The core problem here is that Google's business plan cannot possibly support prior review of everything that is posted.
Newspapers - the printed kind - have always distinguished themselves by doing just that - reviewing what is published before it is published. With some exceptions, newspapers are fully responsible for everything they publish in print.
What's so bad about insisting that entities like Google do the same?
All of a sudden, the value of what newspapers have always done might become much more apparent to many.
And the world could escape much of the garbage that now gets added to the internet because no one is intervening.
Imagine an array of print and internet-based services which really have editors doing well what editos are professionally supposed to do - edit (i.e, choose, modify, reject, etc.).
Here's another good discussion of the case.
Both of the links from this post are to media that have real editors. That makes me a lot more confident in passing them on here.....
When was the last time you saw a printed newspaper talk about this difference?
Newspapers - the printed kind - have always distinguished themselves by doing just that - reviewing what is published before it is published. With some exceptions, newspapers are fully responsible for everything they publish in print.
What's so bad about insisting that entities like Google do the same?
All of a sudden, the value of what newspapers have always done might become much more apparent to many.
And the world could escape much of the garbage that now gets added to the internet because no one is intervening.
Imagine an array of print and internet-based services which really have editors doing well what editos are professionally supposed to do - edit (i.e, choose, modify, reject, etc.).
Here's another good discussion of the case.
Both of the links from this post are to media that have real editors. That makes me a lot more confident in passing them on here.....
When was the last time you saw a printed newspaper talk about this difference?
information.dk
This is the front page of the printed newspaper, Information, in Denmark on 22 February 2010. More on the subject here.
"Despite Small Numbers, Magazines Are Big on Bar Codes" - Advertising Age
Why aren't newspapers more active experimenters here? Too many burned fingers?
"Reflections of a Newsosaur: Don’t know about Aardvark? You should."
This actually goes to my point about newspapers providing "help" to their customers.
Why have newspapers allowed this role to be usurped first by the local librarian and now by Google? It's a mystery to me.
Imagine, tho, the print opportunity to include selected questions and answers from Aardvark that seem relevant to the core interests and needs of any newspaper's print customers. After all, knowing those core interests and needs is quite central to what a great newspaper should be, no?
Why have newspapers allowed this role to be usurped first by the local librarian and now by Google? It's a mystery to me.
Imagine, tho, the print opportunity to include selected questions and answers from Aardvark that seem relevant to the core interests and needs of any newspaper's print customers. After all, knowing those core interests and needs is quite central to what a great newspaper should be, no?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
"TV Ratings Rise, Maybe With Internet’s Help" - NYTimes.com
When was the last time you saw a newspaper promoting the idea of watching TV or even using the Internet generally while reading a printed newspaper. I do it all the time, but nobody ever encouraged me to do so. Wouldn't newspapers be wise to think about how they can recognize reality and push customers not to change their reality but to add printed newspapers back into it?
A localized daily printed weather map
Suppose that a newspaper set up its printing and/or distribution operation such that each copy had inserted into it a localized weather forecast for the 24 hours following the printing of the forecast. And imagine further that the principal art in the forecast was a maps maps with the point of delivery or point of sale at the center of it.
Buy a newspaper at a kiosque and you'd get a weather map localized to the geography around that kiosque.
Receive a newspaper delivered to your home or business and you get a weather map localized to the geography around that delivery point.
Surely, a creative marketing and sales team at the newspaper could sell advertising into that weather report that ought to make it profitable on its own.
More certainly, it adds something new and utilitarian to the newspaper's printed content.
Has any newspaper done this?
Buy a newspaper at a kiosque and you'd get a weather map localized to the geography around that kiosque.
Receive a newspaper delivered to your home or business and you get a weather map localized to the geography around that delivery point.
Surely, a creative marketing and sales team at the newspaper could sell advertising into that weather report that ought to make it profitable on its own.
More certainly, it adds something new and utilitarian to the newspaper's printed content.
Has any newspaper done this?
"The New York Times Store: Gemstone Globe Paperweights - Copper Amber"
Sometimes I wonder if anyone else is paying any attention to the frontier between the printed and electronic newspapers.
Consider this paperweight.
Today's printed The New York Times contains a small house display ad for the paperweight. It caught my eye. I wanted to know more. So I went to the site, searched on paperweights and found it.
