Executive Session

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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

Executive Session: Tim Keck
Alt Weeklies Mine Roots To Drive Web Rev
NetNewsCheck, Jan 30, 2012, 6:42 AM EST
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. Full Story | Comments (1)
Executive Session with David Kansas
APM Aims For Digital Local News Lead
NetNewsCheck, Dec 12, 2011, 6:38 AM EST
Public radio has established a beachhead in local digital news, hoping to fill the territory left vacant, in part, by the shrinking of daily newspapers. David Kansas, COO and senior VP of American Public Media, spoke to NetNewsCheck about the company’s local journalism efforts, including its Public Insight Network and its recent merger with Spot.us, a crowd-funding hub for journalists. APM is also eyeing opportunities stemming from the expansion of digital media technology in the automobile. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with Robert Hernandez
Mining Social Media Engagement To The Max
NetNewsCheck, Nov 14, 2011, 6:31 AM EST
USC's Robert Hernandez has emerged as a social media guru, advising journalists and media companies on how to mine and manage this increasingly important audience engagement tool. Companies that ignore Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and other social media outlets face a dim future, he tells NetNewsCheck Editor Michael Depp in this interview. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with Doug Bennett
OC Register Takes Tablet App To TV Territory
NetNewsCheck, Oct 24, 2011, 6:34 AM EDT
Orange County Register has found that weekly, two-to-three minute TV-style "shows" and a highly interactive daily feature are key drivers to user engagment in its much-watched attempt to re-create the evening newspaper on a tablet app. Doug Bennett, president of Freedom Interactive, talks in-depth about the ambitious experiment with NetNewsCheck Editor Michael Depp.  Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with Cliff Richner
Community Key To Local Papers' Future
NetNewsCheck, Sep 26, 2011, 12:24 AM EDT
Cliff Richner, publisher for Richner Communications' stable of community newspapers in Long Island, N.Y., says he’s not worried about Patch and that deeply-forged community relationships and unique hyperlocal content will buy community papers a little more time to catch up to the digital learning curve. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session: John Humenik, SNA
For Suburban Papers, Digital All About Local
NetNewsCheck, Sep 15, 2011, 6:36 AM EDT
John Humenik, SNA chairman of the board, says that for the small daily and weekly newspapers that make up the trade association's members, local is key to their success: "The further you get away from the mission of local, you dilute the real advantage we have as an industry." Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with knowDigital's Sam Milkman
Local News Lost In Digital Translation
NetNewsCheck, Aug 15, 2011, 6:54 AM EDT
KnowDigital recently released its “Challenges in News Migration to Digital Media” report that found that traditional media was failing on multiple fronts when it comes local news online. Company president Sam Milkman discusses the advantages and disadvantages of staying tightly aligned with the legacy platform online, the difficulty of translating popular on-air talent into consistent online drivers and the need to build a site from the perspective of consumer needs first. Full Story | Comments (2)
Executive Session with NBC's Vivian Schiller
NBC And Digital: 'Relentless Experimentation'
NetNewsCheck, Aug 1, 2011, 8:04 AM EDT
NBC News recently tapped former NPR head Vivian Schiller as its new chief digital officer. Schiller, who also has a stint as general manager for NYTimes.com on her resume, is ready to push social media experimentation and rev up innovation in the news organization’s Web and mobile properties. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with John Paton
'Digital First' Strategy Reaps Gains For JRC
NetNewsCheck, Jun 27, 2011, 11:44 PM EDT
Since sinking into bankruptcy in 2009, the Journal Register Co. has been reinventing itself, emphasizing content and sales while shedding printing plants and above all, focusing on building online readership. This year, the company's cash flow margin sits in the mid-teens, on par with the best in the newspaper industry, according to company CEO John Paton. In this interview with NetNewsCheck.com's Carol Marie Cropper, Paton talks about how JRC uses crowd-sourcing to beef up its local content, while centralizing national news gathering in a project called Thunderdome. Full Story | Comments (1)
Executive Session with Bill Marrazzo
Could WHYY Redefine Public Media's Role?
NetNewsCheck, Jun 20, 2011, 6:48 AM EDT
An ambitious digital strategy at Philadelphia's leading public TV and radio outlet may just be the template for reinventing a challenged industry. Bill Marrazzo, the company’s president and CEO, explains how a multiplatform focus on news and civic dialogue is changing the way his staff works while mining a younger audience. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session With Google's Carter Maslan
Google Bets On Socially-Enhanced Search
NetNewsCheck, Jun 5, 2011, 10:25 PM EDT
Google has been working for four years to improve the experience of searching for local businesses and services online and on mobile devices. Convinced people's past preferences can be used to hone the process, the company has recently added the option for consumers to log into its search and social network. Carter Maslan, the executive in charge of all this effort, explains the strategy. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session With CMG's Gregg Lindahl
Cox Media Builds A Hothouse For Synergies
NetNewsCheck.com, May 31, 2011, 6:38 AM EDT
Cox Media Group has broken down the walls between its television, radio, newspaper and digital units as part of an overriding strategy to foster more innovation and synergize the company's media properties. Gregg Lindahl, CMG’s senior vice president of digital and strategy, reveals how the company culture, revenue opportunities and idea generation are changing as a result. Full Story | Comments (3)
Executive Session with Patch's Warren Webster
Patch Ramps Up Hyperlocal Gamble
NetNewsCheck, May 20, 2011, 3:50 PM EDT
The AOL-owned network of more than 800 sites upped the ante last week by adding thousands of unpaid bloggers to its editorial engine. Patch President Warren Webster says he's eyeing a near-future map of Patch communities with very few blank spaces in between. Claiming that early viewership metrics are exceeding expectations, Webster also says that mobile platforms will play a key role in Patch’s continued growth. Full Story | Add comment
Q&A with Robb Richter
LIN Eyeing More Sites, More Mobile, OTT
NetNewsCheck, Nov 9, 2010, 6:53 AM EST
LIN Me
dia, known as LIN Television until last April, has moved beyond its TV roots and is aggressively pursuing local online and mobile media. As part of its digital strategy, LIN operates three Web sites in many of its 17 markets: a news-and-information site, an entertainment news site and a political news site, and is planning to introduce a local culture and lifestyles site. Senior VP of new media Robb Richter says the proliferation of local sites and related mobile apps will continue, and the company soon will jump into over-the-top television. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Q&A With Vic Savelli
TheDailyYou: Radio's Personalized Portal
NetNewsCheck.com, Oct 21, 2010, 8:26 AM EDT
Most radio stations have not approached the Internet aggressively, but don't tell that to Archstream Media. The company has launched personalized portals under TheDailyYou.com brand in two radio markets. NetNewsCheck spoke with Archstream's Vic Savelli about the sites. Full Story | Comments (1)

Today's Top Stories

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The Market

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S&P 500 1358.56 -3.65 (-0.27%)
Updated 02/22 3:30p 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."

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