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February 2018 FOLLOW US ON
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A Section
Features
STORY TIME TimelineJS allows users to create an interactive timeline using Google spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 8
2018 Mega-Conference Set for Feb. 26-28 in San Diego
A GOOD CAUSE
Program will tackle fake news, audience engagement and big data . . . . . . . . p. 33
News Match 2017 raises funds for 110 nonprofit news organizations . . . . . p. 9
FROM DIGITAL TO PRINT
Turning Disruption into Dollars
13
Departments CRITICAL THINKING Do you think a FCC ruling lifting the ban on cross-ownership will hurt or help the newspaper industry? . . . . . . . . . p. 15
DATA PAGE Breaking news and push alerts, how often U.S. smartphone users click on mobile ads, news outlets and online traffic, bias in the media . . . . . . . . . p. 18
Worcester Sun launches a weekly print edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 12
Publishers continue to explore next-gen advertising to support digital ventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 34
GIVING BACK
Tapping into Tech
What are the pros and cons of ink optimization and control systems? p. 26
GateHouse Media launches its first ever national scholarship competition . p. 13
Five digital trends to watch in 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 42
NEWSPEOPLE
TEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION
Talk That Talk
New hires, promotions and relocations across the industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
News-O-Matic offers kids their own daily newspaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 14
Newspapers are given a new voice through virtual assistants . . . . . . . . p. 52
SHOPTALK
PRODUCTION
Facebook ad targeting is incredible— and scary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 66
PHOTO OF THE MONTH Eric Engman/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 16
Columns INDUSTRY INSIGHT
BUSINESS OF NEWS
DIGITAL PUBLISHING
News organizations need a holistic CRM for engaging, monetizing readers p. 20
Why newspapers should be more involved in their community as an active participant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 22
Washington Post video series documents ‘how to be a journalist’ . . . . . . . . . . p. 24
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editorial
Antisocial Media
A
few years ago, I wrote about the effects of digital fatigue and how newspapers and the power of print were poised for a revival (bit.ly/24j4l58). Sadly, not much has changed since we published that story in 2016. In fact, the digital sphere, particularly on social media platforms, has grown only more toxic and more chaotic. Between death threats in the comments section and Nazi accounts on Twitter (it also doesn’t help that on a daily basis our president sends out tweets that could result in nuclear war), I say it’s time to practice some self-care and learn to protect ourselves from what social media is feeding us. I did some digging around, and I wasn’t surprised to see many others felt the same way, including a couple of ex-Silicon Valley employees. Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook’s former vice president of user growth, recently said in a speech that social media is “ripping apart how the fabric of society works.” Palihapitiya, who worked at Facebook from 2007 and 2011, further elaborated there is “no civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth. And it’s not an American problem. This is not about Russian ads. This is a global problem.” In a Guardian article (bit.ly/2yMqOcH), former workers at Google, Twitter and Facebook expressed their regrets with helping people get addicted to the internet and social media. One of them is Tristan Harris, a former Google employee who is now executive director of Time Well Spent (an organization dedicated to “reversing the digital attention crisis and realigning technology with humanity’s best interests.”) “All of us are jacked into this system,” he said in the article. “All of our minds can be hijacked. Our choices are not as free as we think they are.” Whenever you log-in, an algorithm is collecting your data and tracking your digital movements in order to “better” your experience. Harris compared social media to a “slot machine,” where you’re always swiping down to see what comes next. But instead of 4 |
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CORPORATE OFFICES (949) 660-6150
“All of our minds can be hijacked. Our choices are not as free as we think they are.”
FAX (949) 660-6172 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeff Fleming jeff@editorandpublisher.com MANAGING EDITOR Nu Yang nu.yang@editorandpublisher.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Meredith Ewell ASSISTANT EDITOR Jesus Ruiz jesus@editorandpublisher.com
pulling down a lever to get your next fix, it’s your finger pulling down a phone screen to refresh a feed made up of status updates, ads and photos. We can all relate to that, can’t we? The first thing I reach for in the morning is my phone, where I check my news feeds and emails. When I have a few minutes of free time, I’m scrolling through Facebook and Instagram. While I was out with a friend recently, I left my phone in my car by accident. My missing phone felt like a phantom limb. I kept reaching inside my bag for it (to check on the time, to check us in at the restaurant we were at or to take a picture of my food), only to be reminded it physically wasn’t with me. When I returned to my car and reunited with my phone, it felt almost euphoric. And yes, I immediately opened up my notifications to see what I had missed. Others have compared social media to the tobacco industry. Others have called social media more addictive then cigarettes and alcohol. And studies have shown the more you use Facebook, the worse you feel, citing a decrease in mental health. So, what are the solutions? Unplugging seems to work for some people, but I don’t recommend going cold turkey. What if we decide to adjust our digital diet instead and change what we consume and digest? Silicon Valley seems to be going through a renaissance with tech companies acknowledging they do indeed play a big part with how consumers think and react. What if the news industry did the same kind of soul searching? Would they express regret like those who used to work in Silicon Valley or would they see this as an opportunity to bring their readers back to truth, facts and community?—NY
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comments ))) so aptly by Mr. Gallagher is the direction of this evolution and foretells what our society will become. It is so much more than the loss of newspapers and objective journalism, which are but the canary in the coal mine. The places the future is taking us are most worrisome. DON JAQUE
Submitted on editorandpublisher.com
Partnering with Tech Companies Can Be Beneficial
Don’t Get Distracted by Trump’s ‘Reality Show’
pay less attention to Trump’s “American Reality Show.”
While the free press and “We the People” find Trump and his outrageous antics disgusting and abhorrent, they provide such great comic material around the water cooler, cocktail parties and late night TV shows, that it’s hard to notice what is happening to our country and the American society. (“Critical Thinking: How Can the Media Regain Control From President Trump’s Diversions?” December 2017) Clearly, Trump has caused a decline in respect and confidence in our legal systems and the press. He has also diminished international respect and trust in America. He is purposefully dismantling the State Department, Environmental Protection Agency, health care, ethics, national parks and net neutrality (to name a few). His tax bill will exacerbate the existing divide between the rich and the lower middle class. These actions and their ramifications of have gone largely unnoticed amid squabbles with the NFL and personal attacks on U.S. citizens. But perhaps most concerning; “We the People” are overlooking the decline in common decency and respect for other Americas and confidence in our democratic systems. I say, “Enough!” We—the people of America—are better than that. The press should keep more focus on the things that matter, get it right, and
ROY TRUITT
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Submitted on editorandpublisher.com
Good, Local Journalism is Here to Stay We need to never, ever publish fake news. (“Critical Thinking: How Can the Media Regain Control From President Trump’s Diversions?” December 2017) We need to stop saying and believing that the newspaper industry is dying. Some corporate groups (in Canada, at least) are doing their best to kill newspapers, but good local newspapers will be here forever and in print (as well as digital) for a long time. KEN WADDELL
Submitted on editorandpublisher.com
Social Media Creates Worrisome Times I agree with everything said by Mr. Gallagher, but it is also what is not said that we need to pay attention to. (“Business of News: Pending Friend Request,” December 2017) People today are drawn to social media and away from newspapers because social media is more “fun,” offering instant and easy gratification. The process is a rapid and unstoppable transition. Everything that is not good about social media described
Tim, I appreciate the piece analyzing the discussion of newspapers working with tech organizations, but I disagree with your premise that all tech partnerships are the same. (“Business of News: Pending Friend Request,” December 2017) There are many successful partnerships between newspapers and tech companies that are not a one way street. I was also a little confused on the first point you made to support media companies from distancing themselves from social media by citing classifieds partnerships. I’ve worked as a digital sales specialist at the first partner of Monster.com, and I can say that is and has been a very successful partnership that’s helped to grow revenue. As a rep, it’s a much more powerful value prop to say that you sell multimedia solutions to problems not just the newspaper or your website. And it’s not about swapping dollars for dollars but selling a complete comprehensive ad package. Those tech partnerships that are structured to add to things that newspapers do well and grow new streams of revenue can be very successful when structured the right way. Not all partnerships are structured the same, but I do think it is useful for media companies to research all partnerships and work closely with their partners to align their goals together. ALEX
Submitted on editorandpublisher.com
Send us your comments nu.yang@editorandpublisher.com “Comments,” Editor & Publisher, 18475 Bandilier Circle, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 Please include your name, title, city and state, and email address. Letters may be edited for all the usual reasons.
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25Under352018.qxp_Layout 1 12/5/17 10:58 AM Page 1
UNDER
y r r a c l l i w o h W torch? the We’re Looking for the Future Generation of Newspaper Leaders Please help us by nominating a newsEditor & Publisher wants to recognize paper up-and-comer (or yourself) for the next generation of newspaper our “Publishing Leaders — 25 Under 35” publishing leaders, and we need your feature article that will appear in E&P’s help. We’re talking about people who are young, bright, and capable of editorandpublisher.com April issue. Nominations are open to men and tackling whatever the changing newspaper climate throws at them. People with business women age 35 years and younger. Candidates may acumen to lead through trying times and vision to be publishers, editors, advertising executives, circulaimplement bold, new strategies to move their newspa- tion managers or other newspaper leaders. Nominees must own or work for a print or online newspaper. pers forward.
Deadline: Feb. 12, 2018 • Nominate online: editorandpublisher.com/25under35
the A section VOLUME 151
FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2018
ISSUE 2
> Look Ahead
Story Time TimelineJS allows users to create an interactive timeline using Google spreadsheets By Sean Stroh
T
elling a story can come in many different shapes and forms. With TimelineJS, journalists can quickly create multi-media interactive timelines that engage readers in a visually appealing manner. The open-source tool was created by Zach Wise shortly after he began working at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism’s Knight Lab, which develops prototypes, projects and services to enhance quality journalism, storytelling and content on the internet. Wise based TimelineJS off his experience working with similar tools at the New York Times. “We had been building easy-to-use interactive tools for the newsroom for years,” he said. “These tools allowed anyone of any skill level to be able to tell stories in a number of forms.” In order to build a timeline, a reporter must complete the tool’s unique Google Spreadsheet template that allows users to drop dates, text and links to media into the appropriate columns. A user can embed content found on platforms like Twitter, Flickr, Google Maps and YouTube in a timeline simply by copying and pasting a standard URL. Once you’ve created a timeline, you can make changes by going back to your Google spreadsheet. “We get a lot of positive feedback and also receive contributions from all over the world which has allowed us to make it available in over 65 languages,” Wise said. “We also have a Zendesk ticket system that we try and help support users from.” Although he receives a number of requests for new features from users, Wise said most of them would make TimelineJS “too complex for 90 percent of people or make the user interface more confusing for the content viewer.” “We continue to try and keep the tool simple and help people make good design and editorial choices,” he added. According to Wise, he and his team have identified how their } Zach Wise, TimelineJS creator 8 |
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} TimelineJS allows users to build an interactive timeline.
users take advantage of the tool. “There are many “People who have an users, schools, students important story to tell and researchers who don’t want to tell a should be able to tell it in story but simply want the form that suits it best.” to visualize events over time and they like how we handle that,” he said. “They want to turn off the ‘story’ part. Since TimelineJS is a ‘story’ first design, it means we have a market for a viable spin-off tool.” TimelineJS has been used across the world by major news publications such as the Spokesman Review, CBS News, Le Monde, Al Jazeera America and CNN. The Denver Post also used the tool to create a timeline of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, which the paper included in its Pulitzer Prize-winning package. “I think we should continue to help democratize storytelling for everyone,” Wise said. “That means everyone from journalists to grade schoolers. People who have an important story to tell should be able to tell it in the form that suits it best.” For more information, visit timeline.knightlab.com. editorandpublisher.com
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the A section
A Good Cause News Match 2017 raises funds for 110 nonprofit news organizations
A
s economic challenges and political attacks shake the news industry, local and investigative nonprofits remain a crucial source of information at both the national and local level. For the second year in a row, News Match encouraged the public to ensure that valuable journalism doesn’t go away. The News Match 2017 campaign raised funds for 110 nonprofit news organizations across the country. At press time, newsrooms were still collecting donations so a final amount was not available. The initial matching fund was established with $1 million each from Democracy Fund, Knight Foundation and MacArthur Foundation. Several other groups also partnered with News Match, including The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation and the News Integrity Initiative. “Quality local news organizations are vital to building more informed and engaged communities and building trust in news. They provide information that is important to the community and advances engagement with local issues,” said Jennifer Preston, Knight Foundation vice president of journalism. “They hold city governments and other institutions accountable and provide local context to national issues. As reliable news sources, they can help
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guard against misinformation and rebuild the trust people have in journalism.” Preston noted that it was important to build upon the success of the Knight Foundation’s first News Match campaign in 2016, which helped 57 nonprofit news organizations raise more than $1.2 million. “Several of the participants reported significant jumps in their annual giving campaigns because } Josh Stearns, Democracy of NewsMatch and growth in their Fund associate director for community of supporters,” she the public square program said. “Based on this success, we realized that NewsMatch was a catalyst for further engagement and were thrilled to bring on new partners this year including Democracy Fund and MacArthur Foundation.” This year’s guidelines required that participants published original news reporting and be members of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). Donors were able to contribute during the final three months of } Jennifer Preston, Knight the year through the News Match Foundation vice president of website (newsmatch.org), which journalism allows people to search for journalism outlets by geography or topic. The site will continue to be maintained by INN year-round. Josh Stearns, associate director of the public square program at the Democracy Fund, said that he was impressed by the power of the News Match platform on #GivingNewsDay last November. Both journalists and celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Dana Bash, Katy Tur and many others tweeted about their support and donations to nonprofit news. At the same time, he acknowledged that the campaign was about much more than just raising money. “News Match has spent the last six months investing in training, coaching and tech investments to build the longterm sustainability of newsrooms,” he said. “That capacity building support will make the entire nonprofit news sector stronger for years to come.”–SS
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the A section > Wise Advice
Tornoe’s Corner
“What has been the most important business lesson you’ve learned in your nearly 25-year career, and what do you see in the future for newspaper advertising?” Always take care of your customer. Being honest and keeping your clients’ best interests at heart, truly goes a long way. It’s my duty to always be looking ahead and com} Debbie Keith ing up with new ideas for customers that will help to promote their business. Newspaper advertising can do just that. With the decline of many newspapers these days and the rise of news sources, it’s important to keep your customers happy. No other news source can deliver local news like a community newspaper can. We also no longer publish just newspapers, but now have websites, magazines, monthly products, non-subscriber papers, sticky notes and more. I foresee the future for newspaper advertising to continue to evolve and stay relevant with the times. Otherwise, you will get left behind.
Debbie Keith is the advertising director at The Galveston County (Texas) Daily News. She has worked at the paper since 1993. 10 |
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LEGAL BRIEFS Tallassee Democrat Sue City Over Deleted Texts
The Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat recently reported that it has sued the city of Tallahassee for failing to comply with state public records law. The lawsuit comes after the city failed to produce text messages between city manager Rick Fernandez and a local lobbyist requesting expensive tickets to a Florida State University football game last year. Fernandez deleted the text messages from his cell phone believing they weren’t public records and didn’t need to be saved. The lawsuit seeks to guarantee the future preservation of all text messages on the cell phones of employees and elected officials. The Democrat’s lawyers also want the city to pay the paper its attorney costs and fees related to this case.
