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  • Special Report: Apps

    The app genie is out of the bottle. Local news organizations have moved past the stage of merely having an app and are moving on to the tricky challenge of monetizing those apps, and to do that, they will have to build on the momentum of local mobile search, unlock the power of geolocation and push for better app metrics. Part one of a two-part series. Tomorrow: Part two of the special report will focus on content. More | Add comment

  • Digital DMA: WVBT Raises Ante In Norfolk Digital Battle

    In a market that spreads across 10 cities and has a heavy military presence, two newspapers rule the digital roost, but the area’s TV stations, which expect to see a 65% rise in online revenue by 2015, are trying out new ways to bring more visitors to their websites. Among them is LIN TV-owned WVBT, which has launched an online-only show about the local entertainment scene. More | Add comment

  • AppCheck: Cocktail Compass Pours A Round Of Revenue

    The Portland Mercury's Cocktail Compass barfinder app is not only helping users find nearby watering holes and drink specials but it's also helping the alt weekly use its extensive trove of bar listings to generate new revenue streams. More | Add comment

  • Site Specific: Classifieds, Video Help Seven Days Thrive

    Burlington, Vt.-based alt weekly Seven Days built a decent online following on the strength of its quirky, personality-driven video series "Stuck in Vermont," and has turned the site into a money maker primarily from display ads and classifieds. More | Add comment

  • Exec. Session: Alt Weeklies Tap Roots To Drive Web Rev

    Alternative newsweeklies may have gotten off to a slow start on the digital front, but according to Tim Keck, publisher of Seattle's The Stranger and Portland, Ore.'s Mercury, such newspapers can draw on their iconoclastic voice, strong local entertainment coverage and close relationships with local businesses, to take the online lead in their communities and build their online revenue. More | Comments (1)

  • Agile Alt Media Adapting to Digital Challenges

    Like all media entities, alternative newsweeklies have taken their hits over the past few years but now they are taking advantage of their flexibility and experimenting with social media, video and blogs in an effort to catch up in the digital world, and in some markets, challenge the local daily for dominance. More | Add comment

  • Online Metrics Take A Step Closer To Standardization

    Plagued by inconsistent measurement systems, the industry is seeking to standardize online audience measurements. The IAB, ANA and 4As are working on the Making Measurement Make Sense initiative that could hellp boost digital and cross-platform ad growth. More | Add comment

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Special Reports

  • Apps: The app genie is out of the bottle. Local news organizations have moved past the stage of merely having an app and are moving on to the tricky challenge of monetizing those apps, and to do that, they will have to build on the momentum of local mobile search, unlock the power of geolocation and push for better app metrics.
  • Daily Deals: Local media companies are turning to white-label platform providers so that they can build their own brand in the marketplace and potentially make more money.

Industry Calendar

February 2012
Mo
We
27-29
SNPA, Inland Press Association, Local Media Association, and Texas Press Association.
Key Executives Mega-Conference
San Antonio, TX
March 2012
Tu
Th
13-15
American Cable Association
ACA’s 19th Annual Summit
Washington, D.C., DC
April 2012
Fr
13
National Association of Broadcasters
NABShow
Las Vegas, NV

