If the Grey Lady can do it…

Doom and Gloom. Gloom and Doom. Any way you cut it the Newspaper industry is in some dire straits. You’ve got calls from the muckity-mucks to change the roles of people, Journalists to Super-bloggers, massive layoffs and as I’ve said before an industry that seems to lack in creative thinking when it comes to enhancing their core product.. Well recently two papers have taken steps to monetize their products in 21st century manor and another has begun to embrace user engagement like never before. Maybe the wheels of innovation are beginning to churn and while things are certainly going to get worse before they get better it is possible that we are seeing the shape of things to come.

Recently the WahingtonPost.com has begun embedding Evri‘s content networking tool at the foot of it’s online articles. Evri is an online content to networking tool that allows readers to dig deeper into articles they have just read, exploring connections with other contextually relevant articles, blogs, images, videos, etc across the webisphere. Essentially Evriâ™s technology  is designed to enable content publishers to better engage their readers, allowing them to discover compelling content. The key here is creating a better user experience. The News Industry has the unique position of access and resources that most of those out there in the world wide web just can’t compete with so they need to find ways to enhance their core product and deliver a user experience that truly enhances their understanding of the world around them.

“How can we monetize what have right now?” a common question for sure, but lets be honest when your product offers a less than stellar user experience, you aren’t going to have any eyeballs to monetize. One answer the the news industry geniuses have bandied about is the whole pay-per-drink idea. Essentially a reader would have to pay a nominal fee, think $.99 to view an article. I mean this model has done gangbusters for the recording industry. Just look at your ipod and I’m sure the ratio of purchased to pirated music downloads leans heavily towards the purchased side of things…oh, wait, no. While itunes has had some success they’re dowload numbers are far outpaced by torrent and P2P downloads.

A little over a month ago the NY Times announced its Article Search API and just today the UK’s Guardian gave a pip-pip cheerio to the  pay-per-view model, launching its Open Platform. With two content-sharing services, Open Platform’s content API and the Data Store which will contain datasets, maintained  by Guardian editors, web developers will be able to create applications and services that pull from Guardian’s content. In return for unfettered access to the Guardian’s content, sites like The Cass Sculpture Foundation, Stamen and OpenStreetMap will carry Guardian advertisements. According to the Gaurdian’s article on the new venture the company is positioning its Open Platform as a commercial venture, requiring partners to carry its advertising as part of its terms and conditions’. In truth it seems as though the UK Newspaper is attempting create a new revenue stream in the form its very own ad network.

When we talk about the evolution of the news industry i think a lot of people envision a radicle shift but if I remember anything from 10th grade biology is that evolution takes a really long time and is built on incremental movements. The Fox News and CNNs are far cry from the days when it was declared ‘Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press’ but we must never forget what resides at the core of  the Fourth Estate; To provide society with pertinent information about the world around them so they can make informed decisions about their place within society. What the industry needs to focus on is enhancing their core product, creating new depths and transparencies in reporting and increase user engagement, otherwise the irrelevancy they fear may come to pass.

Navigating a new world needs a new map

Back in December the Bivings Group published a fantastic survey on “The Use of the Internet by American Newspapers”. The report surveyed the top 100 Newspapers, based on circulation, to determine how the industry was adapting to the shift from the printed word to the interactive delivery of news. T

On particular conclusion of the report struck a chord:

“…newspapers are trying to improve their web programs and experimenting with a variety of new features. However, having actually reviewed all these newspaper websites it is hard not to be left with the impression that the sites are being improved incrementally on the margins. Newspapers are focused on improving what they already have, when reinvention may be what is necessary in order for the industry to come out of the current crisis on the other side.” 

And there it is, the tires a spinning. The Newspaper industry knows it needs to change but for whatever reason they are having a difficult time affecting the change that will being about the revolution of thought that will allow them to maintain their deserved place at the forefront of the dissemination of information racket.

When you look at the changes that the Papers are making they all have to do with maintaining the a monopoly on their product, news/information content. In the survey we find that the 95% of the top 100 papers have RSS feeds, 92% offer social book marking, 93% provide their reporters with a blogging opportunities. On the flip side they have done little to enrich their user’s experience. 9% use a tagging taxonomy, 10% provide some form of social networking, 20% have Chat Options, and while 75% provide article comments most heavily regulate those comments.

The truth is the Newspaper industry is full of intelligent men and women and they are fully aware the print circulation has been on the downslope for the past fourteen years and that they need to embrace the world of social media but the question is can a mind steeped in the traditions of the Newspaper industry develop a strategy that can fully leverage everything the internet has to offer? Yes and No. The newspaper industry in just that an industry, made up of companies with share holders and boards full of directors, and what is needed right now is an entrepreneurial mindset. Through no fault of their own newspaper’s leadership navigating instincts are hard wired into traditional thoughts on circulation, advertising and distribution. They keep looking for ways to enhance their current offerings. They look to transfer the tangible success of print into the interactive world, often time simply mimicking the philosophies of USA Today in the interactive plane.

In adopting an entrepreneurial mindset communication companies will be able to rapidly, efficiently and cost effectively adapt to the needs of the new millennium information seeker. Newspapers will begin to understand that their success is dependent on the level of user engagement they offer their readers and the quality of thought in which they present content. Now is the time to become an aggregator of information that impacts your readers life, providing them with control over the information they receive and the opportunity to see, hear and read what they want, when they want, where they want.

Ultimately successful navigation of  the world of social media isn’t about social networking, blogging, or tweets its a mind set. Its about embracing the democratizing nature underlying the philosophies that lead to the rise of social media and allowing those ideas to permeate the entirety of your corporate culture.