However, in the printed paper today, it says that it comes in four colors. When I go online, it tells me I can have any color I like as long as I pick "copper amber"! Surely, the others did not all sell out this morning......
Newspapers need people focused on this and they don't seem to care.
Consider this paperweight.
Today's printed The New York Times contains a small house display ad for the paperweight. It caught my eye. I wanted to know more. So I went to the site, searched on paperweights and found it.
However, in the printed paper today, it says that it comes in four colors. When I go online, it tells me I can have any color I like as long as I pick "copper amber"! Surely, the others did not all sell out this morning......
Newspapers need people focused on this and they don't seem to care.
Advertising - North Face Campaign Sends Texts When Shoppers Near Stores - NYTimes.com
There is a lot of attention focused on maps that we can generate online. Whether it be Google, or another, there are lots of ways that we can use that technology to find places, most often, or - if ambitious enough - to create maps with various locations noted on them.
Seeing the map here - and it is in black and white print in the printed The New York Times today - makes me wonder if printed newspapers are not missing the map boat.
Why not, for example, run a map of all of the newspaper's advertisers today that are promoting special offers in their print ads?
Or, a map of all of the music events either mentioned or advertised in today's paper for this evening?
Or a news map of the local area showing where any stories that have geographical points in them are connected?
I don't recall seeing that, or at least seeing it such that I took note.
There are many more possibilities. I realize that occasionally a newspaper will run a map with a story. That's good and often very helpful.
But how about something that brings more of the paper together, reinforcing what's valuable and how much of it today's paper contains.
Tearing out the local maps to pursue items reported or businesses advertised could become a new way to make full use of the printed newspaper.
Seeing the map here - and it is in black and white print in the printed The New York Times today - makes me wonder if printed newspapers are not missing the map boat.
Why not, for example, run a map of all of the newspaper's advertisers today that are promoting special offers in their print ads?
Or, a map of all of the music events either mentioned or advertised in today's paper for this evening?
Or a news map of the local area showing where any stories that have geographical points in them are connected?
I don't recall seeing that, or at least seeing it such that I took note.
There are many more possibilities. I realize that occasionally a newspaper will run a map with a story. That's good and often very helpful.
But how about something that brings more of the paper together, reinforcing what's valuable and how much of it today's paper contains.
Tearing out the local maps to pursue items reported or businesses advertised could become a new way to make full use of the printed newspaper.
Stagnant print advertising
When an advertiser buys space in a newspaper, the advertiser gets to use it to say pretty much whatever the advertiser chooses. Sure, there are some limits imposed by law and by the publisher, but basically the advertiser can use that space to communicate whatever the advertiser wishes.
Two things haunt me about how that works.
One is that so much of newspaper advertising in so many newspapers is so unimaginative. Compared to what we often see in magazines and online, newspaper display ads are more often boring.
The second probably is related to the first. I have been looking at some small display ads in one of our local newspapers for restaurants. The ads for the same handful of restaurants run regularly and they seldom change in any way. What a lost opportunity this is for all three involved in this proces - the ad becomes uninteresting for me the customer because there is no point in simply reading the same copy all over again; the ad therefore does not work for the advertiser; and, the ad does not add value other than revenue - for however long it may last - to the newspaper. Each of us has a stake in making this better.
Who is working on these?
Two things haunt me about how that works.
One is that so much of newspaper advertising in so many newspapers is so unimaginative. Compared to what we often see in magazines and online, newspaper display ads are more often boring.
The second probably is related to the first. I have been looking at some small display ads in one of our local newspapers for restaurants. The ads for the same handful of restaurants run regularly and they seldom change in any way. What a lost opportunity this is for all three involved in this proces - the ad becomes uninteresting for me the customer because there is no point in simply reading the same copy all over again; the ad therefore does not work for the advertiser; and, the ad does not add value other than revenue - for however long it may last - to the newspaper. Each of us has a stake in making this better.
Who is working on these?
Print newspaper help desk
One of the things that I don't think any newspapers - of which I am aware - have gotten right is the issue of the help that reader customers might need in connection with the printed newspaper.
Usually, this help - if provided at all - is doneso in the context of a circulation sales promotion or simply servicing a subscriber's subscription.
That's fine and important.
