What will we become? I think it’s important for us to visualize the new form that former media companies can take as we go through transformation. So much of our attention and resources are focused on media products that it is hard to think of our model and mission as anything but community, news and information.

Local media companies recognize that their current ”product” and business model is failing (or has failed). The push to monetize digital content is an important tactic to attempt to change the business model, but it’s not enough. Information has lost it’s value. I read somewhere that google was worried that if traditional news media dies, it may have to pay for trusted content… ironic since google is a prime example of how information has been devalued in the first place.  The key here is in analytics and the education of the small advertiser to understand the value of the search-engine as a channel that drives impressions.

However, until we recognize that our model can morph beyond content generation and advertising sales, we are limiting the possibilities. We had a retreat at my place few weeks ago where we began to explore what other assets we have as a mature local media organization. If we turn the model upside down and shake out the assets, some pretty significant opportunities presented themselves.

One of the most glaring opportunities has often bubbled up in conversation. We have paid lip service to “selling audience”. I would guess that this media company is not the only who has attempted to “sell audience” by including more audience information on a rate card (or a handful of rate cards) and bundling products.

This is a step in the right direction, but we can do better. It needs to be a focus of our changing structure and business model. We need to look at ourselves increasingly as marketers with a powerful set of channels at our disposal, some of which are our own. We need to build the skills, processes and tools to market through multiple channels.

We are beginning to recognize, enhance and further develop marketing vehicles and services through existing channels such as email, mobile, and social media, but it’s not happening fast enough. Our focus is still on the traditional channels of print and broadcast. Our new approach must be multifaceted, and we must partner with other channels to offer total audience solutions.

The new product management model must focus on the right mix for the right audience and deliver the mix with multiple options including services as well as packaged products. We have to ask ourselves how we can use our assets to quickly create relevant, convenient opportunities for audience to find information and marketers to find audience.

Then what? Then we can more effectively talk about marketing our own products, transactional partnerships, and so on. But we must lay the new foundation very quickly. It must be built into our structure, skill sets, tools, planing…our processes… It must be how we think. This is the opportunity for product management as we sludge through the daunting challenge of rebuilding the value of our assets.

Found this on social responsibility on Richard Branson’s blog. Thought it might make a good discussion topic. These are the kinds of trends we should be watching because they require investment, and in order to garnish the investment $ there must be an expected return…

http://entrepreneur.virgin.com/2008/12/18/social-responsibility-just-business/#comment-1124

As we discussed at our retreat, at some level, we must help the individual to earn the dollar to pay for the fish that’s advertised and even sold through our media. We can no longer simply be the advertising vehicle. We must become the entrepreneurial partner. How can we empower the small business and the individual to earn a fair income to spend with our business community? Is this our new job? Or one of them?

According to the editor in chief of Business Week, John Byrne, Magazines are behind Newspapers in adopting Web 2.0 technology. Magazines are struggling with the same decreasing revenue streams and increasing costs, but are slower to transition to a new model.

Here are the truths of the magazine industry according to Byrne:

•   Context is as important today as content. It may, in fact, be the new king on the throne. That’s because the world is evolving into niche communities, organized around individual interests and passions. Keeping your audience deeply engaged in the journalism you do is necessary to induce loyalty to your brand.

•   We live in a world in which there are far too many stories chasing far too few eyeballs. What readers need in this environment is often help in organizing, sorting and sifting through all the articles.

•   Consumers prefer multiple sources of news and consult 16 to 18 media brands a week. That’s according to a McKinsey & Company study.

•   Creating more journalism isn’t necessarily the way you win online. It’s costly, and the gains in audience from putting up more stories are by and large incremental.

•   The smart and elegant organization of content through links and editorial curation has as much, if not more, value than simply publishing more of your own articles on the Web.

Here’s an article sent to us by Chuck about a media company (Questex) that’s audience-first focused. He thought it aligned with what we’re trying to do. It’s a quick read with a big point.

In all of our planning, this is the most important consideration. Is it what the audience needs, and can they find it? If those two things are in place in all aspects of the product — features, information, user interface, advertising content, and products/services — we have a good chance for success.

Good Morning – put the coffee on… Found this feed at 3:00 AM in the Knight Foundation’s News links and feeds:

Medill Students, With Knight’s Help, Launch Web Site with Facebook App — New Way of Commenting 

The article from Editor and Publisher Online mentions Cedar Rapids Gazette and Medill students as recipients for the Knight News Challenge grant for continued work on News Mixer.

From Chuck Peters on Twitter:

“Review of efforts, and business models, for hyperlocal news http://bit.ly/Cq6v “

After reading the article attached to Chuck’s tweet, I dug into how Outside.In engages bloggers. This is something that we need to do better. We often talk about providing the tools and the channels for community to engage through GazetteOnline.com , Iowa.com, and HooplaNow.com… Outside.In has figured out a model. Here’s their outreach to bloggers.

Think about blending the blog outreach model of Outide.In with the social engagement features of NewsMixer… What do you think?

Radical? Yes. But as we reinvision what we bring to the community table, are we digging deep enough? I’m not suggesting that the DeTroit strategy is the answer in our community, but you have to hand it to them — they are REALLY turning the business on its ear.

http://nextnewsroom.ning.com/profiles/blogs/innovation-big-changes-at

Go ahead and ask the hard questions.

As we extend our community connection into new media models and regions, it becomes increasingly important to leverage existing influencers — give them their own channel in our space, let them drive, and then let them share in the success. It’s about engagement and reward. The concept is community as partner, not merely audience:

Rather than trying haphazardly to build relationships with everyone online, marketers need only figure out who among the 10 percent is influencing their consumers and help those specific individuals use your product/content to create, promote and leverage their content.Shannon Paul’s Very Official Blog, Dec 2008

 

 

As we make our transition to a new business concept/model, the following two blogs are a bare minimum reading requirement. Please try to keep up with them and contribute your thoughts. Be active in this transition. We will all be better for it. This kind of a change is foundational, and we all have to stay engaged and on the same page. So, besides all the millions of daily things to get done, please carve out time in your schedule to step above the daily detail and keep up with the concepts we’re grappling with on a more global level. The more great minds on this, the better.

http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/

http://cpetersia.wordpress.com/

I’ll try to post concepts and links in this space that are helpful and provocative to the products we’re trying to develop. For example, there’s a link to a beta version of Business Week’s “Business Exchange” sign up for it and check out how they’ve integrated social media (Linked In) with news aggregation and filtering. It might be very close to the information valet concept in another link you’ll find on this page.

Comment on concepts you find here – let’s create dialog at every opportunity.

Read, think critically, contribute.