Press Groups File Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit Against Government Agencies
According to the Washington Post, the Knight First Amendment Institute and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department and several intelligence agencies for details of government policies on surveillance of journalists. The groups also want to know how the Justice Department determines when it is appropriate to subpoena journalists to reveal confidential sources. In August, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said his department was “reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas.” However, Sessions has yet to clarify how the guidelines might have changed. Prior to the lawsuit, both organizations filed unfulfilled public records requests to the Justice Department, CIA, NSA and Office of the Director of the National Intelligence. All four agencies are named in the suit. editorandpublisher.com
1/18/18 12:34 PM
the A section the garage with a small step ladder, drill motor and remote controlled toy car remote,” King said. “It would only go forward and backwards but we learned a lot and kept advancing and adding features.” DuCille relies on a sonar tracking system to follow a reporter through a scene which allows a journalist to give a live tour or lead the viewer through an experience. “It can also be controlled by tablet and we call this ‘land drone’ mode,” King said. “For media productions, a photographer can program it to drive a specific speed and distance via the digital joystick.” King said they are currently working with a local broadcaster and national publication to find the right story to use the robot. —SS
OF THE MONTH The emergence of robot technology doesn’t necessarily spell doom for humans working in the journalism industry. For Steven King, assistant professor of interactive and multimedia journalism at the University of North Carolina, it provides an opportunity to help reporters do their job better. King has built a remote-controlled robot called DuCille that follows reporters and captures high quality 360-degree video from every angle. “My dad and I built the first prototype in
Steven King and his robot “DuCille”
From the Archive
A NEW OLD NAME Anchorage Daily News Alaska Dispatch News Anchorage Daily News
Looking over the first edition of the San Diego Evening Tribune format changes are (from left to right): Chuck Buck, Knoth and Meads account executive; Norman F. Foster, agency senior vice president; Dick Meads, agency principal; Larry Lusitana, assistant managing editor; Fred Kinne, editor; Leo Bowler, managing editor; and Richard Tullar, advertising director for the Union-Tribune publishing company. The changes were part of a marketing campaign using television, radio and outdoor advertising to attract a young adult audience. This photo originally appeared in the May 21, 1977 issue of E&P. editorandpublisher.com
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After more than three years of publishing under the title Alaska Dispatch News, the state’s largest newspaper has returned to its original name, the Anchorage Daily News (first published in 1946), after being acquired by the Binkley group.
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the A section
From Digital to Print Worcester Sun launches a weekly print edition
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ore than two years after launching as a hyperlocal news site, the Worcester Sun in Massachusetts has begun publishing a weekly Saturday print edition to coincide with its digital content. The debut issue hit newsstands on Dec. 9. According to president and co-founder Mark Henderson, each edition includes 16 full-color broadsheet pages but will increase as advertiser demand or subscriptions grow. The paper is currently available for home delivery and retail purchase in Worcester and a number of nearby towns. The $2 per week subscription cost of the print version comes with digital access to stories posted online every Wednesday and Sunday. “The most important thing to know is our strategy, which is to build a media company that supports the creation of journalism,” Henderson said. “If you look at it in this way, you realize digital and print are both monetizable platforms for the delivery of that journalism, and print, despite the long-term trends, is economically still a very strong platform if you execute it well, maintain low costs and have reasonable expectations of return.” The Sun is run entirely by Henderson and fellow co-founder and editor Fred Hurlbrink Jr. Ultimately, the pair intends on hiring more staff as print hits the market and becomes established. In addition to offering a new medium for their readers, the print edition also provides an opportunity to generate revenue through advertisements. The Sun’s banner ad-free website sits behind a paywall that requires a membership priced at $2 per week. However, Henderson acknowledged that sponsored posts will eventually be added to the site in order to capture some of the ad business going to Facebook. The sponsored posts will equate to an online classified section, Henderson said. “Our data strongly suggests there’s a market for print in our area, especially if we can leverage our low cost structure to provide value to advertisers and readers alike. That part is key,” he said. “We’re approaching print advertising with an eye toward having the price be competitive with digital.” Henderson said the biggest lesson they’ve learned running a hyperlocal news site has been the power of email newsletters. “This has been a product that has exceeded expectations. Our open rate versus subscriber rate is and has been about 12 to 1, meaning there’s an audience we consis Mark Henderson, Worcester tently reach, engage and monetize Sun president and co-founder
on the scene 40 hours with worcester’s first (and foremost) difference makers
al so
inside
Ray Mariano on why Worcester is always home A6 Mass Foodies wraps up November B2 Worcester-themed crossword A8
story, page a4 | photos By joe santa maria
Gov. Karyn Polito: The Shrewsbury Republican offers her A7 Lt. thoughts on opioid abuse and prevention in a Sun exclusive.
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The Worcester Sun’s first print issue hit newsstands on Dec. 9, 2017.
via email ads that hasn’t yet paid,” he said. “One of the things we hope our print product allows us to achieve is a better understanding of how we can convert more of those email subscribers to subscribers of our product.”—SS editorandpublisher.com
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the A section
Giving Back GateHouse Media launches its first ever national scholarship competition
G
ateHouse Media has launched its first ever national scholarship competition for college-bound students. In order
to participate, students must select one of four words—impact, trusted, community or local—and submit an essay of up to 500 words describing what the word means to them. The competition will award five $1,000 scholarships and one $3,000 grand prize scholarship. According to Alain Begun, vice president of marketing, the contest grew out of the company’s national branding campaign which focuses on the role that GateHouse journalists play and the service they provide in local markets across the country. “Each ad in that campaign revolves around one of the key words that describe
what we do and how we feel about our role in the community. We thought it would be a great way to give back to students in the communities we serve by creating a scholarship competition,” he said. “And tying it into our brand campaign was a way to hear from students about what those words— which are so important to our journalists— mean to them. “ Begun said the company has also started a similar scholarship essay competition for GateHouse employees and their families offering $5,000 in scholarships. Deadline for essay submissions is Feb. 16. For more information, visit GateHouseScholarship.com.–SS
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the A section
Teaching the Next Generation News-O-Matic offers kids their own daily newspaper
} News-O-Matic has been downloaded by more than 4 million kids in 140 different countries.
W
hen Russell Kahn made the move back into journalism in 2012, he did so with one particular goal in mind—to create America’s first daily newspaper for children. With the help of his business partner, Marc-Henri Magdelenat, the pair spent a year designing an app (newsomatic.org) intended to not only capture the attention of young students, but encourage them to read the news on a consistent basis. Today, the News-O-Matic app has achieved both of those goals, having been downloaded by more than 4 million kids from 140 different countries. In addition, more than 1,000 U.S. schools have integrated News-O-Matic’s news texts into their non-fiction literacy curriculum. “Anyone who thinks kids don’t have interest in the news simply doesn’t know how to talk to them. If they’ve shown disinterest, it’s our fault for not providing a resource that’s suited for them,” Kahn said. “Our readers prove day in and day out that they genuinely want to know what’s happening in the world.” The News-O-Matic editorial team } Russell Kahn, News-O-Matic produces five articles from scratch editor-in-chief
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every weekday, each one offered at multiple reading levels from kindergarten through eighth grade. The articles cover a wide range of topics, from space science and endangered species to football and fashion. Kids also have the ability to share their thoughts, ask a question to the editor or express their emotions visually by creating a drawing. Every issue features at least 10 drawings and answers to questions that have been submitted by readers. So far, the team has received about 1 million comments and drawings from children. Due to the success of News-O-Matic, Kahn said the company has now become profitable. “A digital newspaper that has never collected a penny of advertising has found a way to make money through subscriptions alone,” Kahn said. “And we showed that there is a market for kid’s daily newspaper—a real newspaper with real news.” In 2016, News-O-Matic established relationships with a pair of French daily papers, the Ouest France and Le Progrès. Both use the company’s proprietary platform to deliver their content for a youth audience. Magdelenat, who is from Paris, helped bring the partnership together. Ultimately, Kahn said he believes that getting the younger generation interested in the news begins in the classroom. “The trick is getting our schools to see that reading the news is not optional. It’s a requirement,” he said. “I think any kid who grows up reading the news on a daily basis will be more informed, a more critical thinker, and more empowered to affect change.” –SS editorandpublisher.com
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critical thinking
If you have a question you would like to see addressed, please send it to jesus@editorandpublisher.com.
J-school students and industry vets tackle the tough questions
“The FCC recently lifted its ban on cross-ownership, arguing that for newspapers to continue to play an important role in civic engagement, they need more access to capital. Do you think this ruling will hurt or help the newspaper industry?”
A:
In rationalizing its recent decision to eliminate the ban on cross-ownership, the Federal Communications Commission argued lifting the regulation would help the financial state of the struggling newspaper industry. However, removing the ban on cross-ownership will not Evan Popp, 21 rehabilitate the newspaper industry senior, Ithaca College (Ithaca, N.Y.) and will likely lead to a reduction in the quality of news coverage and the Popp is an editor at Buzzsaw, public’s trust in papers. a student-run magazine at Ithaca College, and a media According to Free Press, a media advocacy organization, cross-ownership columnist for the school newspaper, The Ithacan. of newspapers and TV stations leads to a reduction in the reporting of “hard news.” And at a time when newspapers are competing with other news sources for eyeballs, it’s essential that papers put out a wide array of news that is important to the community in order to attract readership and, therefore, revenue. It’s clear, though, that while cross-ownership would provide additional assets for wealthy corporations, it would hurt the central mission of newspapers: providing the public with the news it needs to know. In addition, cross-ownership could further erode trust in newspapers. Historically, a large beneficiary of cross-ownership has been Rupert Murdoch, who circumvented the ban on such ownership by getting a waiver from the FCC. Murdoch has since been discredited after News of the World, which he owned, was caught hacking the phones of famous people. Nowadays, a company that stands to benefit from cross-ownership is the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which will likely be able to move forward in acquiring Tribune Media in a deal that would give Sinclair control of TV stations reaching 72 percent of Americans. It has been well-documented, however, that Sinclair often injects propagandistic right-wing opinion into its news coverage. Murdoch and Sinclair are important examples for the newspaper industry to think about when it comes to cross-ownership. Powerful corporations like Sinclair and influential individuals like Murdoch with harmful political agendas and a larger desire to make a profit than to help inform the public are the most likely to have the resources needed to take advantage of cross-ownership. And at a time when the public’s trust in newspapers is low, publications must do everything they can to inspire confidence. But this can’t be accomplished if the lack of a cross-ownership ban allows an increasing number of papers to be gobbled up by those who twist the news for their own gain. editorandpublisher.com
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A:
When I was a cub reporter at the Topeka (Kan.) CapitalJournal in 1982, the Stauffer family owned just about every form of communication in my hometown. Along with the newspaper, Stauffer Communications owned WIBW-TV, WIBW-FM and WIBW-AM, the biggest TV and radio staChris Cobler, 57 editor and vice president tions in the city and region. The company of content, Victoria (Texas) was grandfathered in to be exempt from Advocate Federal Communication Commission’s Cobler was the first Donald cross-ownership rules. W. Reynolds Nieman FelThis luxury had its good and bad points. low in community journalWe had enough journalists in the newsism at Harvard University. room to go almost anywhere our ambition reached. Even this tremendous competitive advantage didn’t last. In 1995, Stauffer sold to Morris Communications, a larger privately owned company. Earlier this year, Morris was swallowed up by publicly traded newspaper behemoth GateHouse Media. Of course, the world changed between 1982 and 2017. Our competition at the Victoria Advocate, the family-owned newspaper where I have worked for the past decade, is not the small-market TV station across town. It’s Google and Facebook. The digital monsters have devoured our advertising dollars while providing zero local journalism for our community. Google and Facebook don’t hold the mayor and other public officials accountable. They’re nowhere to be found at city council or school board meetings. They don’t sponsor the lighted Christmas parade or community theater performances. Allowing newspapers to own broadcast stations, or vice-versa, might level the playing field a tad, but the move comes about 20 years too late. For a brief moment after the stock market crash of 2008, it appeared more newspapers might return to local ownership as singledigit profit margins held little appeal for Wall Street. Instead, further consolidation followed as publicly traded newspaper companies raced to cut even deeper. I am profoundly grateful to work for family owners who care deeply about their community, but I know they are an endangered species. If the FCC and Congress truly wanted to ensure a multitude of voices across America, they would focus on how to promote local media ownership. They would break up Google and Facebook’s duopoly on digital advertising. I tell our readers that their locally owned newspaper is their Advocate. Sadly, there are far too few advocates for local journalism in Congress or corporations. FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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PULLING YOUR WEIGHT Eric Engman/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner “You gotta do it like a dog does it,” Stephen Pepe said while straining to keep the truck rolling while pulling a Ford F-250 Super Duty during an Interior Freight Dog Association demonstration at the Tanana Valley State Fair Aug. 10, 2017 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Pepe, a seasonal employee from New York weighing 170 pounds and wearing sandals, successfully completed the pull of the truck, which was loaded with a pallet of sand bags and weighed 10,780 pounds.
Send us your photos! E&P welcomes reader submissions for our Photo of the Month. jesus@editorandpublisher.com.
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photo of the month
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data page Breaking News and Push Alerts Based on a study analyzing 2,577 push alerts—2,085 from 31 iOS apps and 492 from 14 Apple News. Alerts were collected over a three-week period between June 19 and July 9, 2017 using an iPhone 6 running iOS 10.
Headline 520 alerts
Additional context 1,152 alerts
Teaser 235 alerts
25%
55%
Style of Push Alerts
Round up 167 alerts
11% 8%
Other 11 alerts
1%
Proportion of Regional vs. Non-Regional Stories Pushed by Local News Based on 303 total alerts sent by eight regional outlets Regional
Non-Regional Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chicago Tribune
82%
18%
94%
6%
New York Daily News
Dallas Morning News
87%
13%
69%
31%
Philly.com
Houston Chronicle
92%
8%
100% Seattle Times
Los Angeles Times
62%
38%
92%
8%
Source: Tow Center for Digital Journalism and the Guardian U.S. Mobile Lab report, November 2017
How Often U.S. Smartphone Users Intentionally Click on Mobile Ads Based on a survey of 1,106 U.S. smartphone users ages 18-73
2% Very Often
17%
8%
18%
6%
Often
Rarely Never
42%
Age 18-34
24%
23%
28%
31%
Sometimes
1% 3%
2%
46%
Age 35-54
Age 55-73
49% Source: emarketer.com; Button and App Annie, “2017 Index: The Mobile Consumer,” Nov. 16, 2017
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News Outlets and Online Traffic Social
Direct
Search
Other
BuzzFeed
42%
22%
25.4%
10.6%
Washington Post
15.8%
39%
29.5%
15.7%
New York Times
12.9%
27%
41.1%
19%
CNN
6.5%
58.4%
6.1%
57%
24%
11.1%
Fox News
22%
14.9%
Source: Recode; SimilarWeb, data for last 18 months in the U.S.
Bias in the Media Based on 1,657 intelligible responses. Respondents were asked, “You said that you disagree that the news media does a good job in helping me distinguish fact from fiction. Why is that?” Bias (all types)
77%
Political Bias
74%
34%
71%
Commercial Bias
67%
67%
63%
57%
56%
51%
33% 20% 9%
4% U.S.
U.K.
