Archive for September, 2009
Two Paid Models for Metro News
Posted on 30. Sep, 2009 by Matthew Sollars.
The debate over paid models has grown heated in recent months as publishers cast about for new revenues to replace declining advertising dollars. But, although asking readers to pay for the news seems to have gained favor of late, publishers are still divided on whether charging for online content is the best approach. Indeed, just […]
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NewBizNews on MPR
Posted on 28. Sep, 2009 by Jeff Jarvis.
I joined Alan Mutter on Minnesota Public Radio this morning talking about new business models for news. Mentions of the project and the discussion at the Knight-Foundation-funded Aspen Institute presentation. Have a listen: /**/
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The X Prizes for news (and media)
Posted on 25. Sep, 2009 by Jeff Jarvis.
A conversation with our Knight Foundation friends at Aspen inspired me to think through what an X Prize for news could accomplish. Then this week’s report in the New York Times about the awarding of the NetFlix X Prize – and the far greater value it created, not just for NetFlix, but for its participants […]
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Counting on Membership, Redrawing our Not-for-Profit Model
Posted on 23. Sep, 2009 by Matthew Sollars.
We’ve heard a fair bit of criticism in recent weeks that the revenue estimates (mostly in advertising) in some of our for-profit models were far too high. So, we are surprised to hear from Jim Barnett that the membership projections in our not-for-profit model are too low. By his lights, a not-for-profit like the one […]
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Did we ever pay for content?
Posted on 19. Sep, 2009 by Jeff Jarvis.
In an essay that, on first blush, ranks near to Clay Shirky’s seminal thinking-the-unthinkable think piece, Paul Graham argues that we never paid for content: In fact consumers never really were paying for content, and publishers weren’t really selling it either. If the content was what they were selling, why has the price of books […]
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Is journalism an industry?
Posted on 18. Sep, 2009 by Jeff Jarvis.
Journalism is a business – that is how it is going to sustain itself; that is a key precept of the New Business Models for News Project, funded by the Knight Foundation. But is it still an industry dominated by companies and employment? In the first part of his analysis of the news business, BusinessWeek […]
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The Survey Results
Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Matthew Sollars.
The foundation of the business models we built this summer was data culled from an online survey we conducted of web entrepreneurs. We asked online startups from across the country to give us a confidential glimpse at the nuts and bolts of their businesses. We sent invitations to hundreds of online news organizations, from hyperlocal […]
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NewBizNews in the Guardian
Posted on 13. Sep, 2009 by Jeff Jarvis.
In addition to the podcast (below), the New Business Models for News Project is the subject of my column in the Guardian’s media section. Here’s the full text: There is a future for news – a sustainable and once-again profitable future with the prospect of expanding and improving journalism by taking it deeper into our […]
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NewBizNews on the Guardian MediaTalkUSA podcast
Posted on 13. Sep, 2009 by Jeff Jarvis.
The latest edition of the Guardian MediaTalkUSA podcast, which I present, features the work of CUNY’s New Business Models for News Project and discussion with two folks who know hyperlocal: Deb Galant, founder of Baristanet, whom I crowned the queen of hyperlocal; and Jim Willse, editor of the Star-Ledger (who begins the podcast confessing that […]
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Chi-Town Daily News Aims to Profit
Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by Matthew Sollars.
The Chi-Town Daily News, the not-for-profit out of Chicago that launched four years ago, announced today that it will become a for-profit venture. Editor Geoff Dougherty announced the move in a post on the site, which has received funding from the Knight Foundation and a host of other supporters. Dougherty explains the move: We’ve concluded […]
