Newser.com Hopes to Tank Newspaper Business

Michael Wolff, founder of a news aggregation Web site called Newser.com, claimed his site was the fastest growing news site in the country on an April 2009 appearance on CNBC.  Research has shown a drop in the Web site’s visitors in mid to late 2009.

Newser.com will have less news or may even be news-less if Wolff sticks to his word.  On Wolff’s CNBC appearance discussing the future of new media, he bluntly said, “What I’m trying to say is, get it on the table, I’m trying to put newspapers out of business.”

Interesting enough, Wolff conflicts his own Web site. Newser.com has a section called “6 Myths about Newser.” Myth number three says, “Newser is putting newspapers out of business,” and goes on explaining how Newser.com is more appealing than a newspaper.

Being more appealing is one thing, but maybe Wolff should read his own Web site before appearing on television and making claims about putting news organizations out of business.

Newser.com takes long in-depth stories from places like the New York Times and summarizes their content into 65-120 words. “We will continue to summarize the best there is,” Wolff said.  Seems like a great idea, but if he wants to put newspapers out of business, how can he continue to summarize the best? Sure there are good blogs out there, but will Wolff start cutting down 200 word posts into 50 and still get the same message out?

I agree with Wolff when he says there is a new model replacing the old business, but he could be more tactful in the way he presents his business.  News aggregation has proven success for the Huffington Post and even hyperlocal outlets like the Windy Citizen because of good content and loyal viewers. The LA Times thinks Wolff has a ways to go with his readership numbers.

I don’t think newspapers will be obsolete anytime soon, so news aggregators will have them as a main source to pull stories from for a while, as well as hyperlocal blogs.

Chicago’s Northside is Home to a Series of Muggings

Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and its surrounding area were the targets of what seemed to be a never ending series of strong-armed robberies and beatings during the summer of 2009. Each mugging can be located on this map.

The Chicago Police Department said that five of the Lincoln Park muggings were linked, and police suspect that two other muggings were related, but haven’t confirmed. There was also an eighth attack that police have not released a statement about or whether it was related to the others.

All of the victims were robbed and some even brutally beaten. Two victims were even sent to the hospital after a group of four attackers beat them.  Seven of the victims were all men in their early to mid-20s, while the eighth victim’s information is still unknown.

Police continue to further investigate the muggings.

FLYP, a new way of storytelling

FLYPmedia.com takes storytelling to a different level; it’s extremely innovative, modern and interactive. The way this site is structured will be a model that many news outlets will want but probably can’t afford; if they do, they’ll adopt it slowly. The interactive options throughout the website are endless.  Each story contains flash, videos, narration, music and/or photos.

The opening page to the site is promising. It has one of the hottest debate issues on the front page, which grabs viewer’s attention to browse because it’s a topic that affects the entire nation, health care. The videos used in the health care story are “raw” video of real people sharing their experiences with insurance companies. The videos add an extra layer of reality and emotion by involving the public.

Even something as simple as the calendar has an interactive feature. It shows a photo and when you click on the photo, it flips over to show the date, event name and description. In addition, there is calm music playing which could potentially slow the viewer down to listen and interact simultaneously. Though the calendar hasn’t been recently updated, the concept is smart.

FLYP uses the slogan, “more than a magazine,” and they couldn’t have said it better.  Compared to a large magazine like Time, the websites are completely different. Time has a website like most news outlets with tabs to route you to “U.S., world, politics, arts, video, etc.”

One difference is that most news outlets do not use flash. You usually have to find and click on a video/audio (wait for an advertisement ) to start as opposed to FLYP, which once you click on a story, it usually plays music and narrates while showing a video or slide show.

Another difference is the length of stories. Most outlets shrink their content for internet use. FLYP has lengthy content but it’s hard to tell because they put it on multiple pages with so many interactive pieces to keep you on the site. FLYP’s concept is impressive, but don’t know how receptive or successful outlets will be with this new model.

That’s all for now…

Digital and fundamental skills journalists should have…

Today’s journalism world is continuously changing. New technology is always being introduced and improved and business models are flopping or restructuring.  To help keep publications in business, journalists require a few fundamental skills to be good reporters: solid writing/storytelling skills, adaptation skills, knowledge of new digital tools, good judgment and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

If I created a list of digital skills journalists should have, it would take a lot of space, so here are a few of the crucial skills one should have: Adobe PhotoShop, video editing software, slide show production, basic content management system knowledge, social media, and research skills.

After reading the Mashable article, there were a few points missing. A must-have trait for journalists is collaboration/team work skills. Many newsrooms converged, and reporters should be able to utilize each other’s skills and work with together in order to produce good content for multiple mediums. Journalists should also know how to use tools such as WebTrends to get data about their website visitors’ trends.

In addition to being “business savvy,” the explanation should go a little more in-depth by explaining how and where journalists fit into the revenue producing model of an existing or start-up company. It’s important to understand where the money comes from even if you’re not directly involved in that process (i.e. advertisements, grants, fundraising or subscriptions).  If you understand that, then you understand how you get paid.

Smart business models along with good talented content providers are the keys to keeping companies afloat. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many publications file for bankruptcy and die because they lacked smart business models and/or good content.  Journalists job is to provide good storytelling to our targeted audiences with the above mentioned skill sets.

That’s all for now…