Net Essentials

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Rdio Expands Music Streaming To Spain, Portugal
TechCrunch, Feb 22, 2012, 7:44 AM EST
Radio
Online Ads Are Top Category On Main Street
Radio-Info, Feb 21, 2012, 8:41 AM EST
Daniel Anstandig: "With so much market pressure on digital ad inventory, we’ll certainly see more innovation this year among companies that are looking to find an edge against their competitors. That 'pull forward' on the industry can only be positive." Link | Add comment
Special Report: Apps
Apps Under Gun In Hotly Competitive Market
NetNewsCheck, Feb 20, 2012, 5:15 PM EST
With consumers spoiled by choice, app providers are forced to innovate in order to keep pace. This year, the cutting edge lies in highly relevant content, social media integration, streaming media and smart aggregation. In part two of NetNewsCheck's Special Report on Apps, we turn to content. Yesterday's story examined the challenge of monetization. Full Story | Add comment
Youth Mold Future Of Web TV, Movies, Music
Associated Press, Feb 20, 2012, 2:06 PM EST
A recent Columbia University survey found that 70% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they had bought, copied or downloaded unauthorized music, TV shows or movies. With such an entrenched attitude, what can be done about widespread online piracy? Full Story | Add comment
Review
NPR Music App: What Radio Should Look Like
ReadWriteWeb, Feb 20, 2012, 8:16 AM EST
John Paul Titlow on NPR's new music app for the iPad: "The historically radio-centric news organization has wasted no time building a bridge to the future with its digital products, including a few rather impressive mobile applications." Link | Add comment
RAB: Radio Digital Rev Up 8% In Q4
NetNewsCheck, Feb 17, 2012, 12:26 PM EST
Digital ad revenue hit $185 million during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. For the year, digital ad revenue reached $709 million, an increase of 15% over 2010, making digital radio's fastest growing ad segment. Full Story | Add comment
NPR Launches Music App For The iPad
Fast Company, Feb 16, 2012, 8:25 AM EST
The public radio network's latest push into the digital sphere gives listeners access to streaming content, first-listen albums and live concerts. Link | Add comment
Garfield Is Wrong About Hyperlocal
Street Fight, Feb 15, 2012, 3:36 PM EST
Alex Salkever: "The models are still forming but I have no doubt that we will see a vibrant ecosystem of profitable hyperlocal publications. They will not be as profitable as the old quasi-monopolistic news system when a single daily drove the news cycle for an entire town. They will need to be driven by passion and commitment because the necessary dose of community participation can smell naked profiteering like a skunk trapped in an In-n-Out Burger bathroom." Link | Add comment
Bob Garfield: 'Future Isn't In Hyperlocal News'
Borrell Associates, Feb 15, 2012, 3:36 PM EST
Bob Garfield, host of NPR's "Media Matters": "The future isn't in hyperlocal news per se as a standalone operation. in my opinion, the answer is going to be in consolididation."
Link | Add comment
Report: HTC Working On Streaming Music Service
CNET, Feb 15, 2012, 8:28 AM EST
Arbitron To Measure Radio Streaming
MediaPost, Feb 15, 2012, 7:31 AM EST
Arbitron COO Sean Creamer said Tuesday that the company has developed a “high-level framework” for its product measuring digital radio streaming, although getting the industry to accept it remains a challenge. Link | Add comment
Radio
Online Mag Launches For Country Stations
Radio-Info, Feb 14, 2012, 8:01 AM EST
Digital Content Syndication is launching Living Country, an online magazine catering to the websites of country radio stations. Content for the effort is being offered free to broadcasters. Link | Add comment
Myspace Adds 1M Users, Tops Spotify With Songs
CNN, Feb 14, 2012, 7:28 AM EST
Pandora, Spotify Fight To Lead Online Music
Mashable, Feb 8, 2012, 8:33 AM EST
Pandora and Spotify are slugging it out over which online service is going to lead the way into the future of music streaming online and on mobile devices. Link | Add comment
Pew Research Center Study
Online Tops Papers As Political News Source
NetNewsCheck, Feb 8, 2012, 8:09 AM EST
Though television remained the go-to source for news about political campaigns, Internet edged up slightly, drawing a quarter of Americans and passing local newspapers for the first time as a source of campaign news, according to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Full Story | Add comment
Commentary
Why The Digtal Media Space Is Such A Mess
ClickZ, Feb 6, 2012, 2:05 PM EST
Adrian Tompsett: "Anyone in our space knows that the digital media ecosystem is a notable outlier. Instead of clean channels, what you see is a big, sloppy, overlapping mess of supplier channel competition — with many relationships described best by the word 'frenemy.'" Link | Add comment
Air Check by Diana Marszalek
Mike Cavender: A Strong Voice For RTDNA
TVNewsCheck, Feb 1, 2012, 8:12 AM EST
After a relatively quiet few years, the organization is hoping to raise its visibility with its new executive director, an experienced broadcast news veteran who can speak out on the First Amendment and other issues affecting electronic journalists and perhaps restore the annual conference to its former stature. Link | Add comment
Viacom CEO: Mob Mentality Doomed SOPA
All Things Digital, Jan 31, 2012, 2:58 PM EST
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said the “mob mentality” and “unfortunate rhetoric” around the protest of SOPA and PIPA earlier this month unnecessarily polarized the copyright debate between the technology and entertainment industries. Link | Add comment
Radio Streamer Slacker Expands Hispanic Offering
Radio-Info, Jan 31, 2012, 12:26 PM EST
IHeartRadio Launches 'HeartBeat' Newsletter
Radio-Info, Jan 31, 2012, 12:06 PM EST
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Today's Top Stories