30%
26% 9%
France
12%
Spain
12% 12%
Greece
18%
23% 13%
Ireland
13%
Denmark
18%
13%
9% Australia
Germany
Source: “Bias, Bullshit and Lies: Audience Perspectives on Low Trust in the Media,” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, November 2017
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industry insight
Reader Revenue News organizations need a holistic CRM for engaging, monetizing readers By Matt DeRienzo
A
mantra of this column for the past two years has been the need for news organizations to develop deeper knowledge of, respect for and engagement with readers. It’s the key to building and retaining a loyal audience in an environment where information sources are numerous, and social platforms and search bypass brands. And, of course, it’s also the key to the great shift toward reader revenue that most media companies are trying to make this year. That starts with a mindset change: Designing websites and mobile sites with the experience of readers prioritized over intrusive ad formats or tactics designed for a short-term windfall. Building trust through more transparency about both your 20 |
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journalism and your business practices. Finding out more about who your readers are and what they care about. Actually listen to readers’ feedback (even if, maybe especially if, it’s angry), and actually respond to questions. But we should also be asking what technology should exist to aid in this shift. Customer relationship management software is essential to advertising sales. If reader revenue is just as important, and the base of customers and what we ask from them far more complex, why don’t we have a CRM for readers? Of course, there are some sophisticated platforms out there for driving, managing and encouraging renewal of digital subscriptions. But the decision to subscribe or
become a voluntary paid member of a news organization is not a simple transaction in which readers need a product and pay for it. If readers don’t need the product, what gets them to pay? They’ll subscribe or become a member if they have an affinity for your brand, if they trust you, if they have an active relationship with your organization. A reader CRM could include subscription or membership information, of course. But also every touch point that could move nonsubscribers into that category: Data from newsletter subscriptions, open rates and click-throughs. Story commenting statistics, and depending on the sophistication of what you use for that platform, how trusted they are by fellow commenters. Record of attendance at events sponsored by the news editorandpublisher.com
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organization. E-commerce purchases. Taken further, you could ask your most engaged readers to voluntarily provide demographic information and tell you what topics they’re most passionate about. Send them a tote bag in exchange for their time and information, or the chance to win concert tickets. To really be successful, don’t limit the reader CRM to a revenue-side only or newsroom-side only endeavor. News organizations must cooperate across those lines if reader revenue is going to replace advertising. They’ve already been in a position of needing to cooperate as advertising revenue has shifted to sponsored content and native advertising that’s blurred the lines. An editor committed to involving readers in every step of the process of local journalism might use such a CRM to track people who’ve contributed information or quotes for news stories, and note which readers have helpfully pointed out errors in stories,
building a database of sources and fact checkers on particular topics. A publisher looking to diversify revenue could use a robust reader CRM to bring casual readers up the ladder of engagement to eventually become paying subscribers or members. It could be used to launch or grow an events business—providing a targeted invitee list of readers who are engaged in a particular topic or in general with your organization or local issues. It could be used to launch new products—targeted podcasts or newsletters, for example—or to push e-commerce sales. And at the end of the day, more sophisticated knowledge of your readers could help restore some of the advertising revenue you’re trying to replace. It’s a powerful thing to bring to advertising clients. There are obvious questions about whether some components of a reader CRM suggested here are scalable. It would
require a major commitment and some degree of manual work to maintain. But you’d have to generate millions of pageviews to get the digital ad revenue equivalent of signing up a single subscriber or member who will support you for years. Those supporters will be won over with some degree of individual attention. We’ve got to start building the technology to support that effort. ď Ž
Matt DeRienzo is executive director of LION Publishers, an organization that supports local independent online news publishers from across the country. He is a longtime former newspaper reporter, editor, publisher and corporate director of news.
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Gary Greene
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business of news
Unbroken Bond Why newspapers should be more involved in their community as an active participant By Tim Gallagher
J
ulius Gius built his capital as an editor not on muckraking coverage or scathing editorials, but as the trusted conscience of his community who put the good of everyone ahead of any one individual. I had been on the job as his replacement in Ventura County, Calif., for about 20 minutes when someone told me the story of how two large non-profits were at war in the community—a battle that would likely mean the end of both organizations. Julius’ editorials and diplomacy got the two groups to drop their swords and combine into one group that thrives to this day. He saved the Salvation Army during a year when they could not ring bells in front 22 |
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of department stores because of a pending lawsuit, and started a “Bellringer” campaign in the newspaper, another tradition that survives to this day. And there were more. He created an indelible bond between news institution and community. Too many newspapers these days have backed away from creating that bond. That’s wrong. In an age of fractured media and an economic model that relies on subscriptions, it is more important than ever to give people a reason to trust you. Some will argue that our role is an observer. That we report news, we don’t make it. Let’s be clear. I am not suggesting the newspaper convene the search for the next
city manager or school superintendent. Many issues require our detachment and even-handed reporting. But our communities need more than an official transcript of local government. At times, they need a firm, but benevolent friend. This suggestion coming from a retired editor and publisher might seem unrealistic. I don’t have to deal with declining circulation and ad revenue, with demands from corporate lords to do more with less. I would suggest, however, that creating ties to the community does not have to cost a lot of money. The good news is that in every community there are non-profit organizations editorandpublisher.com
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with deep ties in your community that can help. In fact, now that I am “on the other side,” I realize just how crucial a partnership with the local newspaper can be to the success of a non-profit. (This is not to suggest that non-profits should escape scrutiny from your reporting either.) For example, newspapers are often criticized for creating a negative impression of young people and ethnic minorities. There are dozens of ways to honor the young people in the community—from outstanding scholars to stand-out athletes—who can be honored in pages and ceremonies sponsored by the newspaper. Outstanding teachers ought to be in a Hall of Fame created by your newspaper. This does not apply only to “soft news.” Your colleagues have put such an inscrutable spotlight on community issues such as drunk driving or gang violence that community members have organized marches to the state capitol. That is how you help your community—by highlighting its flaws and helping fix them. During disasters, newspapers can unite communities. When fires raged through Northern California’s wine country and thousands packed shelters where there was little electricity and sketchy Internet connections, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat delivered 3,000 papers a day for free to those in the shelters. The Los Angeles Times recently profiled how that relatively small staff jumped into coverage and help within its community because this was their community. The newspaper also started a fund (with complete transparency on receipts and expenditures) that has raised $26.8 million that goes directly to fire victims. They built trust. And if you should need help from your community in determining what is really important to them, new technology such as GroundSource, the brainchild of Andrew Haeg , helps you listen to your community. Writing for the Nieman Lab, Haeg bemoaned the journalists’ tendency to remain aloof from the people who live where they live. Increasingly, he writes, consumers “expect personalization and localization in all of their online commerce.” When it comes to local newspapers, they expect an institution that knows their community down to its neighborhoods and its history. The newspaper model is moving slowly away from massive advertising dollars and toward a subscription model. Those consumers expect to build a trust with those journalists—a trust embellished by the belief that “those people really know this community and they care.”
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Tim Gallagher is president of The 20/20 Network, a public relations and strategic communications firm. He is a former Pulitzer Prize-winning editor and publisher at The Albuquerque Tribune and the Ventura County Star newspapers. Reach him at tim@the2020network.com.
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digital publishing
Behind the Bylines Washington Post video series documents ‘how to be a journalist’ By Rob Tornoe
R
ussian hackers. Partisan political posts masquerading as news content. Cries of “fake news” and “media bias” from politicians and their supporters who don’t like the coverage they’re receiving. It seems like these days there’s a war on objective truth, and reporters and the media companies they work for are more 24 |
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often than not finding themselves dead center in the crosshairs. It doesn’t help on social media platforms like Facebook, where a millions of Americans read the news, credible reporting often lives sideby-side with dubiously-sourced drivel and outright false information. As a result, it can often be a struggle to discern the two, especially for younger
readers that didn’t grow up trusting a local newspaper or a strong news brand, and often consume little more than the headline presented on social media. It isn’t just a reader-centric problem; Pew Research Center recently found that 48 percent of the links shared by members of Congress since January 2015 were to partisan outlets. So, how do media companies convince readers being drowned by a firehose of content that the journalism their newsroom is producing is trustworthy and non-partisan? That’s part of problem Michelle Jaconi is trying to tackle over at the Washington Post. As the executive producer for the Post’s video division, Jaconi decided one way to confront the issue of trust was to pull back the curtain and launch a new video series aimed at putting the Post’s reporters in the spotlight. The series, which is hosted by Post on-air reporter Libby Casey, acts as a “how to” of journalism, using reporters from the newsroom to discuss everything from how to file a FOIA request to how to use an anonymous source. The videos, which will initially be published weekly before moving to a couple a month, are posted both on the Washington Post website as well as on a curated playlist on YouTube, where the “how to” genre is particularly popular. “There’s so much curiosity about what is real journalism, and our goal is to show rather than tell,” Jaconi said. “With the next generation on Instagram and Snapchat, we can really promote transparency and our reporting by adding a visual component like this.” The first video of the series took partisan attacks against journalism head-on. After Post investigative reporter Beth Reinhard and national enterprise reporter Stephanie McCrummen first reported on several women making allegations against thenAlabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, their reporting was attacked by Moore’s supporters who criticized the paper for using anonymous sources. So, Casey spoke with both Reinhard and McCrummen to discuss the nuts and bolts of their reporting on Moore—everyeditorandpublisher.com
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thing from how they vetted information to how they got people to move from being background sources of information to agreeing to go on the record. Not only does the video offer insight into how the story developed, it humanizes both reporters and their approach to gathering news, with McCrummen admitting at one point, “I like to treat someone the way I would like to be treated.” It turns out seeing both Reinhard and McCrummen as real people with honest motivations cuts through the false narrative often used to discredit journalism that reporters are biased or have an axe to grind. McCrummen even mentions that she was born in Alabama and was the granddaughter of a southern Baptist preacher, something a reader might not expect to hear from a reporter working in a major metropolitan newspaper. It’s also refreshing to see the highlight being placed on reporters doing things the right way, instead of letting media errors and bad behavior on the part of a handful of deceitful journalists dominate the headlines. “I think in an age of visual communication, I really believe in a visual byline,” Jaconi said. “It just adds to our transparency as an organization that you can look our reporters in the eye and listen to specifically what they did.” The video series actually works on multiple levels for the Post. Not only does it act as a window into its newsroom and help put a public face on reporters often stuck behind a byline, it also works as an educational tool for other journalists out there looking to hone their skills in areas of journalism they might not have had experience. For the second video in the series, Post investigative reporter Kimbriell Kelly and database editor Steven Rich, both Pulitzer Prize winners, detail how they use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gather and disseminate information from the government. Rich, sporting a FOIA t-shirt, reveals he filed about 1,500 public records request last year alone, and goes through sending an actual request (for the FBI’s records on actress Carrie Fisher) as editorandpublisher.com
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the camera rolls. “I know that they’ll be a lot of journalists and people at home that will learn from that episode on how to do something that they might not even know it’s in their right to do,” Jaconi said. Of course, the Post’s staffing is the envy of most news organizations. How do smaller media companies with a fraction of the Post’s resources educate their readers about who they are, what they do, and establish the trust that has eroded away over time thanks to attacks against the media? “I think any way you can offer a window into your newsroom and put a human face on a subject or a reporter, I think it helps so much,” Jaconi said. The good news for smaller newsrooms is social media platforms are designed for this very thing. Whether it’s a quick Facebook Live video from within the newsroom or just a short video shared on Instagram or Snapchat, the opportunities are there for you to get your reporters out from behind their desk and allow them to connect directly with your readers to help create a more impactful relationship. Jaconi’s suggestion for smaller outlets is even simpler. If your newsroom is working on a project that is unique and cool, or if somebody you work with is doing something better than anyone you’ve ever worked with, you should be asking yourself if there is any way you can show that to your audience. “The way (Post investigative reporter) Scott Higham worked sources is so much fun,” Jaconi said. “Not everybody can sit next to Scott, but that doesn’t mean I can’t reveal a little bit of his excellence in a fun way that readers might respond to.”
Rob Tornoe is a cartoonist and columnist for Editor and Publisher, where he writes about trends in digital media. He is also a digital editor for Philly.com. Reach him at robtornoe@gmail.com.
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production
ď ˝ Setting ink keys by hand requires the operator to move from fountain to fountain/unit to unit in order to manually adjust keys. This takes time and effort that is better spent focusing on other aspects of the run.
Photos courtesy of Jerry Simpkins
BY JERRY SIMPKINS
IMPROVING INK QUALITY AND KEEPING PRINT COSTS DOWN What are the pros and cons of ink optimization and control systems? 26 |
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I
f you’re like many of us in operations, you review what you’re spending on ink monthly, quarterly or every time you sign off on an invoice from your supplier. Then when budget time rolls around, you meet with your ink supplier, review monthly usage, check the price per pound, and put budgetary estimates together for spending. At some point throughout the year, you’ll also entertain proposals from various ink vendors in an effort to garner the most favorable price and frequently are able to reduce costs through negotiations with different vendors. While these are all certainly good practices and pretty much what we’ve done year after year, technology now offers alternatives to the same old same old that many properties have used in the past, allowing us to save big on future ink usage and put that money back into the operation. As I was considering my approach for this article, I researched several vendor offerings and looked deeply into exactly how ink optimization software and ink preset systems work. I also went online to research patents for these systems to better understand the vendors approach and how they can claim their systems operate and save the purchaser ink and money. After an hour or so of catching up on the subject and my eyes glazing over from information overload, I determined that the detailed color-conversion algorithms and vector graphics explanations necessary to achieve ink optimizing solutions and secure a patent were not only a little more than I clearly understood but also were of little benefit to the overall outcome of this article. Like you, I’m interested in the end result as well as a basic concept of how the system works. I don’t really need to know how the soups made, just that it tastes good. As confident as I am that I can walk the technology walk with the best of them, I felt the best service I could provide at this point was determining the pros and cons of ink optimization and preset systems, and leaving the specific technical details to the vendors.
} These totes of cyan, magenta and yellow ink represent a significant part of our printing budget. New technology such as ink optimizing software and preset control systems allow us to reduce our consumption of color ink and maintain consistent and predictable quality throughout the run.
The Pros and Cons of Ink Optimization There are many benefits touted by vendors offering ink optimization software solutions. Many systems are currently in place throughout our industry and it appears this is a testament to their functionality and usefulness. Ink optimization concepts have been around for quite some time in printing. Many of us have heard of them but don’t employ systems because we’re either confused by them, are skeptical of their claims, or believe we can’t afford the initial cost to purchase software. There are a lot of claims being thrown around in vendor marketing. I see most of them settling in on an average ink savings of 20 percent. The vendors I reviewed touted ink savings between 10 and 30 percent; some making statements that up to 30 percent savings are common and even one claiming possible savings up to 47 percent. Of course how much ink you’ll save is
dependent on how much color you run (both in graphics and photos), the depth and saturation of the particular content you run, and how much black is present in the original graphic or photo. Note that ink optimization software works for both photos, text and graphics/line work. Let’s take a look at the basics of how this process works. The basic concept of ink optimization is replacement of cyan, magenta and yellow ink with less expensive black ink. This is accomplished through gray component replacement (GCR), simply meaning that the software (or user) applies a percentage of GCR, usually set by the vendor but variable depending on user selection and nature/ make-up of the content. The software establishes a color profile to apply colorconversion algorithms to the process blend and convert them, incorporating GCR to achieve the same visual result as you would achieve by “conventional” CMYK processes; i.e. your photo is going to look every bit as sharp, smooth, clean and bright as it
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} Manual ink keys allow operators to set ink density throughout the run, but without presets start-ups can generate high waste and densities can vary throughout the run.
would with conventional CMYK printing. When the software does its job, pictures will not appear weak, faded or ink starved/ pale looking. There are two primary approaches ink optimization software can utilize: static or dynamic ink saving applications. Static applies a consistent and usually predetermined input to output (CMYK) regardless of the image content—an across the board approach that can create issues removing the same percentage of GCR to all areas of the content. Dynamic application offers a more sophisticated approach to GCR. With the software determining both input and output information to employ a conversion that alters the GCR based on the output 28 |
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color space grey axis, allowing the user more flexibility and intervention than the more simplistic static settings. Some of the benefits of ink optimization include: zz A “drier” printing process. Applying less ink and water to the sheet allows you to run dryer decreasing fan-out/web growth zz Reduced set-off/rub-off and ink transfer zz Shorter ink drying time zz Improved stability to gray balance zz Cleaner runs zz Less ink back-trapping zz Less web breaks (dryer sheet) zz Paper savings tied to faster start-ups zz Reduction of total ink coverage to ac-
ceptable levels (240-260 TAC) zz And of course, cost savings
Some of the challenges of ink optimization include: zz Cost of the initial software zz Banding, graininess and contouring (uncommon but potential results of GCR) zz Excessive dot gain in shadows/darkening highlights (improper software performance/settings) For me, the two biggest advantages in this field are cost savings and usefulness. Your ROI depends on so many variables that it’s tough to say what your savings will be and if ink optimization software is right for you. While I can honestly say I’m convinced that optimization software has a
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positive return and can reduce your cost of ink by replacing the more expensive CMY inks with cheaper black ink (and using less of it), I’m by no means certain how long it would take your shop to find a positive ROI. With vendor statements I’ve found ranging from 10 to 47 percent, with savings being directly tied to the content/density, etc. it’s a moving target. While most vendors seem to be understandably noncommittal (and I respect that), I have heard some statements that are grossly overstated and do not realistically represent what can be typically achieved. Without knowing the specifics of the shop, I’d steer clear of anyone who makes these types of promises and writes a purchase agreement that gives you some period of “testing” to ensure that it works for you and can reflect any positive returns the vendor claims from the start. One of the big advantages of any software is that it does the work for us. When press tests are taken to establish profiles and software is set up properly very little, if any, human intervention is necessary to save ink. There should be proper training on the front-end, but beyond that there is very little else we need to do beyond prepress. While this is a simplistic approach to things I believe that ink optimization software should do what it’s designed to do: improve the quality of your printed product and save ink/money without a lot of handholding on your end.