But think for a moment about the sorts of help you might need on any day in reading a newspaper. It might be facts not included in a story. It might be a link to more resources. It might be help of some sort with an advertisement. The list is quite long.
I think newspapers - printed et al - need to do a far better job of recognizing that help or more means a lot more than just checking on whether a check for a subscription renewal has been received. The analysis and the service ought to start with everything imaginable and at least put a human being in the position of saying, if absolutely necessary, that's not a question or need to which we can respond. Even in that case, I would hope that the newspaper would be able to recommend a next step.
Imagine.
Usually, this help - if provided at all - is doneso in the context of a circulation sales promotion or simply servicing a subscriber's subscription.
That's fine and important.
But think for a moment about the sorts of help you might need on any day in reading a newspaper. It might be facts not included in a story. It might be a link to more resources. It might be help of some sort with an advertisement. The list is quite long.
I think newspapers - printed et al - need to do a far better job of recognizing that help or more means a lot more than just checking on whether a check for a subscription renewal has been received. The analysis and the service ought to start with everything imaginable and at least put a human being in the position of saying, if absolutely necessary, that's not a question or need to which we can respond. Even in that case, I would hope that the newspaper would be able to recommend a next step.
Imagine.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Announcing the printed version electronically
When was the last time you saw something pop up on newspaper website or arrive in your e-mail box or some electronic device announcing what is in the the printed newspaper that just started printing?
I have often advocated things ranging from a general e-mail from the editor when the press button gets pushed sent to those who ask for it to a database driven system that would shoot out an alert in some form whenever someone's person hot issue button gets pushed in the newspaper that has just gone to press.
Perhaps this could even be linked to a service that either delivers the paper immediately to where you are or tells you where the papers that are the hottests off the press are available for purchase. Just how valuable would a customer be who gets in her/his car and drives some distance to pick up a fresh-off-the-press paper? I think the people who judge these things would place a lot of dollar signs on that forehead!
I have often advocated things ranging from a general e-mail from the editor when the press button gets pushed sent to those who ask for it to a database driven system that would shoot out an alert in some form whenever someone's person hot issue button gets pushed in the newspaper that has just gone to press.
Perhaps this could even be linked to a service that either delivers the paper immediately to where you are or tells you where the papers that are the hottests off the press are available for purchase. Just how valuable would a customer be who gets in her/his car and drives some distance to pick up a fresh-off-the-press paper? I think the people who judge these things would place a lot of dollar signs on that forehead!
"$132 in savings inside"
This was the banner on the top of the front page of our local newspaper yesterday. They do this each Sunday to promote the value of the discount coupons that are inserted in the Sunday edition.
It's a positive message and certainly reflects some of the value of that newspaper yesterday.
But the front page is used for painfully little else in coaxing the customer inside.
Think for a moment about all of the editorial and advertising content that could be flagged on the front page without compromising editorial integrity.
It is part of the power of print that it can lead people to places that they might not otherwise reach.
It's a positive message and certainly reflects some of the value of that newspaper yesterday.
But the front page is used for painfully little else in coaxing the customer inside.
Think for a moment about all of the editorial and advertising content that could be flagged on the front page without compromising editorial integrity.
It is part of the power of print that it can lead people to places that they might not otherwise reach.
"A Digital Billboard That Watches You..." - The World Newser
Why not a newspaper vending machine that does the same thing?
"Prototype - Architectural Mailboxes - A Tale of Determination" - NYTimes.com
People who buy, or might buy, printed newspapers need a place to put it, or have it put for them. Too little attention has been devoted to this issue.
Whenever I go outside in the morning here in North Carolina to pick up my newspapers from the driveway, especially when it is raining or is cold, I am reminded of this. My computer does not require a plastic bag to stay dry most mornings!
Whenever I go outside in the morning here in North Carolina to pick up my newspapers from the driveway, especially when it is raining or is cold, I am reminded of this. My computer does not require a plastic bag to stay dry most mornings!
"Digital Domain - The Birth of Cheap Communication (and Junk Mail)" - NYTimes.com
This is fascinating history and I think there is an undeveloped string missing from this piece - dealing with the printed newspaper as a communications medium.
"Macmillan’s DynamicBooks Lets Professors Rewrite E-Textbooks" - NYTimes.com
My vision of this would have a code printed alongside every item in a printed newspaper - from the masthead, through all display and classified advertising, each editorial, every column, all of the news stories, and the information items with calendars, etc.