Classifieds

The Market

Symbol Last Change (%)
Nasdaq 2935.45 -13.12 (-0.44%)
NYSE 8102.76 -12.67 (-0.16%)
S&P 500 1358.46 -3.75 (-0.28%)
Updated 02/22 3:27 ET Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
Source: Financial Content
Opinions
Features
Ideas
  • For Future Of News, Killer App Is Credibility

    Robert Hernandez, an assistant professor of professional practice in journalism at USC Annenberg: "With technology empowering everyone with the ability to create and to distribute, I predict — and wish — that in 2012 the new dominating factor will be Credibility. Actually, earned Credibility."

  • Layoffs, Cutbacks Lead To News Deserts

    Tom Stites: "Desertification is on the march, claiming more and more communities as newspapers continue to wither and few Web efforts manage to replace more than a fraction of the original reporting that newspapers have abandoned."

  • Moneyball: Fixing Newspaper Web Sales

    Mel Taylor: "Today's Newspaper industry is like that once great, but now struggling baseball team playing on a new, hyper-competitive field called the Internet. The veteran print team is stuck in a rut using the same, tired strategy that did serve them well for years, but no longer. Today, they get trounced by those with more money and muscle."

  • You Should Only Work This Hard If You Own The Business

    Howard Owens, digital media pioneer and author of HowardOwens.com, writes on Patch editors: "But here’s the thing about the work load for Patch editors: They’re not owners. They are expected to do all of the things they would have to do if they owned their own web sites, but merely in service of building wealth for AOL shareholders. Sure, work hard and keep your job is a nice benefit, and as a former corporate employee I think employees have an ethical obligation to help build shareholder value. That’s what they’re paid to do. ... However, if what we’re hearing is true about the Patch workload, I can only ask: Why are you doing it?"

  • The Metric For Missed Expectations

    Matthew Shanahan: "Here’s the problem: [Click-through rates don't] take into account audience engagement, not to mention the fact that other advertisers are competing for the click-through on the same page."

  • Debate Over Naming Commenters Rages On

    Eric Pfanner on real-name commenting policies: "The complications are enormous. Even self-contained Internet services like Facebook have had difficulty enforcing 'real name' systems. To achieve this on the borderless Internet would be impossible."

  • Communities Lose Out When Papers Close

    Author Ken Doctor on MediaNews Group's decision to consolidate its Bay Area newspapers: "It isn’t simply the sad loss of middle-class journalism jobs, as lamentable as that is, just as so many other good jobs that have disappeared in recent years. It’s a community loss, and points to the wider impact of news cuts on the society in which we live. That’s often forgotten as we focus too narrow on industry loss."

  • Why AOL Should Double Down On Patch

    Maxwell Wessel, member of Harvard Business School think tank Forum for Growth, on AOL's Patch: "Patch is AOL's last, best chance to build a growth engine. Investors shouldn't be calling for AOL to back off the business. They should be calling for AOL to double down ... by increasing commitment."

  • News Orgs Should Use Innovation As A Tool

    Frédéric Filloux: "News organizations ... should view innovation as their main weapon against direct competitors and emerging players such as tech startups."

  • View More Opinion & Commentary

     

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