Ink Digital Preset Software and Control Systems The opportunity to reduce ink usage and cost doesn’t stop with ink optimization software. Several shops I’ve worked with utilize some form of digital presets from prepress to press. I’ve seen the benefits of this software firsthand and realized the cost savings and quality improvements in every shop we’ve used it in. Similar to optimization software, there are several vendors offering workable solutions. I’ve used ink presets in one form or other for at least 20 years and the software was available in some form well before that. I remember the days of running nega-
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tives back through a scanner that uploaded values to an ink control system on press. Today these systems have come a long way and are much more sophisticated than my horse and buggy days. Current systems use CIP3/CIP4 or tiffs produced through prepress software that subsequently are uploaded into the ink control system, which remotely controls application/coverage of ink through the ink keys on press. Essentially, the system acts as a bridge between your prepress and press areas, measuring input area/density and sending instructions to your ink keys to match the particular requirements to achieve the initial intended results. Simply speaking, these presets prepare the ink fountains, setting keys at a level/ degree of ink density and flow relative to the predetermined density of the images from your front-end system to prepare for the start-up at the most optimum level. Throughout the run, the system allows manual intervention by press operators to adjust to more specific and desirable measures. These systems are a little more than something just to get you going. The system I’m currently familiar with is made by Perretta. The Perretta system has intelligent learning allowing us save-able sheets shortly after startup. The self-correcting feature makes automatic corrections to compensate for variations between the preset file and color approval using the previous six-jobs for analysis, so it adjusts as the press conditions change. Some of the benefits of remote ink control systems include: zz Reduced make ready time zz Paper savings/waste reductions on start-up and throughout the run zz Ink savings, both on start-up and stabilized throughout the run zz Less manual intervention allowing additional focus on other areas of the pressrun zz Reduction of manual intervention/labor savings zz Overall faster start-ups saving time and maintaining consistency throughout the run
zz Ability to view and adjust (if needed)
each preset at the console zz Ability to adjust for on-the-fly work
flow changes Some of the challenges of remote ink control systems include: zz Cost of the initial software and fountain/ink key control hardware and installation Again, the two biggest advantages are cost savings and usefulness. While I’m obviously a fan of remote ink control systems, they are not cheap and the ROI, much like my example for optimization software, depends on several variables. In this case, the variables are how many fountains you use per run, length of the run, paper stock and the “wild card,” which is your press crew. If you have a heavy-handed ink setter on the crew, it can affect your ROI in a negative fashion. It can also add to offsetting, plugging, scumming and rub-off that are a result of overriding system sets. If you can train your press crews to rely on the basic settings of a remote system, this can be a plus over constant manual adjustments that in many cases may do more harm than good. With all that said, there’s an advantage as well to experienced color operators having the flexibility/ability to adjust ink keys from the console to dial-in ink density. More times than not press operators have to fine-tune ink densities throughout the run in order to achieve optimum results. Presets help tremendously on start-up but are no replacement for an experienced press operator with a good eye for color. Throughout the run the system is capable of maintaining basic values communicated at the start of the run preloaded from the front-end system, but as water curves change affecting ink and water balance manual intervention is required. Another plus is safety. This benefit is often not used as a selling point for vendors but perhaps it should be. Instead of press operators running around to set ink keys, slipping and running into things, going up and down ladders and spending an absorbent amount of time and energy
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focusing on ink setting, controls are at their fingertips and ink can be adjusted at any fountain in mere seconds. It’s a huge advantage and wonderful safety benefit to everyone.
Putting It All Together There have been huge advances in inking systems over the past few years. Most of these advances provide new opportunities to improve quality and productivity while simultaneously reducing costs. Implementing some of these systems can be expensive to purchase and install, but can be even more expensive to ignore. If you haven’t explored the new world of ink savings, you owe it to yourself and the organization to contact a few vendors and get information on both ink optimization software and digital ink control systems. It’s well worth the investment.
} With more and more color in our publications, the opportunity to save through technology is greater than ever. Ink preset systems and ink optimization offer dramatic cost savings and provide a solid ROI to most operations.
THE LATEST FROM… Interlink
Why did Interlink decide to partner with Brainworks Software, and how will it impact the business of your newspaper clients? Interlink is on a mission to provide the postal presort technology behind every newspaper mailing in America. When Brainworks first considered Interlink’s True Newspaper Mail for a proposal it was developing, we recognized an opportunity to advance that mission by working with one of the most highly respected firms in the industry. Together, we demonstrated how True Newspaper Mail could unlock substantial postal savings for
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Jerry Simpkins is vice president of the West Texas Printing Center, LLC in Lubbock, Texas. Contact him on LinkedIn.com or at simpkins@tds.net.
the newspaper group and simplify the process of interacting with the U.S. Postal Service. It worked. They won that proposal, and Interlink was granted the privilege of helping dozens of newspapers enhance their use of the mail. This is our passion. There are some good bulk mail tools out there, but for newspapers, nothing can match the capabilities of True Newspaper Mail. Its postal optimizations, user interface and feature set were developed specifically to support the unique ways newspapers use the mail to deliver subscriber and sample copies. Through this partnership, and with our recently announced software integration, everyone using Brainworks can now access True Newspaper Mail, and find a better way to mail their newspaper. Brad Hill is president of Interlink. Since 1980, Interlink has focused on identifying and responding to many unique opportunities available to community newspapers. Today, with its mailing technology proven effective by nearly 2,000 publications, Interlink is entrusted with the delivery of more than 10 million subscriber copies through the U.S. Postal Service every month. Recognizing that nearly every newspaper could benefit from improved mailed delivery, Interlink now offers True Newspaper Mail, the industry’s only newspaperspecific presort system based entirely on cloud technologies.
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When millions in local ad spend are on the line… Come to the Mega-Conference to keep—and even add to— your share. l Featured session:
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Michael Wilhite of Kroger’s data analytics arm outlines what newspapers maust do to share in the millions the largest supermarket chain in the U.S. spends on local advertising. Just one of more than three dozen sessions that offer you and your organization concrete ways to generate more revenue, attract more audience and explore new business opportunities.
Hundreds of newspaper and media key executives know the Mega-Conference is an industry must-attend event. Join them in San Diego Feb. 26-28 to find out why.
Solutions, Success Stories and New Ideas
A PARTNERSHIP OF:
SOUTHERN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER AT MEGA-CONFERENCE.COM
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LEADERS RESPECT
PRESS
DICTATORS DESPISE
PRESS
DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON
PRESS
PRESS
Stronger the Press, Stronger the People Newspapers strive to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. We fear no one.
E&P is a staunch supporter of the newspaper industry and is dedicated to promoting its success and well-being in the years to come. From time to time, we will print full-page ads such as this, to inspire advertising and marketing ideas — touting the importance of ethical journalism and its value to democracy.
2018 Mega-Conference Set for Feb. 26-28 in San Diego Program will tackle fake news, audience engagement and big data Photo courtesy of Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
By Nu Yang
The 2018 Key Executives Mega-Conference will take place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego.
M
ore than 700 newspaper professionals are expected to attend this year’s Key Executives Mega-Conference in San Diego Feb. 26-28. Now in its eighth year, the show is hosted by the Inland Press Association, Local Media Association, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and News Media Alliance. The California News Publishers Association is also a partner this year. “This year’s Mega-Conference is stacked with new content and new voices,” said Jay Horton, the show’s executive producer. “For example, attendees will learn about how (supermarket chain) Kroger has transformed their business to compete with Amazon, giving us a roadmap for our industry to follow to grow our relationship with one of our top customers. And we’ll have more from Google on some of their locally focused efforts and the value that can drive for newspapers.” Also on the program agenda: an opening keynote address from Los Angeles Times publisher and chief executive officer Ross Levinsohn, a panel focused on combating fake news, subscription strategies, and much more. “Our focus is core value creation, transformation, as well as entrepreneurship and business diversification,” Horton said. “Learn about how our focus and best practices with subscriptions unlocks a new paradigm for local publishers to deploy data driven solutions that can transform marketing effort for local advertisers. And this year will be the first opportunity for our industry to hear from Alex Hardiman, head of news products at Facebook, on the latest developments and vision from the social media juggernaut.” The 2018 Mega-Conference will be the first one with the News Media Alliance as a partner. When the partnership was announced last June, the Alliance reported that it would raise the total membership across the four organizations to more than 5,000. “Partnering with the News Media Alliance has been a great experience,” Horton said. “Working with leaders like David Chavern editorandpublisher.com
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(Alliance president and CEO) and their entire team has been an asset to this year’s Mega-Conference. Their great industry experience and insight into key topics—as well as the considerable value of the work of the American Press Institute will be very well received by the attendees.” Chavern added, “Working with the other publisher groups has been easy. Actually, much easier than I expected. We are all coming from the perspective of wanting to have a great event and doing everything we can do to help the news media.” The tradeshow floor will also be filled with vendors and companies looking to help the industry succeed. According to Horton, last year’s show in Orlando saw 84 exhibitors and there is “even more interest this year.” When asked what he hopes Mega-Conference will accomplish this year, Horton said, “Our shared vision is of an industry, true to its core values, grows, transforms and diversifies, to continue to serve our communities and our nation for the generations to come.” For more information, visit mega-conference.com.
DISCOVER THE STORIES OF THE DAY IN A WHOLE NEW WAY
Bring the news that matters most to your readers. Deliver deeper, more engaging, interactive stories and advertising from the NewsSlide platform.
Learn more or see a demonstration of how NewsSlide could work in your news room. John Crisp
419.213.0113
Currently publishing daily at Pittsburgh Post Gazette and The Blade
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Turning Disruption into Dollars Publishers continue to explore next-gen advertising to support digital ventures By Gretchen A. Peck
I
f you’ve kept your ear to the ground and monitored news and data about digital news consumption, you’re probably pretty excited about the opportunities up for grabs. There’s been data indicating that mobile apps are coming back into favor, especially with younger audiences. Other publishers are reporting great success with digital publications like e-newsletters—free to readers and intended to convert readers to subscribers, but also perfectly suited to delivering advertising or sponsored content.
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You can bet that newspaper advertisers and digital marketers of all kinds are also paying close attention to those numbers and anecdotes. If news organizations can maintain those trajectories, marketers are going to want to tap into those audiences. Digital advertising is a broad and dynamic space—everything from simple banner ads to complicated and clever multi-platform campaigns, the stuff of viral sensations. Going “digital first” may have added complications to some media companies, but publishers are not done exploring the digital realm.
The Aggregation Proposition Developer inkl may have created its digital news marketplace at its headquarters in Australia, but make no mistake, the company has plans to be the go-to source for news all across the globe. “We have readers in 199 countries, who all come to us for the same reasons—because they want a simple and cost-effective way to unlock the world’s best news coverage,” inkl CEO Gautam Mishra said via email. “Our initial focus has been on English-language news coverage, and over the next year or so, you’ll see us expand this as we move into other languages as well.” News and feature content is found and read via the inkl app, which offers an adfree—what they call “noise free”—experience, and three options for subscribers: a monthly fee, a monthly fee plus a premium charge for subscriptions to both the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, and a pay-perarticle option. All new subscribers get the first month free. “We’re the only company in history that has managed to crack the micropayment puzzle in news and to successfully convince customers to buy articles on an a-la-carte basis in large volumes,” Mishra said. It’s easy to see the value for avid news readers, but the value proposition for publishers is a little less transparent. 36 |
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Gautam Mishra, inkl CEO
Phil Corso, New York Post news editor
Michael Moses, The Day chief revenue officer
“The value proposition that a marketplace—any marketplace—offers is that of incremental distribution and revenue beyond what a vendor can achieve on its own,” Mishra explained. The developer has been notably successful at wooing news organizations, including newspaper publishers. Readers can find articles from Reuters, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Philadelphia Inquirer and others on the app. Mishra credited the success of its news partnerships to two things: “First, understanding and respect for their positions, their challenges and their own plans. We spent more than two years speaking with publishers around the world to deeply understand their strategies and concerns, and to find way to solve problems not only for readers but also for publishers. Our thinking and approach developed iteratively as each of those conversations took place, so today, we have a model that can really, fundamentally work. The second aspect of our relationship with publishers has been to develop short-and medium-term revenue growth options for them.” Those options might include a simple agreement to have articles available through inkl. There may be others who wish to license and leverage inkl’s technologies or tap into their marketing expertise. “We’re also 10-times more effective at convincing readers to pay for news than most publishers are,” Mishra said. “After all, we’ve spent the better part of a decade obsessively focusing on this particular problem. So, I imagine the other reason why publishers work with us is because of that credibility.” Mishra is an advocate for ad-free reading, and for good reason. “We’ve been bearish on ads for news publishers since 2011. The fact remains that readers are moving to smaller screens with fewer ads; publishers are facing increasing competition from data-centric global platforms; and ad price compression is likely to continue. editorandpublisher.com
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“And the recent ‘pivot to video’ and the idea of finding salvation through native ads? These are just reruns of old episodes we’ve seen before…The reality is that the online ad market has simply shifted away from publishers. They’ve been disrupted. So they can stay and try to compete with their disrupters, which never works, or they can build a new revenue model that is better suited to their interests and those of their readers,” he said. “You can see this clearly if you just look at where free news is heading—toward misinformation, clickbait, celebrity drivel and TV recaps. It’s obvious that publishers are chasing the tide as eCPMs (effective cost per mille) drop. It would be far better use of time and money, therefore, to focus on the very thing they
set out to do initially—to make sense of the world. If they can do that well and deliver real value to their readers, then readers will be willing to pay for that value.” Despite what some might perceive as a negative view of news’ future, Mishra said he felt quite the opposite. “We are hugely optimistic when it comes to news and the future of the industry, and that’s because the need for news has never been greater, and that’s a trend that is only going to continue. “Yes, we’ve moved from information scarcity to information overabundance, but that just means that context and analysis have become more important than ever. If publishers focus on that and deliver meaning around news events, impartially and to
the best of their ability, that’s something that is increasingly valuable to time-poor and bewildered readers who struggle to keep up with our accelerating world,” Mishra concluded.