Accessing the site of the newspaper after finding the item in the printed paper - or online - would allow a customer to see some combination of updated content, links, subsequent offers, more details, references, etc. And it would be set up such that access to the code-linked page and what appears on it would be carefully organized by the newspaper so as to insure as much integrity of the evolving content as possible.
Lots of little issues would have to be addressed, ranging from whether original content would always be one option to what sorts of comments by customers would be permitted and on what terms.
Accessing the site of the newspaper after finding the item in the printed paper - or online - would allow a customer to see some combination of updated content, links, subsequent offers, more details, references, etc. And it would be set up such that access to the code-linked page and what appears on it would be carefully organized by the newspaper so as to insure as much integrity of the evolving content as possible.
Lots of little issues would have to be addressed, ranging from whether original content would always be one option to what sorts of comments by customers would be permitted and on what terms.
"Selling a Celebrity Look With a Photo and a Click" - NYTimes.com
Why wouldn't a variation of this work in print as well?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
"On the Road - Travel Sites or Guidebooks - Why Not Both?" - NYTimes.com
It continues to seem to me that this is the approach newspapers ought to be leading with their customers - the value of using BOTH online and print. That has happened rarely if at all.....
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
"Ping - Google’s New Approach to Courting Small Businesses" - NYTimes.com
If newspapers cannot come up with a creative offer to advertisers - in print -at $25/month, then newspapers ought to hang up their ink barrels. Why do I say this? Look at any daily newspaper anywhere any day and tell me how many of the local businesses and organizations appear as advertisers in that issue. I think you will find the answer to be less than 5%, perhaps even less than 1%. Where are the other 95% going? Google and a lot of others come to mind.
It's a time for creativitiy, for packages of print and online and for putting newspapers in the role they should - bur rarely have gotten there - have occupied all along: as the primary connector of people, businesses, organizations and anything else that resides or works or connects in some way with the geography that the newspaper purports to serve.
It's a time for creativitiy, for packages of print and online and for putting newspapers in the role they should - bur rarely have gotten there - have occupied all along: as the primary connector of people, businesses, organizations and anything else that resides or works or connects in some way with the geography that the newspaper purports to serve.
Friday, February 12, 2010
"Domains - Christiane Amanpour - War Rooms" - NYTimes.com
Scroll down in the profile to see her view of printed newspapers.
"Healthymagination"
This campaign was accompanied by three magnificent four color printed pages in today's (printed) The New York Times.
"A New Plan for a New Year" - Editorials from The Berkeley Daily Planet
Here is the story in The New York Times - PRINTED edition! - that called my attention to this move.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
"Ombudsman Blog - No spike in reader e-mails"
I think this has a lot to say about how much reading people really do in printed pages today and how rarely those printed pages prompt someone to "do" something....like send an e-mail to the reporter. It flags a really big problem in my mind that has little to do with print and everything to do with creativity.
"Kashi Seven Whole Grain Cereal Snacks Entrees"
This company has - for at least the second time - launched a promotion campaign on television and here on their website offering to mail a free sample of their product to anyone who asks.
It is disappointing that I see no mention of this in any printed newspaper that I have read in the last couple of days while the campaign continues on television.
Do you suppose newspapers print advertising was simply not perceived to be good enough for the advertiser?
Did no one from newspapers approach them?
Was there something lacking in a creative and effective way that this campaign could have been advanced in a printed newspaper?
What are the ways in which this might have been very effective in a printed newspaper?
It is disappointing that I see no mention of this in any printed newspaper that I have read in the last couple of days while the campaign continues on television.
Do you suppose newspapers print advertising was simply not perceived to be good enough for the advertiser?
Did no one from newspapers approach them?
Was there something lacking in a creative and effective way that this campaign could have been advanced in a printed newspaper?
What are the ways in which this might have been very effective in a printed newspaper?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"Pepsi Refresh Project"
I wonder how many printed newspapers contain information about this project, either paid for by Pepsi or carried as a news or other story?
"North Carolina Classifieds and Display Ads Online, published by NC Press Services"
This strikes me somehow as being almost 19th century in its approach.
Where is the creativity?
The innovation?
Where is the creativity?
The innovation?
