Comments on: The future of media = many small pieces, loosely joined

By: Rosh

Rosh — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:01:55 +0000

I am happy to pay for currently free content, but not on the terms currently on offer. I – like many people – have ideas about what a gateway to News Journalism could look like. Why would any of us share the detail with you, for free.

By: Greg Satell

Greg Satell — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:41:26 +0000

Very true:-)

By: Liberal Viewer

Liberal Viewer — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:04:18 +0000

If FOX News is your model for successful media then we, as a culture, are screwed.

By: Citizen Journalist

Citizen Journalist — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:01:08 +0000

@dlwillson, you speak perfectly to the tunnel-vision that traditional media has with regards to distribution. The only way that your fairytale of “integrated retail” (a newspaper stand model) could work is if the old guard in the media are able to perverse the nature of the Internet and turn it into a consumption only channel. Your paradise is a continued monopoly on attention. You’re upset and I can understand that, you’re becoming irrelevant. :(

I believe that Mathew is correct in his statements.

Traditional media is dead, unless they can change the nature of the Internet to make it more like cable television. But that’s most likely not going to happen outside of an act of Congress (CISPA). The cost of broadcasting a lens is now pennies and anyone with a Smart Phone can do it.

There is no future for large newsrooms that egocentrically run around like soldiers of information. If you wanna hold onto that boyhood dream of yours, don’t ruin the fun for the adults.

By: dlwillson

dlwillson — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:44:34 +0000

Yes, and/but the implication is “the future of media = many small pieces, loosely joined. Silly and misguided. Like I said the little pieces loosely joined are only because we are in a paradigm shift and people don’t know how to join them. Those little pieces will be a very small (and $$$ challenged) in the model that is clearly filtering up within understanding of integrated retail …which has always been the final destination of the model. Just new media people in dissing traditional media did not understand entertainment revenue models missed that they have little understanding of “audiences” over users. Loosely -Ethos pathos logos drives purchase instigation or emotion, appetite, utility… the architecture that creates that is not sustainable in small pieces outside restaurants and location.

By: Mathew Ingram

Mathew Ingram — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:44:19 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Greg. I’m not saying the long tail is the only thing newspapers should focus on — I agree that you need both that and the short head. But I disagree that the long tail is always commoditized content. It certainly doesn’t have to be. In any case, my point is that media companies need to be thinking about all the parts of the value chain, not just one.

By: dlwillson

dlwillson — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:38:05 +0000

Yes. But/and the implication is… this is “the future of media = small pieces, loosely joined” – just silly.

By: Greg Satell

Greg Satell — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:34:02 +0000

Matthew,

There is a lot of truth here, but I think you’ve missed something. Your column is basically advocating a “long tail” approach, which is true enough. However, that type of content tends to be a commodity and is often centralized (i.e. Reuters and AP).

To make a great media product, you need a “short head” as well. So while start-up tend to monetize the long tail very well, they fall far short of the revenues and influence of a New York Times.

I encountered this problem when I was running a news brand a while back and it seemed to work (at least for us).

Greg

Where I think some of the major players miss out is monetizing the entire curve. How much commodity content can a Paul Krugman or David Brooks support? Probably quite a bit, but they tend to integrate other columns with columns rather than basic articles.

By: H Aetius

H Aetius — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:14:40 +0000

Ridiculous & faulty assertion- Fox News is making tons of money – “traditional” media revenues falling because ultra liberal 60s radicals now control “tradional” media and lack the professionalism to report without bias. So the 50% of Americans that are conservative, are turning off ABC CBS CNN and NBC – they watch FOX – great competitive advantage Fox has-they get 50% of media market without any competitors-while 85% of media market only going after 50% of “liberal” viewers-very crowded. MSM pull your heads out-lose the bias-the viewers & money will follow.

By: Mathew Ingram

Mathew Ingram — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:35:43 +0000

Thanks — but did you read the column? The “small pieces” reference isn’t to short clips, it is about seeing the business opportunities of digital media as being located in many different — and smaller — aspects of the business rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.