Attracting Advertisers with Data and Access Heavy hitters like Google and Facebook are still garnering the lion’s share of digital ad budgets. But there’s another big-brand name coming on scene, vying for some of that advertising action. News Corp tipped off Axios in December 2017 about its new digital ad network known as News IQ. The intention is to provide audience data across News Corp’s titles—the Wall Street Journal, New York
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Providing quality sponsored content, Pro co content marketing and more.
ContentThatWorks.com 1-866-6CONTENT FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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Post and Barron’s—and offer a one-stop shop for supplying ad content to the titles and audiences they seek to reach. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson reported to Axios that the data-based ad network would debut this year and subsequently roll out internationally. Some of the brands reported to be early adopters are: Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Seabourn Cruise Line, Dentsu Aegis Network and the Fox Broadcasting Co. The launch is just another example of a news organization making it easier for advertisers to do business with its titles.
News Apps are Back Though news publishers would very much like to hit fast-forward to a time and place when all the questions and dilemmas about digital appetites and revenue have been answered, Phil Corso offered a reminder of our infancy. “It feels like we are still in this constant state of experimentation,” he said, speaking to E&P as an independent journalist rather than as a representative for New York Post, where he serves as news editor. Corso recently wrote for MediaShift “The Best News Apps of 2017.” Some wellknown brands were among his list: Reddit, BuzzFeed News, AP Mobile, Apple News and inkl. One of the commonalities among the apps Corso chose is that they’re free to readers, though not all had advertising components to them. “The industry is only now starting to finally, fully embrace the concept of paywalls and other money-making ventures, so now the apps and aggregation services will now have their turn to figure out what to do,” he said. “Right now, one of the biggest draws of news apps is that they are mostly free. So what happens then if you want to start using them for content that you’d otherwise need to pay for? Perhaps we will see news organizations teaming up with certain apps to create exclusive deals for sharing content. Something like, ‘Hey, sign up for 38 |
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Readers expect and react to content differently when it’s viewed on a desktop versus a mobile device or even in print.
inkl and get a free subscription to the New York Times digital,’ for example. If not, I could see news aggregation apps becoming a trend that might just end up fading away or becoming a pay-to-play service. The bottom line here is the market still needs to experiment a bit with this next phase of monetizing information.” Corso added, “If we’ve learned anything thus far, it’s that relying on advertising alone in a digital world is not sufficient. It may be a piece of the puzzle, but it can’t be the only piece.” Currently, there are two business models for digital news: subscription-based publications and free titles that are supported in some way by ad revenue. Both are compelling, but it’s likely that one will take the lead as readers’ preference. “If I had to guess between those two ultimatums, I’d say it’s more likely that we’d see free models dissolve,” Corso said. One of the other lessons already learned about digital content, including advertising, is that it should be tailored to platform. Readers expect and react to content differently when it’s viewed on a desktop versus a mobile device or even in print. “I think it’s certain that advertisers and publishers know full well that the website, mobile and tablet experiences are all distinct experiences, and thus call for distinct strategies,” Corso said. “Perhaps that means certain advertisers only go for certain platforms. That makes it even more critical that newspapers have a suite of advertising options from which to pick and choose and tailor campaigns according to audience and platform.” Corso has also noted a wellspring of creativity coming out of the mobile realm. “I have a feeling that partnerships will be key in the future of monetizing the news industry—partnerships of any kind,” he said. For example, news organizations working with one another and “pooling resources” in the interest of investigative Continued on page 40 editorandpublisher.com
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Think you know America East? Newly confirmed speakers include:
Rebecca Capparelli, Executive Director of Promotions, GateHouse Media, Inc.
Bill Day,
Executive Director, Frank N. Magid Associates
Think again! It’s no secret that America East is the most valuable and affordable conference serving decision makers in the news media industry. But did you know that our sessions feature industry-leading experts that you won’t find at any other event?
David Chavern,
Our content is designed to benefit CEOs and publishers, as well as digital, revenue, audience and technology/operations professionals.
President and CEO, News Media Alliance
No other conference offers that in a single location! Affordable registration fees, great networking opportunities and a robust exhibit floor make this event the go-to conference of 2018! Don’t miss out! Register early to save!
Sara Glines,
President & Publisher, The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC
Learn more and register at www.america-east.com. PRESENTED BY
Jeff Sonderman,
Media Business and Technology Conference
Deputy Director, American Press Institute
P E N N S Y L V A N I A
March 12 – 14, 2018 • Hershey, Pennsylvania
A S S O C I A T I O N
PROUD CO-SPONSORS OF AMERICA EAST INCLUDE: ... and 14 State Press Associations. The full list can be found at www.america-east.com.
Turning Disruption into Dollars
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journalism, or publishers and advertisers partnering with sponsored content, events and more. “It seems like anytime anything has worked in this space over recent years, it had something to do with partnerships and working together,” Corso said.
Inbox Opt-Ins Mobile apps are among a growing bullpen of digital propositions from news publishers, which are also largely invested in digital publications like e-newsletters. One newspaper finding success with e-newsletters is The Day in New London, Conn. Published by The Day Publishing Co., the publication produces seven Connecticut newspaper titles. According to Michael Moses, The Day’s chief revenue officer, the newspaper has developed six category-driven e-newsletters, which are delivered weekly. Members—that includes subscribers to the newspaper’s print and/or digital publication—and non-members alike can opt-in to receive some or all of them, he explained. The e-newsletters have proven to be a great vehicle for delivering personalinterest content to readers, but they’ve also shown exceptional promise as revenue streams. “We utilize our e-newsletters primarily as a gateway to engage with TheDay. com and as a platform to deliver sponsored features—storytelling opportunities for our advertisers,” Moses said. “Typically, all of them include at least one sponsored feature.” While the e-newsletter and subsequent sponsored content popularity are a welcome source of revenue for the news organization, Moses sees it as just one opportunity the newspaper can offer to local businesses, institutions and organizations. “The distribution ranges from 20,000 up to 90,000, depending on the number of opt-ins,” Moses said. “Advertisers are 40 |
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At the New York Times, 14 million subscribers have chosen to opt-in to one of their 50 and more e-newsletter titles.
still motivated; the difference is that the newsletter platform is now just one piece of the puzzle. We utilize emerging technology—retargeting, geo-targeting, etc.—to drive additional engagement with the same or similar messaging.” The Day is also considering a new way to monetize content. “We are looking at our mobile app, as well as TheDay.com and our e-paper as platform opportunities for micropayments,” Moses said. “This would be an extension of our regular suite of membership products, where millennials—a group that is conditioned to pay for digital products—would be able to pick and choose the content they want to pay for.” At the New York Times, 14 million subscribers have chosen to opt-in to one of their 50 and more e-newsletter titles, said Nicole Breskin, director of product management. “Newsletters deepen engagement and propensity to subscribe,” she said. “They also provide ad value in email and in downstream page views that they drive… We are seeing return on investment in the form of audience development, engagement, subscription and ad value.” Senior product manager Jillian Hershman Marcus added, “All of our e-newsletters include advertising components, to which we’ve made some great enhancements in the past year. Our successes in 2017 can be attributed to ad placement improvements within our e-newsletters, and placing email at the center of some very large partnerships. We are always thinking about ways to improve our email advertising opportunities, and we look forward to continuing to make innovative strides in 2018.” Gretchen A. Peck is an independent journalist who has reported on publishing and printing for more than two decades. She has contributed to Editor & Publisher since 2010 and can be reached at gretchenapeck@gmail.com. editorandpublisher.com
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Stronger the Press, Stronger the People Newspapers strive to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. We fear no one.
E&P is a staunch supporter of the newspaper industry and is dedicated to promoting its success and well-being in the years to come. From time to time, we will print full-page ads such as this, to inspire advertising and marketing ideas — touting the importance of ethical journalism and its value to democracy.
TAPPING INTO TECH Five digital trends to watch in 2018 By Jesus A. Ruiz
hat’s on the digital horizon for the newspaper industry this year? With the digital landscape evolving at the speed of the 24-hour news cycle, newspapers around the country are on the chase for up-and-coming trends that will make the difference to their bottom line. Many in the industry have blazed a path pivoting to video, abundantly invested in pursuing digital advertising, and have pushed for a bigger reach through various social media channels. The possibilities are endless, and the sea of information populating the ever-increasing shores of the internet provides an abundance of opportunities for newspapers to thrive in. It also opens the door to massive amounts of difficulties such as maintaining the trust and attention of readers during the era of “fake news” and the spread of misinformation. Nevertheless, the high demand for real news is there. The surge in attention for the news media that began during the 2016 Presidential election continues to grow two years later. And now the battle for readers’ attention has heated up unlike ever before—with the victors being those who quickly acclimate to the digital news climate as it evolves. Now to help with your publication’s digital splash, E&P has put together a list of trends to keep an eye out for in 2018. 42 |
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Nathaniel Bane, Herald Sun head of digital news
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Mandy Jenkins, Storyful editor-in-chief
Alexandra Garcia, New York Times visual journalist
Digital Subscriptions and Value
With mobile media accounting for two-thirds of total digital media time spent in the U.S., society is abuzz with a continuous flow of information at its fingertips. As the amount of news outlets for readers to choose from online grows each day, so too does the challenge for newspapers to keep their business model profitable. Pushing for more digital subscriptions is a way newspapers can navigate the waters of the digital future. Just look to the numbers for the answers. The New York Times reported $86 million in revenue from digital subscriptions in the third quarter of 2017 with a total of 2.5 million digital-only subscriptions. That number is almost double its $46 million in digital advertising revenue in 2017 and still well above its print advertising revenue of $64 million last year. The Washington Post reported hitting the 1 million mark for digital subscribers in 2017, which they said was triple that of the figure the year before. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported 1.27 million digital subscriptions as of last June. This means every day more and more people are open to paying for news. Surprisingly, much of the surge in digital subscriptions is led by younger people, according to a 2017 Reuters Digital News Report. The report states that the number of people in the U.S. between the ages of 18-24 paying for online news rose from 4 percent in 2016 to 18 percent in 2017. But what motivates people to pay for online news?
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“It’s about getting the content right,” said Nathaniel Bane, head of digital news at the Herald Sun in Melbourne, Australia. “Match the content to the demands and needs of your readers, and try to find a real point of difference.” To gage the content your audience demands employ the use of a survey. That’s what Bane said his publication did early last year. “We asked a lot of questions and learned a lot about what our subscribers liked and why they had subscribed, what our registered and free users wanted to see more of in order to increase the value of our offering in their eyes, and what drove each segment to visit our site,” Bane said. Publications should also do some self-inventory, he said. “Why should people pay for what you do? What do you do that nobody else does, or what do you do best?” Figure out those answers and shape your content and digital subscription offerings accordingly, which means not every subscription service will look the same. “Who knows what this will look like in the future, but simple one-touch sign ups and micropayments will be a part of it all,” Bane said. Diving even deeper into the future, Bane said he believes “subscriptions will also be likely bundled in with other things—from pay TV to power bills, as newspapers look to create partnerships with advertisers who are also looking to add value to their offering.”
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TAPPING INTO TECH
2
Earning Trust During the Fake News Era
Nowadays, it seems like there is enough news on the internet to fill the Grand Canyon, maybe even two times over. And with the rise of fake news, 2018 will be a year where news outlets will have to stand out amongst the spread of disinformation that pollutes social media channels. “I believe this is a make-or-break year for journalism as it relates to fake news,” said Mandy Jenkins, editor-in-chief at Storyful, an agency that sources, verifies and acquires usergenerated content. “We will see more advanced disinformation campaigns from a variety of actors—foreign and domestic, with political and financial intent—that will use more advanced technology to create the best fake media we have seen yet.” In a time where social media juggernauts like Facebook and Twitter are still figuring out how to tame their own creations, having the jump on building trust is key for any publication. “To gain or gain back that trust a publisher needs to understand (and possibly update) its mission and transparently communicate that to the audience,” Jenkins said. “The more the audience understands the mission, the intent, the process and
3
Rolling in the Digital Dollars
Not all is lost when it comes to digital advertising. Even though digital subscription revenue is gaining ground, digital advertising still holds a lot of weight. This year publishers will learn what ads worked online by learning what ads didn’t. The crackdown on fake news has rung in a gust of regulatory air in other parts of the internet, especially advertising. In 2017, the Coalition for Better Ads put out its findings of what ad experiences rank lowest among users online at betterads. org. Many online heavyweights have taken notice. Google, a Coalition member, announced last year that this month on Feb. 15 it will introduce an ad blocker into Google Chrome that will block ads ranked on the Coalition’s list. Ads deemed bad on the list include full page ads, pop up ads with sound, and ads with a countdown among more. Publishers can expect to be notified by Google if their website has any of the bad ad types
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the newsgatherers themselves, the more trusting they will be.” To combat the spread of fake news Jenkins says media outlets need to “hold themselves to the highest standard to avoid contributing to the problem,” as well as debunking false stories in order to create a baseline of truth. Publishers must also be aware of the pitfalls of needing to be first and “the rapid-fire sharing of information that happens on social media during a breaking news story,” said Jenkins. So before you start liking and sharing, “find out who the source or provider is, what their motivations might be and who they are trying to reach. Does what they say seem to align with other reports or official info, or is it too good to be true? Can it be independently verified? If it is a piece of content like a viral photo or video, determine if they shot it and the authenticity of what it presents.” Last year, Storyful released Verify, a Google Chrome extension, which tells users if social media content has been verified by Storyful’s team of journalists. Employing the use of a tool such as that or something similar is an avenue publishers can take to aid their newsrooms in the verification process.
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and will have 30 days to fix the issue. If not corrected in time, Google will block all ads on the site and the site owner will have request a review from Google manually. For examples of the bad ads, see the chart on page 45. In an effort to curb fake news and better serve its customers, Facebook, which is also part of the Coalition, has begun blocking paid ads from pages that circulate fake news. So, how can you effectively market ads online? The Kantar Report found that consumers favored less intrusive ads and sponsored links from retail sites as long as they didn’t resemble click-bait. When the lines between editorial and commercial were blurred is where many consumers saw a problem, said the report. From the findings it can be interpreted that publishers should make it their priority to deliver value to their customers while maintaining a less-intrusive stance when it comes to digital advertising.