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
"Cellphone and Entertainment Fees Add Up for Families" - NYTimes.com
I wonder what the statistics would show in terms of overall spending on printed media.
Monday, February 8, 2010
"Adweek Super Bowl XLIV Coverage"
When was the last time, you saw a “special microsite” created showcasing the great advertisements that were published in a newspaper somewhere?
(Hint: Don’t hold your breath while you think of an answer!)
(Hint: Don’t hold your breath while you think of an answer!)
"The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia"
There are lots of differences between a great newspaper and a great newspaper website. I guess the same could be said for a not-so-great newspaper and its website.
One of the differences that surely does not get discussed in lofty journalistic circles is the problem of returning to an advertisement that catches your eye.
Frequently, I see an ad in the NYTimes, for examples - in print - and I remember later when something clicks or happens to make me think of it. If I still have the printed copy, which is most often as I tend to remember these things the same day or shortly after publication and our newspapers only get recycled once/week here -- I can go back to the printed paper and usually find the ad.
If I see an ad on the NYTimes website, and try to return to it, from my experience it is almost never there because of ad rotations and other formulas that fail anticipate that my clicking on the back button may have as much to do with an ad I saw there as an article. And, does the NYTimes or any other newspaper at least provide a list of advertisers that I can access and click on the one that I think might have been the one that just whooshed by me? No, or at least I've not found that list.
What an opportunity to remedy a frustration. Who will be first to do it? And how could this tie back into print?
One of the differences that surely does not get discussed in lofty journalistic circles is the problem of returning to an advertisement that catches your eye.
Frequently, I see an ad in the NYTimes, for examples - in print - and I remember later when something clicks or happens to make me think of it. If I still have the printed copy, which is most often as I tend to remember these things the same day or shortly after publication and our newspapers only get recycled once/week here -- I can go back to the printed paper and usually find the ad.
If I see an ad on the NYTimes website, and try to return to it, from my experience it is almost never there because of ad rotations and other formulas that fail anticipate that my clicking on the back button may have as much to do with an ad I saw there as an article. And, does the NYTimes or any other newspaper at least provide a list of advertisers that I can access and click on the one that I think might have been the one that just whooshed by me? No, or at least I've not found that list.
What an opportunity to remedy a frustration. Who will be first to do it? And how could this tie back into print?
"Magazines’ Newsstand Sales Fall 9.1 Percent" - Media Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com
Any implications for newspapers?
"Media Cache - Free vs. Paid, Murdoch vs. Rusbridger" - NYTimes.com
I wonder what the trend lines would show if combining total newspaper circulation around the world, paid and free, all frequencies of publication and then showing the evolving split between paid and freed? Perhaps WAN-IFRA does this for its trends compendium each year?
With that in hand, do the same for electronic services.
With that in hand, do the same for electronic services.
"More than half of b-to-b magazine subscribers prefer print-only" - BtoB Magazine
Have newspapers done all that they could to maximize their print service to business-to-business advertisers?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
"Pay-for-Inquiry Ad Model Gains Modest Traction at Newspapers" - Advertising Age
This ought to get the creative juices of print newspapers flowing, and if it does not, newspapers are going to lose. Imagine the opportunity this presents to really turn up the power of what an advertisement, creatively designed and impeccably printed and distributed COULD be.
"Print newspapers fight against bill posting legal notices online"
This may seem like an odd issue, especially for those outside the US.
The historic US policy - carried out mostly at the state and local level - has been that when government has something important to communicate to the population, government should pay for a "public notice" advertisement in local newspapers. It's a time-honored tradition that has succeeded, more or less, in keeping the electorate informed, or at least giving them a relatively easy means to become informed if they choose to do so.
What this debate brings to a head is a very simple question. If government has something important to say, what is the best way that they can get that to the largest percentage of the population? The public policy pendulum clearly has swung toward the internet on this one, but maybe it is the right time to ask anew which route - the internet or a printed newspaper - is likely to achieve the real goal of this policy. That goal is an informed and involved electorate.
If newspapers could only be more creative about this, I bet there is a combination of print and electronic service that both governments and reader customers that could be offered that would be better than what exists now and even better than a website-only solution. Alas, I think newspapers are stuck in the status quo, defending what has been and is and not thinking anywhere near as much as they could about what could be.
It is very sad.
