The Future of Media
In working on our currently running eLab eXchange Newspapers Tournament, I became interested in the future of both online and offline media. It is clear that the internet has changed the way media outlets make money, and that many media outlets will have to adjust to survive. But how? Our focus with the tournament is making a profit with an online business model. But is it really time to abandon the traditional media business model? Are there media outlets making it work? The change most media outlets are headed towards is more globalization. More global news reports, more accessability across the globe, and more social media. While globalization is great, how many global news sites can make a profit online before we reach the point of diminishing returns? Personally, I don't want to read the same global news on several different sites, see the same news on several nightly news programs, or hear the same news on several radio stations.
One media outlet with a different approach has been National Public Radio (NPR). Yes, thats right, NPR. A recent post on the social media news site Mashable, presents NPR as the future of mainstream media. They quote AdaptiveBlue's CEO Alex Iskold as attibuting NPR's success to their "hyperlocal focus". Basically, their structure allows member stations to report on news and special interest stories that are of interest to local listeners. While, at the same time being a part of a larger news outlet that provides global news. This also allows marketers and advertisers to reach a specific audience within a specific region. In addition to their radio programs, NPR has embraced social media, with large numbers of people following them on Twitter (700,000+) and Facebook (400,000+).
The real question is: Does the blend of old style local reporting, and new style global reporting really work? With listenership on the rise since 2000, and a weekly audience of nearly 26 million, they must be doing something right. Now if they could only do something about that 8 million dollar projected buget shortfall for 2009...
One media outlet with a different approach has been National Public Radio (NPR). Yes, thats right, NPR. A recent post on the social media news site Mashable, presents NPR as the future of mainstream media. They quote AdaptiveBlue's CEO Alex Iskold as attibuting NPR's success to their "hyperlocal focus". Basically, their structure allows member stations to report on news and special interest stories that are of interest to local listeners. While, at the same time being a part of a larger news outlet that provides global news. This also allows marketers and advertisers to reach a specific audience within a specific region. In addition to their radio programs, NPR has embraced social media, with large numbers of people following them on Twitter (700,000+) and Facebook (400,000+).
The real question is: Does the blend of old style local reporting, and new style global reporting really work? With listenership on the rise since 2000, and a weekly audience of nearly 26 million, they must be doing something right. Now if they could only do something about that 8 million dollar projected buget shortfall for 2009...
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