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The Least Preferred Ad Experiences for Desktop Web and Mobile Web Pop-up Ads Auto-playing Video Ads with Sound
Prestitial Ads with Countdown Large Sticky Ads
Pop-up Ads Prestitial Ads Ad Density Higher Than 30 Percent Flashing Animated Ads
Auto-playing Video Ads with Sound Postitial Ads with Countdown Full-screen Scrollover Ads Large Sticky Ads Source: Coalition for Better Ads
4
Increasing Online Engagement
Pulling in readers is half the battle. Getting them to stay on your website and visit your site often will be vital for publishers this year. Bane of the Herald Sun said the way to do that is for newspapers to throw out the old way of thinking and truly work towards giving their subscribers what they want. “Newspapers for a long time have been very good at one-way communication,” he said. “But when people are paying for your product digitally you need to engage with people on a new level. Talk to them on Facebook. Respond to their issues quickly. Explain how you do things and why. Lift the veil of the newsroom. Giving readers ‘what they want’ is not a simple thing to solve—but by listening, interacting and staying true to your brand provides a good foundation.” Keep in mind your audience, who is accessing your content on their phones more than ever before. Tailoring content that will be easily accessible on mobile phones is one way to monetize
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mobile while increasing your reader engagement. Bane said his publication uses social media with that in mind. “We use it two ways around subscriptions: One, we put out all of our best content if it’s locked or not. This not only drives new subscriptions, but it also means our subscribers who follow us via social media channels are being served our best content at all times. Two, we use social media to let our subscribers know about offers and other rewards available to them.” Most of all, Bane said, organizations need to look in the mirror and see what’s helped them get this far. “Whatever you are good at—and whatever has sustained your business for decades—do that and be very good at it. They are paying you for a news and entertainment service. Ensure that you are meeting that promise every day by informing them, entertaining them and being useful.” Tapping Into Tech continues on page 48
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TAPPING INTO TECH
A Seat at the Digital Table Breakdown of Social Media Site Users Based on a survey of 4,971 U.S. adults; percentage of each site’s users who get news there 2017
2016
74%
59%
32% 29%
YouTube Snapchat
Instagram LinkedIn WhatsApp
+15 +11 +12 +2 -2 +8 +4 +4 N/A
20% N/A 66% 70%
39% 27% 23% 23%
Tumblr
52%
21% 17% 68% 68%
’16-’17change
2013
47% 62%
31% 23% 19%
29% 13% 13%
N/A
N/A
**Snapchat not asked in 2013. WhatsApp not asked in 2013 or 2016. Source: “News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2017,” Pew Research Center, August 2017
Global Digital Ad Spending Beats TV for the First Time in 2017
Share of Digital Media Time Spent Use of digital platforms in the United States
In billions
Tablet (app)
7%
Smartphone (app)
2% 50%
TV
$208.82 $178.48
2016
7%
Digital
2017
Smartphone (web)
Tablet (web)
$178.41 $182.1
2015
$150.7 $176.21
Source: comScore 2017 U.S. Mobile App Report, August 2017
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2013
Desktop
2014
34%
$125.56 $176.16 $105.2 $169.7
Source: Recode; MAGNA
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News Apps Make a Comeback Based on a survey of 14,414 adults across all countries; when asked, “Thinking about how you got news online (via computer, mobile or any device) in the last week, which were the ways in which you came across news stories?” and “Thinking of the way you looked at news online (via any device) in the last week, which of the following ways of consuming news did you use?” 2017
Number of characters 0-140 141-280
Average Clicks:
94.46%
93.71%
Average Retweets:
13.71%
26.52%
29.96%
50.28%
33% 24%
Sweden
Early data shows that longer tweets are a hit.
2016
37% 31%
Twitter Engagement by Tweet Characters
South Korea
27%
27% 21%
Spain
23%
26%
23% 18%
U.K.
U.S.
23% 16%
Australia
Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2017
18%
Japan
Average Likes:
Source: Socialflow
Most Common App Discovery Channels Based on a survey of 1,033 smartphone users age 13+ June 2017 App Store Searched app store Featured/Top List in app store
20% 13%
June 2016
21% 14%
Word-of-Mouth/Opinion Via friend/family Via comment/review/social site Via news/print review/TV show
15% 10% 8%
16% 11% 8%
Advertising/Marketing Via a website Via Ad on device browser/app Via Ad on TV/print/billboard
10% 9% 6%
11% 9% 9%
Source: comScore 2017 US Mobile App Report, August 2017
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TAPPING INTO TECH
5
Be Weird with Storytelling
Tapping Into Tech continued from page 45
Shadow puppetry was used in the Emmy-award winning film “The Forger,” which the New York Times helped produce. (Photos courtesy of Manual Cinema)
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Providing stories in digital formats is already a common theme in the world of journalism. The way to gain attention online is to be unique with both the medium you’re using as well as the topics you’re covering. Many reporters are using Twitterthreads as a quick way to reach their audience. With so many threads being posted, Twitter made it easier to compose them. That Tweetstorm method, as it’s dubbed, works really well when revealing new information about a relevant story. The same intent works well when drawing up a news video. Video work in the journalism world will continue to be at the cutting edge for the industry because it can transcend the journalism sphere creating special collaborations. Despite the worries that the pivot to video could fail, there is a way to do it right. “Video works very well for stories where there is a lot of emotion involved,” said Alexandra Garcia, New York Times visual journalist. Garcia, who has been a visual journalist for a decade, said the key to video is picking the right stories for it. “I could do five stories that are not unique and just run of the mill or I could do one story that’s unique and interesting and that will gain a lot of attention.” Garcia should know. A video she helped produce won an Emmy: “The Forger,” which is the story of Adolfo Kaminsky, a forger, who helped save the lives of thousands of Jews by forging passports and documents
during the Nazi regime. “The Forger” encapsulates her advice and is an example of pushing the boundaries of digital storytelling, using shadow puppetry to tell an emotional story. The idea to use shadow puppets came to Garcia while brainstorming how they were going to illustrate it all. “Manual Cinema popped into my head. I had seen them perform a live show a couple of years earlier,” said Garcia. Manual Cinema, a theater company based in Chicago, ended up producing all the shadow puppetry in the highly collaborative project. Also taken into account during the decision making was the content of the story. “So much of Adolfo’s life was lived in the shadows—and paper had made up such a big part of his life forging documents that shadow puppetry using cut paper seemed like a natural fit,” Garcia said. She added winning the Emmy “validated” the weird decision to use shadow puppets. Making a decision that is going to put your publication at the forefront should be weird. It’s going to feel different and strange because no one is doing it. That doesn’t mean it can’t work. For publications that don’t have a big budget, Garcia’s advice to them is to decide from the get-go what medium you want to tell the story in, and if it’s a video, make sure it’s unique and reveals new information. “The biggest thing I think is making sure that the stories being told are the right kind to be told on video,” Garcia said.
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5 Things that can make your digital edition more engaging
How to Confront the Digital Ad Fraud Crisis
1. Make a great mobile experience. A June 2017 Pew survey found that 85% of U.S. adults now get their news on a mobile device at least some of the time. 2. Deliver more rich content with photo galleries and video support. 3. Allow readers to tag and share articles in social media. Or better yet, save articles for future reading. 4. Utilize mobile push notifications for breaking news. 5. Create interactive ads to entice advertisers with something new.
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Adrian Edgerson, Business Development Manager Direct 317-612-4708 • aedgerson@gannett.com FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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Newspapers are given a new voice through virtual assistants By Peter Suciu
A
mazon and Google reported record sales for their respective virtual assistant smart speaker system this past holiday season. Each cut prices to increase market share according to consumer research firm Strategy Analytics, but the move appears to have paid off. Amazon, which has roughly 70 percent of the smart home speaker market, saw sales of its Amazon Echo more than quintuple over the past year. As a result more people than ever will be asking these devices about the weather, health tips and of course, the news. These devices could provide traditional purveyors of news with a new way to reach an audience, especially as the market for these smart speakers is only set to grow. editorandpublisher.com
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Christopher Biondi, GateHouse Media senior director of digital development
Greg Sterling, Local Search Association vice president of strategy and insight
“There are probably more than 50 million of these smart speakers in people’s homes following holiday 2017,” said Greg Sterling, vice president of strategy and insight at the Local Search Association. “These won’t replace text/print but will be a powerful complement to those more traditional distribution platforms.” While this presents an opportunity for media companies, publishers may need to adapt their content for the new medium. This isn’t the first time that content has had to adjust for a new digital medium. “Voice enabled devices represent a transformational shift in how consumers get information and how publishers distribute news,” said Francesco Marconi, strategy manager and AI co-lead at the Associated Press. “The internet used to be in a ‘point-and-click’ phase where desktop websites flourished, but now it’s in a ‘touch’ phase as mobile devices and apps have increased digital access to content and services. Voice commands are now ushering us in a third phase through the ‘internet of things’ and all types of connected devices and experiences.”
“Alexa, Are You There?” What separates these virtual assistants from other computerized devices is that that users must speak to engage the devices, which can respond via natural language so that users can practically have a conversation with the units. “When consumers speak to a smart speaker, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home, it processes the recording and converts that audio into commands that it analyzes,” Marconi said. “The experience for news consumption is not yet perfect due to limitations in AI technology, specifically when it comes to replicating ‘free-form’ conversations with the news. The challenging part appears when the voice devices need to make sense of something like ‘What did the president say today?’ or ‘What was the death toll at last night’s protest?’ That requires sophisticated AI to understand definitions, plot relationships between words and extract answers from a news article.” The lack of screen also means that the content may need to be 54 |
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Dr. Judith Donath, Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard
Amara Suzanne Aguilar, USC associate professor of digital journalism
tailored as well. This isn’t to say that newspaper stories will become more like radio however. “Radio didn’t hit newspapers the same way the internet has,” said Dr. Judith Donath of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. “The internet has replaced the ‘paper paper’ but what we’re seeing now is that people who read on traditional paper are just moving to other devices. That had been desktops, laptops and tablets but now the devices are moving to a realm where they are more audio-based than visual.” This shift is just the latest that newspapers have had to deal with over the years as graphics were added, later photos and more recently a shift to color. “The difference is that it will now be audio, so it comes down to how to make it so you can skim it more easily,” Donath said. “This is just a new challenge.” Reporters may need to adjust for this new distribution method, and to do so they may need to take a cue from how the content is being consumed. For one thing with text, even on a screen as opposed to paper, it is possible to skim sections and easily jump around the various sections. This becomes much more difficult with a voice-controlled interface. “It is difficult to move forward or backward when the content is being read, but this technology is still developing,” said Amara Suzanne Aguilar, associate professor of digital journalism at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “It is important to think beyond just having the stories being read by the device. Voice is really being underestimated right now. It is becoming part of our lives.” Aguilar recently taught a class where the students created content for Amazon’s Alexa, the voice assistant in its Echo devices. These students had training in print and broadcast reporting. One key part was that when the devices read the content it was important to utilize more natural language. Obviously this won’t work for every story, but they have to take these considerations as they develop the content, said Aguilar. Length could be another consideration, as alternatives to long editorandpublisher.com
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} Josh Crandall, Netpop Research principal analyst
} David Murphy, Mobile Marketing
editorial director
71%
of regular voice tech users globally feel that speaking to tech comes naturally now
Mindshare report, based on 6,780 global respondents
form stories may need to be offered to users. “Radio segments are short,” Donath said. “But we are already seeing that these devices can offer a choice, as people listen to longer pieces, so there is evidence that long form content has a place… The more important piece in this is that the devices are framed as personal assistants—and you have a relationship with the device. That is different from what you hear on the radio or see on TV.” The fact that the personality of these devices becomes ever personalized to its users could also present issues in the delivery of news content. Users may chat with Alexa about their day, but would still have the stories read to them by that same voice. “We could see that the different stories will be read by different voices, and voices may be tailored to the audience,” said Donath. “It could come down to how much control Amazon would want to have and that brings up what is the relationship between the ‘friend’ personality of Alexa and the ‘news’ personality that sounds exactly the same.” These virtual assistants could have an advantage over internetbased content on desktops and tablets in how the devices actually interact with their respective users. “These devices aren’t human of course but are powered by AI,” Aguilar said. “There is the factor of empathy and how the device connects with the user.” There may be an issue of too much uniformity however, and that could present its own share of challenges and goes back to the calls for multiple voices from these devices. “Right now, all the assistants seem to have female voices,” Aguilar said. “There isn’t any diversity in the voices that are offered, and we should note the products are called ‘assistants,’ so they are there to serve. These are factors that should be considered when improving the technology.”
Media Embrace Several media companies have already embraced these virtual assistants. Last year GateHouse Media launched more than 400 news websites for the Amazon Echo editorandpublisher.com
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} The Amazon Echo first went on sale in 2014 to Amazon Prime members and became widely distributed in 2015. It is powered by voice assistant Alexa. FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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69%
of global smartphone users agree that “it would be easier if technology could speak back to me.”
Mindshare report, based on 6,780 global respondents
platform. Its producers select stories that are felt to have appeal to the audience and are then summarized into four or five sentences. Only a handful of stories can actually be sent to the devices, but this can be replaced with breaking news or other more relevant stories. Those stories that are sent out will be tailored for Alexa to read. “This could vary from a few minutes to 10, depending on the nature of the content,” said Christopher Biondi, GateHouse Media’s senior director of digital development. “With newsrooms working across so many platforms, every minute counts even more, so we have to be very careful about what we inject into workflows to be sure it is time well spent. You only get a couple shots at capturing a return listener, so you want the experience to be top-notch from the start. Nearly all of our sites use automated feeds, but those that are curating content—targeting specific stories and/or rewriting the tops—are providing a better experience.” These automated feeds could have the advantage of providing constant timely updates versus live voice reads, which would have to be created throughout the day to provide similar timeliness, Biondi noted. To this end content may have to focus on key facts. “To be most effective, a summary just for text-to-speech is best,” Biondi said. “You want these to be tight, written for the platform and to flow smoothly from one to the next. We have much more experimenting to do with the platform, always keeping in mind the potential payoff and the impact on workflow.” Other newspapers are also starting to develop specific content for the devices. Last fall, the U.K.-based Guardian announced that it was making of many of its stories, as well as podcasts, available for Alexa. In addition, users could even ask for a summary of headlines by section, while Alexa can read the full story as it appeared in the print/web version. The Guardian is just one of the media companies that view these devices as a way of reaching a wider audience. Local Search Association’s Sterling added that NPR and several other media outlets have had good success with adoption on Echo and Home. What surprised Netpop Research principal analyst Josh Cran56 |
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Google Home launched in 2016. Powered by Google Assistant, it’s able to tap into other Google products and services like Gmail, Search and YouTube.
dall are the media companies that have been the early adopters in this space. “The BBC, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review and The Economist have already embraced audio distribution,” he said. These news organizations have already shown an eagerness to tailor that content too. “The format is better suited for news highlights rather than in-depth reporting. Amazon has coined the phrase ‘Flash Briefing’ to capture how the news is delivered over its service,” Crandall explained. “It’s kind of ironic that the early adopters to this method of distributing content are known for thoughtful, thorough coverage versus the outlets like USA Today and CNN which are more frequently associated with ‘sound-bite’ coverage.” These flash briefings may be the new standard in audio delivery too. “It simply requires a bit of editorial creativity and thought,” Sterling said. “The content won’t translate one-to-one from print/ text to audio. It’s really more of a ‘headlines’ or ‘news summary’ approach.” Yet, not everyone is sold on the notion that these voice technoleditorandpublisher.com
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“The same way publishers optimize their content for search engines and social networks, they will need to develop strategies for how their content will play on these voice devices.” } Francesco Marconi, Associated Press strategy manager and AI co-lead
Preferred Voice Tech Platforms in the U.S. B Siri C Google Search app D Google Now/Google Assistant
Mindshare report, based on 6,780 global respondents
ogy devices will have to keep it to the headlines. As noted, content from some outlets such as the Guardian can be read in its entirety and others think users may be eager to listen to longer stories just as they listen to podcasts today. “I don’t think the content necessarily needs to be all ‘Flash Briefing’ style,” said David Murphy, editorial director of Mobile Marketing. “If someone has more time to play with it, why not put longer form content on there just like radio.” Whether this will mean the end of in-depth reporting and long form features has yet to be seen, but voice devices could be embraced by those used to the quick conversations of social media. It could also be a way for multi-taskers to stay up-to-date with the news. “For the 20 to 30 percent of our population that are dyslexic learners, it’s great that learning is no longer limited to reading text,” Crandall said. editorandpublisher.com
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The use of this technology could also blur the lines as different types of news organizations now compete in the same space. “Media companies operating television, print and radio, used to differentiate themselves by the platform they operated,” Marconi said. “Audiences no longer make a distinction because the risks associated with trying something new or different have been drastically reduced by new technology. The same way publishers optimize their content for search engines and social networks, they will need to develop strategies for how their content will play on these voice devices.”