The historic US policy - carried out mostly at the state and local level - has been that when government has something important to communicate to the population, government should pay for a "public notice" advertisement in local newspapers. It's a time-honored tradition that has succeeded, more or less, in keeping the electorate informed, or at least giving them a relatively easy means to become informed if they choose to do so.
What this debate brings to a head is a very simple question. If government has something important to say, what is the best way that they can get that to the largest percentage of the population? The public policy pendulum clearly has swung toward the internet on this one, but maybe it is the right time to ask anew which route - the internet or a printed newspaper - is likely to achieve the real goal of this policy. That goal is an informed and involved electorate.
If newspapers could only be more creative about this, I bet there is a combination of print and electronic service that both governments and reader customers that could be offered that would be better than what exists now and even better than a website-only solution. Alas, I think newspapers are stuck in the status quo, defending what has been and is and not thinking anywhere near as much as they could about what could be.
It is very sad.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
"The Columbian newspaper exits bankruptcy" - Portland Business Journal:
We see many stories like this in the US. One can only hope that the owner will succeed.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Tropicana Juicy Rewards
Here in the US, there was a televisoin promotion of this today on at least one of the commercial networks. I did not see any advertising in the printed newspapers that I saw today.
Is there not room, however, for this sort of idea - where the customer looks up a number (in this case, having bought the product) and gets a potential reward for doing so? Might a creative newspaper and a creative advertiser not work together to do the same sort of get their attention in print and send them to a website process initiated for me today on television? Shouldn't newspapers be at least as good as a television commerical in sending people to a website? How much newspaper creative marketing time gets spent thinking about such things today? I suspect woefully little.
Is there not room, however, for this sort of idea - where the customer looks up a number (in this case, having bought the product) and gets a potential reward for doing so? Might a creative newspaper and a creative advertiser not work together to do the same sort of get their attention in print and send them to a website process initiated for me today on television? Shouldn't newspapers be at least as good as a television commerical in sending people to a website? How much newspaper creative marketing time gets spent thinking about such things today? I suspect woefully little.
Is a three month calendar the best The New York Times can offer?
Today's printed The New York Times newspaper contains a house advertisement, as it often does, for a three month wall calendar, measuring about one foot by three feet.
That's fine, but was that best use of the space on that page of the Times?
Is this the most creative printed item that the newspaper can offer us? What about a print and electronic calendar offering geared to dates submitted by advertisers, readers and reporters? Send it out in print, once a month with real value added to it?
Where is the imagination?
That's fine, but was that best use of the space on that page of the Times?
Is this the most creative printed item that the newspaper can offer us? What about a print and electronic calendar offering geared to dates submitted by advertisers, readers and reporters? Send it out in print, once a month with real value added to it?
Where is the imagination?
Newspaper version of television set feature?
I was reminded today that some of the newest flat screen television sets are set up to automatically turn down the volume of commercial messages when they appear.
That's good for consumers and probably not all that bothersome for advertisers, at least the responsible ones.
Is there some version of this - thinking outside the box - that might apply to advertising in a printed newspaper, and how could we make it better for all concerned?
That's good for consumers and probably not all that bothersome for advertisers, at least the responsible ones.
Is there some version of this - thinking outside the box - that might apply to advertising in a printed newspaper, and how could we make it better for all concerned?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
"Pearson Beefs Up FT Offering With MGA Buy" - WSJ.com
What are the printing opportunites open to newspapers as a mean of replacing some portion of lost advertising and circulation revenues?
Using their facilities to print newspapers for advertisers or other organizations, .e.g.?
Using their facilities to print newspapers for advertisers or other organizations, .e.g.?
Monday, February 1, 2010
"Bargain Hunters Start With Newspaper and Magazine Ads" - MedaPost Publicaitons
I don't think most of all of this advertising is in print.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
"Jon Slattery: Scotland's first online newspaper launched"
I'd sure like to know what the plan is for printing this newspaper, or some version of it, on a non-daily and non-weekly schedule.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
"Germany: New layout for Sonntag Aktuell"- publicitas.com
With any such redesign there is always the question of what value is being added. It would be nice to see a list of the things they changed that they think will make the newspaper more valuable for advertiser and non-advertiser (readers) customers.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
"Why Twitter Will Endure" - NYTimes.com
Is there a Twitter "equivalent" or parallel in print? If not, why not?
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