Audio and Revenue Streams The final issue will be whether this content will actually create new revenue opportunities for traditional newspaper publishers, or whether it will have to have a way to entice readers to embrace existing subscription models. “It’s the same problem they have on regular digital channels,” Murphy said. “They could put some of the content behind a paywall but will people be willing to pay for it? Maybe the answer is in micropayments for individual pieces of content, so 50 cents to listen to an exclusive interview with some currently hot celeb/film star/author.” Partnerships between the device makers—Amazon, Google as well as even other tech companies such as Microsoft and Apple— could be forged with content providers as a way to entice users to a particular platform, but it isn’t clear if content providers will want to be tied to just one platform. “I don’t think there will be exclusive relationships in the long term,” said Sterling. “However, it’s important for publishers to develop voice apps/skills now so they can test and learn what appeals to their ‘readers’ and refine the approach.” As a result these devices may just be another platform for news delivery and live alongside print, web and mobile. “News doesn’t have to be delivered only as audio or text or video,” Crandall said. “In the future, news organizations will deliver the depth of coverage that’s of interest without limitation to a specific mode of distribution.” According to the AP’s Marconi, the big takeaway as noted by the increased adoption of the virtual assistants and other voice technology devices is simple: “Voice devices are not a fad. It’s a real thing.” FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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BlowSmoke9x10875Jan16.qxp_Layout 1 12/21/15 9:59 AM Page 1
Read a newspaper and find out. Get mad. Fight back. Subscribe to newspapers. Newspapers strive to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. We fear no one. E&P is a staunch supporter of the newspaper industry and is dedicated to promoting its success and well-being in the years to come. From time to time, we will print full-page ads such as this, to inspire advertising and marketing ideas — touting the importance of ethical journalism and its value to democracy.
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Barnabas Kui has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Hearst Newspapers. In this role, he oversees all accounting and finance functions of the newspaper division. Previously, Kui served as Hearst Newspapers vice president of finance since 2013 and as director of accounting and financial reporting since 2008. Prior to joining Hearst, he was a senior manager in Ernst & Young’s New York City office. Ron and Nancy Kemp have retired as publishers of the Poinsett County (Ark.) Democrat Tribune. The pair began serving as publishers of the Tri-City (Ark.) Tribune and the Trumann (Ark.) Democrat in 1999 before merging them into the Democrat Tribune a decade later. The Kemps will continue to produce the regional Delta Crossroads magazine. Jackie Fanara has been named publisher of the Winter Park/Maitland Observer in Florida. She previously served as publisher of the East County Observer in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. and has more than two decades of experience in print media, marketing and advertising. Lynden Steele, assistant managing editor of photography at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has been named director of photojournalism at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, where he will also lead the Pictures of the Year International Competition. Prior to his work in St. Louis, he was a picture editor at the White House and edited the photography book “Portrait of a Leader: George W. Bush.” Steele has worked at the Post-Dispatch since 2008. He started his career as a staff photographer at the Monroe (Mich.) Evening News and also worked as a staff photographer for Copley newspapers. Stephanie Pressly has resigned as presieditorandpublisher.com
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MAP Strategies Group Photo
By E&P Staff jesus@editorandpublisher.com
NewsPeople
Mi-Ai Parrish, president of the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, has resigned to fill an endowed faculty chair at Arizona State University and start a consulting company, MAP Strategies Group. Parrish spent the early part of her career in various newsroom roles including reporter, copy editor, travel editor and projects editor. She worked at other newspapers including the Minneapolis Star Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and VirginianPilot. At the Republic, she served as deputy managing editor and in other roles from 1999 to 2001 before returning in October 2015.
dent and publisher of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and the Belgrade News in Montana to accept a contract position as director of strategic HR initiatives and communications at Montana State University. Pressly had been at the Chronicle since 2007. Prior to that, she held publisher positions in Nampa and Pocatello, Idaho with Pioneer News Group.
Kara Meyberg Guzman has been named managing editor of the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel. She will be the first woman to lead the paper in its 161-year history. Guzman began her career at the Sentinel as an education reporter. She left the paper in 2015 to pursue freelance writing before returning as digital manager last year. She succeeds Don Miller.
Arthur Gregg Sulzberger has been named publisher of The New York Times, succeeding his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. who had served as publisher since 1992. The younger Sulzberger most recently served as deputy publisher of the Times. The elder Sulzberger will stay on as chairman of The New York Times Co.
Scott Kaufman has been promoted to opinion editor of the Southern California News Group. Kaufman previously served as deputy editorial editor for SCNG. He also was public editor and an editorial writer at the Orange County (Calif.) Register. Prior to that, he worked as a general assignment reporter for the Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press.
Keith Markham has been named senior technical sales specialist at Southern Lithoplate. In his new position, Markham will be supporting SLP service and sales teams throughout North America. He has worked in the printing industry for more than three decades. Joseph Hauger has been named editor of the Garrett County (Md.) Republican. He will continue serving as editor of the Preston County News & Journal in Kingwood, W. Va. Hauger most recently served as news editor of the Wheeling (W. Va) Intelligencer. He succeeds Mary Sincell McEwen, who is now the paper’s arts and entertainment editor.
Sara Johnson Borton has retired as president and publisher of The State in Columbia, S.C. Borton had served as publisher since 2014. She has spent most of her career working at South Carolina newspapers in the news, advertising and marketing departments, starting as a part-time reporter at The Rock Hill Times. Bob Morris has retired as publisher of Paxton Media Group’s Owensboro Newspaper Group in Kentucky. Morris began his newspaper career in the sales department FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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NewsPeople ACQUISITIONS Torstar has announced a deal to buy and sell ownership of a number of community papers with Postmedia. As part of the transaction, Torstar will purchase eight weekly community publications, seven dailies and two free newspapers from Postmedia. Meanwhile, Postmedia has agreed to buy 22 of Torstar’s community newspapers and a pair of free commuter dailies. Torstar will continue to operate four of the seven daily papers it has purchased and end operations of the remaining newspapers involved in the deal. Postmedia will continue to operate the Exeter Times-Advocate and the Exeter Weekender and close all the other properties it acquired in the deal. The Boston Herald has agreed to be sold to GateHouse Media after declaring bankruptcy. The sale price wasn’t disclosed, but the purchase is subject to court approval. The company would continue its day-to-day operations. The 64,500-circulation tabloid has 240 employees. New York-based GateHouse Media publishes more than 600 newspapers in 38 states. Transcontinental Inc. has sold 12 Quebec newspapers and their related web properties to Groupe Lexis Media Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available. Under the agreement, 75 employees of the various publications and 16 employees from TC Media’s production team have been transferred to Groupe Lexis Media. Transcontinental also signed a multi-year agreement for the printing and distribution of all of the titles as well as for the printing of the magazines already owned by Lexis Media. The newspapers sold to Groupe Lexis Media are: Le Citoyen Rouyn-Noranda, Le Citoyen de la Vallee-de-l’Or, L’Echo Abitibien at the Paducah (Ky.) Sun in 1983. He later served as a group publisher of more than a dozen newspapers in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Illinois. Rodney Baker has been named publisher of The Ledger Independent in Maysville, Ky. Most recently, he served as a national account executive with Valassis since 2015. Previously, he worked at Gannett’s Enquirer Media in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1998 and served in several leadership roles before being named senior advertising manager for automotive in 2008.
and La Frontiere, distributed in Abitibi-Temiscamingue; L’Action D’Autray, L’Action - Wednesday Edition, L’Action - Weekend Edition, L’Express Montcalm and Hebdo Rive-Nord, in Lanaudiere; Le Bulletin, La Petite-Nation and La Revue, in Outaouais. The Athol Daily News has been acquired by Newspapers of New England Inc. The newspaper had been in the Chase family since 1941 and serves the North Quabbin region of western Massachusetts. Newspapers of New England is a family-owned company and publishes the Greenfield Recorder, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Amherst Bulletin, Valley Advocate and their respective websites in western Massachusetts, along with daily and weekly newspapers in Concord, West Lebanon and Peterborough, N.H. Paddock Publications Inc. has purchased Pana News Inc. based in central Illinois that includes three community weeklies: the Pana News-Palladium, the Golden Prairie News in Assumption and the Free Press-Progress in Nokomis, which also incorporates the Morrisonville Times in its pages. Paddock Publications, based in Arlington Heights, Ill., is the publisher of the Daily Herald, dailyherald.com, Reflejos, The Business Ledger and an array of niche publications. Michael Yamashita has purchased San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter making him the first gay Asian-American publisher and owner of an LGBT newspaper. Yamashita has served as publisher since 2013 and was also its former general manager. After receiving two shares from former investors, he was able to purchase the LGBT weekly newspaper. The sale price was not disclosed. Yamashita will also take over BAR Media Inc. The Bay Area Reporter was founded by Bob Ross in 1971.
provides marketing solutions and content for NJ.com and its affiliated newspapers. Alessi most recently served as the company’s chief revenue officer. Before that, he was vice president of advertising and operations at The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. Brad Foss has been named Associated Press global business editor. In his new role,
Foss will guide AP’s coverage of business, industry and finance around the world and in all media formats. Before joining the AP in 1999, he was a reporter and editor at The Mill Valley (Calif.) Herald. Joanne Lipman has stepped down as chief content officer and editor-in-chief of USA Today to focus on her upcoming
Hector Becerra has been named city editor of the Los Angeles Times. He started his career at the Times in 1999 and was a general assignment reporter until 2014. He became an editor in 2015, where he led coverage of immigration and neighborhoods. In his new role, Becerra will continue to run a reporting team and help organize daily newsgathering and advance planning.
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AP Photo
NewsPeople Paul Caluori has been named Associated Press vice president of global products. In his new role, he will be responsible for creating and managing AP product offerings that drive revenue growth. Previously, he served as the news cooperative’s global director of digital services, leading the introduction and growth of AP’s Digital News Experiences and the consolidation AP’s mobile, web and white-label network offerings. He succeeds Joy Jones, who has resigned.
book. Lipman joined Gannett in 2015 and was named editor-in-chief two years later. Before that, she served as deputy managing editor at the Wall Street Journal.
Times in Louisiana and also held executive positions at newspapers in Arkansas, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Richard Dreshfield has been named senior vice president of sheetfed sales for KBA North America. Dreshfield will be based in Dallas at the firm’s headquarters and will oversee the entire North American sheetfed sales team. He most recently served as vice president of sales and marketing with Clearwater Paper Corp., where he also worked in various sales, marketing and sales management roles for more than 33 years.
Monika Collins has been named marketing manager of Presstek. In her new role, Collins will lead Presstek’s marketing initiatives, focusing on its wide range of digital offset and CTP printing solutions. Most recently, she oversaw marketing for Tactical Communications Group. Collins has also held senior marketing roles at Kennedy Information, a Bloomberg BNA business.
Alan English has stepped down as publisher of New England Newspapers Inc. to serve as head of communications for the Military Officers Association of America. New England Newspapers Inc. president Fredric D. Rutberg was named president and publisher of the company’s four news titles: The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass., Bennington (Vt.) Banner, Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer and Manchester (Vt.) Journal, along with its magazines and niche publications. English’s career change ends 30 years in journalism. Previously, he served as president and publisher of the Shreveport editorandpublisher.com
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Derek Milne has been named international sales and marketing manager for Elpical Software. Milne will be directly responsible for growing existing markets in northern Europe as well as supporting the distributor networks throughout the rest of the world. In addition, he will be tasked with enhancing the marketing and business strategies to support new product developments. Milne most recently served as business development director for News Hub Media. John Roach has been named executive editor of the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa. He replaces John Boogert, who has accepted a position as news director of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo. Previously, Roach worked as
sports manager for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Before that, he was a senior producer in digital media for NBCSports. com and was one of the founding editors at ESPN magazine. BH Media Group has announced several leadership changes. Lissa Cupp was named chief marketing officer. She most recently served as senior vice president, consumer at Angie’s List. Before that, she held senior marketing roles at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, e-commerce firm Chalkfly and Acco Brands. Thom Kastrup was named executive vice president and chief revenue officer. He will direct advertising and consumer revenue segments for BH Media and have oversight of the company’s digital transformation efforts. Kastrup joins the company’s other current executive vice president, Doug Hiemstra, who will oversee technology advancements for internal and external customers, the company’s commercial printing business and shared services. Also announced, Josh Rinehults was named vice president and corporate controller. He previously served as controller for the newspaper group. In his new role, he will have responsibility for all company operations. Brenda Draheim was promoted from treasurer and controller to vice president of accounting. Phil Taylor was named president of the Omaha World-Herald, BH Media’s largest newspaper. Taylor previously was vice president and general manager. BH Media CEO Terry Kroeger will continue to serve as the newspaper’s publisher. Gerry O’Brien has been promoted to general manger of the Herald and News in Klamath Falls, Ore. He will continue serving as the paper’s editor, a position he has held for five years. Prior to that, O’Brien was regional editor of The Montana Standard and the Independent Record in Helena, Mont. Additionally, Mark Dobie has been named a regional publisher of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Belgrade News in Montana. He will continue serving as publisher of the Herald and News. FEBRUARY 2018 | E & P
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Business Directory
Companies that provide publishing leaders products and services that help save time, generate new revenue models and strengthen existing ones.
Reach Decision Makers Archive In A Box Phone: 360-427-6300 Website: www.ArchiveInABox.com Who We Are: We specialize in making digital copies (scans) of your printed newspapers and bound volume archives which you can store online and access from any device. • Our service includes everything — shipping & logistics, high resolution scanning, digital copies, hard drives, and online hosting. • We work on your schedule and budget with no contract commitment — scan in batches, and pay-as-you-go. • You exclusively own and control the original scans and all copies. No partnership is required. How will you benefit? As the steward of your community’s published history, you know the value of your printed newspaper archive. Don’t wait — begin your digitization before you suffer a loss! • Digital copies preserve your archive, and effectively nullify physical loss. • Your bound volume, loose, and microfilm materials can be digitized. • Fully searchable. • Integrate with your existing PDF archive.
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Rapid and continuous technology changes make it tough for publishing executives to keep current with products and services provided by new-media companies. Our readers constantly ask if we would create a directory, listing new-media companies and outlining how they benefit newspapers. Newspaper industry decision makers are looking to simplify their lives, and our new business directory will help publishers better understand the products and services you sell. To advertise in E&P’s Business Directory, please contact:
E&P Sales (949) 660-6150, ext. 214 sales@editorandpublisher.com
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Accounting:
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packages, etc. Campaign management suite, CRM, E-tears, auto proof email, etc. Total advertising functionality in a single application. Remote browser-accessed account management for outside sales reps connects directly to order entry, ad tracking, accounting, reporting, enabling full instant functionality from the field including artwork submission by rep or customer.
• Impeccable complete accounts receivable reporting and management. • Optional accounts payable/general ledger availability. Technological Innovation: Vision Data constantly re-invests in innovation and development. Our experienced staff has excellent skills in managing accounting and circulation, as well as flowing and controlling ads. We are constantly developing revenue modules that add to your sales packages. Our VisionWeb suite team is second to none in the industry and is dedicated to keeping Vision Data on the cutting edge of that technology.
Configuration Options: Vision Data “Soup-to-Nuts” packages are available in various configurations: In addition to locally-hosted server configurations, we offer both IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service - Vision Data hosted) and SaaS (Software as a Service - leased access) system configurations, both of which save you the cost and manpower of installing and managing your own server.
Large Customer Base: We have a large base of over 2,000 publications made up of a good mix of privately owned newspapers and newspaper groups. We have continually grown our base at a manageable rate , aided by our reputation for outstanding customer service and attention to customer needs. We take great pride in our history of customer retention.
“Soup-to-Nuts” Ongoing Support Pricing: By investing in Vision Data’s “Soup-toNuts” systems, you can also lower your ongoing support costs by replacing multiple vendor support charges with a singled “Packaged” support charge. Publishers investing in the total Vision Data “Soup-to-Nuts” package can save over fifty percent from the cost of multiple support packages.
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subscription models. Management dashboard instantly displays and compares data, CASS certification, postal reporting, remote access for account or route management, EZ Pay, user-friendly CSR, full accounting and reporting.
Ad Tracking/Production:
• User-friendly Classified Pagination/Publication Layout for Quark or InDesign. • Ad-Tracking functionality streamlines and manages ad creation, proofing, etc. E&P Directory-Circulation Management:E&P Directory Ad-Leverage Cut costs, track production time, reduce makegoods with this powerful tool.
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518-434-2193
www.vdata.com
1/18/18 2:02 PM
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Phone: 800-887-1615
Brokers / Appraisers
E-mail: classifieds@editorandpublisher.com
Brokers / Appraisers
Newspapers • Magazines • Shoppers Book Publishing • Directories • Digital Media
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Publications For Sale
Fax: 866-605-2323
Publications For Sale
THE BOSTON HERALD is being offered for sale in a bankruptcy auction. The award-winning Boston Herald is the conservative voice and fearless news provider for the seventh largest and one of the most highly educated markets in the country. The media operation has maintained a strong position in this attractive market, with a high percentage of exclusive newspaper readers devoted to the Boston Herald’s content and format. Anchored by the 64,500-circulation Herald, the independently owned operation has developed a broad array of products and a large and loyal digital audience around its strong local content. The Herald’s news and sports columnists are indispensable reads in the greater Boston region. The sale process of the Boston Herald is open to all interested parties. Bids must be received by February 9th at 5:00 p.m. ET to participate at the auction scheduled for February 13, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. ET. If you wish to find out more about this process, please contact Dirks, Van Essen & Murray. Call 505-820-2700 or email sara@dirksvanessen.com.
THE 22 YEAR OLD leading newspaper in the Caribbean Island nation of St.Kitts And Nevis is for sale. It is the paper of record for the Caribbean paradise. The publication comes with it’s own printery, 22,000 square foot building with a 3,000 square foot apartment on the third floor with a view of the ocean .The facility is located on an acre of land.The newspaper produces good advertisement revenue with potential for much more. Serious inquires only to thesknobserver@yahoo.com, editorinchief@thestkittsnevisobserver.com.
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: The Gainesville Sun is seeking a proven Advertising Director to lead our advertising sales team. We are looking for an energetic leader that is dedicated to achieving and surpassing sales goals, as well as focused on delivering value to our customers. Competitive candidates will be:
The Only Way To Reach a Goal is to Have One!
KAMEN & CO. GROUP SERVICES Media Appraisers, Accountants, Advisors & Brokers (516) 379-2797 • 626 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556 info@kamengroup.com • www.KamenGroup.com
NEWSPAPER/BROADCAST CROSS-OWNERSHIP. Former AP and immediate past president of The National Association of Media Brokers, I have 32 years of success representing buyers and sellers of radio & TV stations. Contact Glenn Serafin, Serafin Bros., Inc., Broadcast Brokerage & Finance. gserafin@tampabay.rr.com. 813-885-6060.
Publications For Sale
Publications For Sale
FOR SALE BY KAMENGROUP.COM: Horse/Equine enthusiast magazine Long Island, NY, NYC weekly community newspaper?, SC Publishing entity w/coupon books, guide books and Magazine, NC regional glossy Mag, New Mexico weekly newspaper, Chicago, Arizona, Kansas & Maine cultural/living Magazines, National Broadcast/Newspaper Annual Directory, Indiana weekly newspaper, National fishing/outdoors Magazine, National holistic magazine, Tampa, FL area free distribution shopper/newspaper. Georgia weekly newspaper. Need your title financially valued? Want to sell your newspaper? Confidential & Caring Service. Info@kamengroup.com. 516-379-2797. www.kamengroup.com.
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• Able to develop and execute advertising sales plans to achieve print and digital revenue goals. This will include the ability to analyze market conditions and competitive business situations, identify new business opportunities and to implement creative sales strategies. • A digital leader, who is knowledgeable about digital technologies and has a proven track-record of being able to drive digital sales performance. • Collaborative, working with other department heads and the publisher to develop and execute short- and long-term strategies that bring revenue opportunities and innovative approaches to our market. • Hands-on, having a talent for coaching sales professionals and sales management to maximize their potential and build long-term client relationships. Other qualifications include: • A bachelor’s degree in advertising, marketing, business administration or other relevant area. Appropriate experience may be considered in lieu of degree. • A minimum of seven years advertising sales leadership experience and previous success as a print and online sales performer. Candidates with relevant newspaper industry experience are strongly preferred. • P&L experience, with knowledge of forecasting and modeling tools. • Outstanding oral and written communication skills. • The ability to learn and use a variety of software programs, including a CRM system. Compensation includes a base salary commensurate with experience and a performancebased bonus opportunity. Owned by GateHouse Media, we offer excellent benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, STD, LTD, 401K and more. The Gainesville Sun is an equal opportunity employer that recognizes the value of diversity in our workforce. The Gainesville Sun is a multi-media news & advertising organization, with a daily circulation of 21,000; Sunday, 28,000. Our online presence can be seen at www.gainesville.com. Gainesville, Fla. is located in north-central Florida, and is home to the University of Florida. If you are interested in joining an award winning newspaper, please submit a cover letter and resume to HR@gvillesun.com.
editorandpublisher.com
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Phone: 800-887-1615
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER: The Local Media Association is seeking a Chief Content Officer to lead strategic programs that will help the organization’s membership with their audience development initiatives. The Chief Content Officer will also oversee the internal and external content direction for the organization. LMA is a media trade organization representing more than 2,800 newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, directories, pure plays and research & development partners. LMA assists local media companies with their transformation strategies via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training. The ideal candidate will have several years of experience driving audience development initiatives in areas like digital storytelling, social media, video, podcasting and newsletters. They should have experience leading change in news organizations and be able to point to specific initiatives that increased and engaged audiences. The ability to articulate strategies and then help newsrooms implement them is critical to this role. Some specific things you would do: • Run and grow the Chief Content Club, a group of two dozen product leaders and editors who meet monthly to network and talk about how they are approaching key content topics. You would network with this group of key industry leaders and lead group discussions through tapping into members of the club as well as bringing outside voices in to ensure an engaging, valuable discussion each month. • Offer consulting services to media companies seeking to evolve their digital content and products. This could include everything from delivering strategic direction around large newsroom initiatives, product insights and guidance with newsroom structure and efficiencies. • Work with news leaders at social media companies on key initiatives that will benefit the industry, as well as training for media companies on how to make the most out of the products that social media companies offer. • Oversee LMA’s social media content and tone, as well as the organization’s website and the content that appears on it. • Develop content strategies to help LMA profile its membership and the innovative programs they are launching. Also, produce content that helps LMA build even more interest for its programs and events. Specifically, the CCO will produce monthly white papers on key audience development trends and will produce content for our series of weekly newsletters. • Oversee the user experience of all LMA products ensuring they are best in class and serving as an example to the industry. • Manage the technology needs of the organization, seeking tools that provide the right reporting and content, while allowing LMA to build better products to its membership. The CCO will lead the organization to a new CRM, marketing and content management system technologies in 2018 and then provide ongoing management of those tools. A few things we’re looking for: • 5-10 years of experience in newsroom leadership roles leading cultural and product change. • Experience innovating in social media and digital products that are helping gain new audience, i.e. newsletters, video, etc. • Experience with current data tools that are helping guide coverage decisions in newsrooms and an understanding of key metrics being used to engage audiences today. • Ability to relate to content trends and needs in newspapers, TV and radio. • Wide array of contacts both in newsrooms and the R&D space. • Technology expertise in content-based systems and tools. • Word Press or other CMS experience. • Ability to travel 25 percent of the time. The position is remote. Interested? Send your resume, cover letter and salary requirements to lindsey.estes@localmedia.org
COPY EDITOR: Paxton Media Group LLC has an opening for a copy editor in its Paducah, Ky., Page Design Center. The PDC produces 9 newspapers, associated weeklies and special sections.
Help Wanted
Fax: 866-605-2323
Help Wanted
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR - LONGVIEW, WA: Lee Enterprises in Longview, WA seeks a proven leader to oversee our Circulation Department. The Circulation Director will build circulation through sales and promotion programs, the timely distribution and availability of Lee Enterprises Media products, and adherence to service standards and practices that satisfy the expectations of the customers. The Circulation Director will play a vital role on our management team which determines short and long-term strategy and implements the tactics necessary to grow the enterprise. This position reports to the publisher and regional circulation director and is accountable for all acquisitions and retention as well as all distribution efforts. Responsibilities include: • Execute sales and marketing programs for all circulation sales including home delivery, single copy, Newspapers In Education and bulk sales. • Communicate and implement processes in collaboration with others on staff to achieve circulation sales growth. • Develop and administer revenue and expense budgets • Set and maintain high standards of service for subscribers, single copy buyers, carriers and retailers Qualifications: • Three Years previous sales mgt and /or distribution experience • Ability to pull and effectively analyze data • Experience coaching mentoring and developing an enthusiastic staff • Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field preferred As part of Lee Enterprises, TDN offers excellent earnings potential and a full benefits package, along with a professional and comfortable work environment focused on growth opportunities for employees. We are an equal opportunity employer and a drug-free workplace. All applicants considered for employment must pass a post-offer drug screen, including the use of marijuana, and background check prior to commencing employment. Please apply online at www.lee.net/Careers REPORTER: The Lake Sun/LakenewsOnline.com is looking for a full-time staff reporter to cover community news at Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. The successful candidate will be joining a family of print and digital publications covering news and sports. Responsibilities will include gathering news for print and digital, handling photography, video, social media, content management on the digital platform and assisting with page building using Quark. The Lake Sun/LakeNewsOnline offers a wide range of experiences for a reporter wanting to develop community news skills, who likes working with the public and can work independently or as a team member. A challenging position for the right candidate. Lake of the Ozarks is a unique place to call home. The area is known for boating, outdoor recreation, entertainment, wineries and offers a unique small town atmosphere amidst a major tourist destination within easy driving distance to every large city in the state. Position requires a journalism or related degree. Experience is helpful. Pay and benefits are competitive. Position is available immediately . The Lake Sun/LakeNewsOnline is a community newspaper and website owned by Gatehouse Media. Please send resume and clips to jmiller@lakesunonline.com or mail to 918 North Business Route 5, Camdenton, MO. 65020. No phone calls GROUP PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: A Newspaper group in Kansas, has an opening for a person who can fill the role of Group Publisher and Advertising Director. We are looking for a person who can successfully lead staff and sales teams in multiple locations. This person will oversee daily and weekly newspapers covering communities in Junction City, Abilene, Wamego, St. Marys Kansas and more.
Experience on a commercial newspaper copy desk is preferred. However, recent graduates with editing and design experience at college newspapers will also receive strong consideration. The open position involves the pagination of sports pages, although some shifting of duties could occur depending on the person hired.
Key duties include: managing and motivating an inside and outside sales team with an emphasis on generating profitable revenue from our print and digital products; helping to develop marketing programs. Developing budgets,setting goals and achieving them.
The Page Design Center uses Adobe In-Design CS-6 for pagination, so experience creating pages and paginating them with this software is a plus.
The person must be aggressive and adept at setting priorities and reordering them as needed, particularly under deadline pressure or as circumstances change. The person should have strong selling skills, and experience with multimedia and social media selling. We use all mediums to tell our stories and reach customers.
Paxton Media Group LLC is the publisher of more than 30 daily newspapers in the South and Midwest. Paxton Media Group LLC offers a choice of health plans, 401(k) with company match and other attractive benefits. Please email resume and work samples to cash@paducahsun.com with “copy editor” in the subject line.
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This person must have the ability to work productively in a team setting.
Send cover letter, resume with references and writing samples to Publisher Chris Walker by e-mail at walker@emporia.com (put Sales Director in the subject line), or by mail to: 517 Merchant, Emporia Kansas 66801 or fax at 620-342-4841.
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shoptalk /commentary Facebook Ad Targeting is Incredible—and Scary By Mark Glaser
A
s Facebook continues to amass enough force and influence to rival a superpower, its ad targeting is not only the social giant’s biggest liability, but also its forte. Entire countries, global populations, legislators, and advertisers both seethe and marvel at its prowess. And Facebook finds itself caught in a conundrum created by its own success. One thing is clear: Digital advertising on Facebook is skyrocketing. Most advertisers haven’t been dissuaded by the company’s negative press—because the crisis has yet to directly hit them. However, history shows that brand safety isn’t a given on the internet. Facebook needs to rein in its own power—not just in testimony, but also in practice—so that it can placate regulators and a very concerned public before the next scandal hits.
Targeted Propaganda…and Eavesdropping? Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election is obviously one of the biggest examples of what ad targeting intended to spread propaganda and misinformation can do if left unchecked. Some 3,000 ads reached nearly 146 million people with a paltry $100,000 ad buy. And some ads had the explicit aim to exploit contentious issues like gun rights and illegal immigration. Coordinated campaigns operated by fake accounts liked, shared, and commented on these posts. If you spend any time on Facebook, you know intuitively what this means: More interactions increased the chances someone would see these posts. Russia, in essence, practiced what research is only beginning to confirm: Moral outrage in the digital age is akin to pouring gasoline on a fire. Meanwhile, Facebook’s ad targeting tools help to keep the moral outrage burning. Russia may be the biggest example, but it’s certainly not the only one. Take China.
The country may ban Facebook within its borders, but Chinese companies purchase thousands of dollars in Facebook advertising every quarter to help spread its statesponsored propaganda. That means the typical news you’d see on Chinese television, which touts the country’s prosperity and stability relative to global crises and is subject to massive censorship, reaches far beyond the average worker in China. It’s a digital extension of China’s own foreign policy and entrance into other countries. Facebook’s recent face-off before Congress has prompted even more attention among politicians on what’s possible on the platform. Two U.S. senators, Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) recently created a Facebook page for a fictional political group, paid Facebook to target content from the page toward thousands of journalists and staffers on Capitol Hill and found, as one of their aides told Axios’ Mike Allen, “there was literally no mechanism on (Facebook) for us to (prove) we were who we said we were.” It’s no wonder rumors Facebook is also eavesdropping on our conversations are popping up. Some have debunked the myth, but only because, they say, Facebook is already too powerful to even need to consider that.
Selling Point for Targeted Ads Here’s the deal: Facebook’s ad targeting is so scary because it works so well. In the middle of this political mess (and consumer concerns about sacrificing our data and ourselves to Facebook) it’s likely that there are marketers who interpret the Russian campaign as impressive. It’s basically a selling point for cheap targeted advertising on the social giant. “For better or worse, one key takeaway from this is how effective Facebook can be as an advertising medium,” Kyle Bunch, managing director of ad agency R/GA’s
social practice, told BuzzFeed News. “Many advertisers are probably asking themselves, ‘How can I make better use of data to have my campaigns get those kind of results?’”
Who’s Who Any type of post can be promoted on Facebook. Should Facebook, which largely requires people to use their real names (unlike Twitter), create more restrictions on who buys ads and sets up Facebook Pages, requiring more information and verification? One would assume that an up-and-coming restaurant would be willing to invest the time to apply for verification. However, there are those who will grumble at the tediousness. Other critics might wonder why Big Brother Facebook must have the responsibility of verifying the credibility— and by extension, morality—of these buyers. But as frightening as it may be for some to admit, Facebook is already a Big Brother. Advertisers, or anyone who wants to promote their brand to the world, for that matter, can’t afford to sacrifice the unparalleled scale the company offers. There may be other tech companies, but there is no other Facebook. The social behemoth has pledged more transparency and more hiring of ad reviewers, but that will never be enough as long as scandals continue to come to light. Congress may not be satisfied with self-regulation alone. And ultimately, Facebook will have to rein in its overwhelming power and set up checks and balances—even if it takes a short-term hit on revenues—to satisfy an angry public.
Mark Glaser is founder and executive director of MediaShift. This article was originally published by Digital Content Next.
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