1
00:00:01,169 -->
00:00:07,059
'US newspapers are folding
at an alarming
rate. Some people are
switching to online only.'
2
00:00:07,059 -->
00:00:11,699
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
sent a thunder ball trough the
media this week.''
3
00:00:11,699 -->
00:00:14,730
With the growth of the
internet
making money
4
00:00:14,730 -->
00:00:17,730
has been something of a
struggle for the print industry
as a whole.'
5
00:00:17,730 -->
00:00:21,939
'Sales and profits both are
shrinking, with
circulation down nearly 40%'
6
00:00:21,939 -->
00:00:28,939
For over 300 years, news has
arrived on our
doorsteps as news PAPERS.
7
00:00:28,969 -->
00:00:31,500
Publishers relied on paper,
On ink,
8
00:00:31,500 -->
00:00:34,010
Presses,
Trucks, and shops.
9
00:00:34,010 -->
00:00:38,859
Many newspapers spent nearly
half their budget
just getting their content
TO you.
10
00:00:38,859 -->
00:00:43,889
But that...as they say...is
yesterday's news.
11
00:00:43,889 -->
00:00:50,889
12
00:00:51,479 -->
00:00:55,579
This is the digital world.
In an instant, news travels
to your laptop,
13
00:00:55,579 -->
00:00:58,970
smart phone or tablet.
Geography has disappeared
14
00:00:58,970 -->
00:01:02,130
Words written in Paris are
available on the
New York subway.
15
00:01:02,130 -->
00:01:06,090
And while the way we GET
news is undergoing
a revolution....
16
00:01:06,090 -->
00:01:11,119
....So is the nature of news
itself.
17
00:01:11,119 -->
00:01:16,070
San Antonio, Texas.
Hundreds of journalists
gather here from all over
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00:01:16,070 -->
00:01:21,750
the United States, to
discuss the current
state...AND the future of
their profession.
19
00:01:21,750 -->
00:01:24,299
Journalists like Laura
Frank.
20
00:01:24,299 -->
00:01:30,369
I was a reporter at the
Rocky Mountain news,
an investigator reporter at
the State's oldest
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00:01:30,369 -->
00:01:37,369
newspaper. But it ended when
it closed in
2009. And it was devastating.
22
00:01:38,880 -->
00:01:43,740
On that day....the paper's
owners walked into
the newsroom to tell the
reporters their jobs...
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00:01:43,740 -->
00:01:44,670
were at an end.
24
00:01:44,670 -->
00:01:48,259
'We're going to announce
just in the next
few minutes that we're going
to put the
25
00:01:48,259 -->
00:01:55,240
Rocky Mountain News up for
sale. Something
that would have been
unthinkable just a few months ago.'
26
00:01:55,539 -->
00:02:01,690
And it was really a shock
for the country
I think. It got a lot of
attention around
27
00:02:01,690 -->
00:02:07,700
the United States when that
happened because
it was the first major
metropolitan newspaper
28
00:02:07,700 -->
00:02:09,430
to close in the United
States.
29
00:02:09,430 -->
00:02:14,590
During the last fifteen
years of the digital
revolution, dozens of
newspapers have vanished
30
00:02:14,590 -->
00:02:18,330
in the United States.
And more than 30 percent of
journalists have
31
00:02:18,330 -->
00:02:19,930
lost their jobs.
32
00:02:19,930 -->
00:02:24,930
....the entire industry was
collapsing around
us. So it wasn't as if we we
could no, we'll just go get
33
00:02:24,930 -->
00:02:30,700
other journalism jobs. There
were no
other journalism jobs. I was
wondering if
34
00:02:30,700 -->
00:02:34,060
I was going to have to go
work at Starbucks
35
00:02:34,060 -->
00:02:37,650
All the journalists here in
San Antonio have
been had a rough ride in the
last couple
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00:02:37,650 -->
00:02:42,640
of years. The basic
financials of the media
business have changed
completely.
37
00:02:42,640 -->
00:02:52,740
'What you have to understand
about American
media is the profit margins
that American
38
00:02:53,030 --> 00:02:59,530
media were used to getting.
I worked at newspapers
that were getting 40 or 45
per cent return on
39
00:02:59,670 -->
00:03:04,239
investment. Those days are
long gone and they're probably
not going to come back.
40
00:03:04,239 -->
00:03:09,330
But surprisingly, the
journalists here in
San Antonio...are decidedly
optimistic.
41
00:03:10,300 -->
00:03:15,880
We've experienced the
technology
that causes the disruption,
the internet and
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00:03:16,010 -->
00:03:22,910
digital. But now, I think the technology really
is going to add to being
able to do the reporting
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00:03:22,959 -->
00:03:28,579
and being able to
disseminate it in a way,
so that we are gonna, we
felt the pain, now
44
00:03:28,579 -->
00:03:31,170
we're gong to feel the
benefit.
45
00:03:31,170 -->
00:03:35,159
But getting to there from
here, means changing
the way we think about news.
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00:03:35,159 -->
00:03:39,469
When traditional newspapers
began to die in
the United States, the big
question was....What's
47
00:03:39,469 -->
00:03:44,540
going to replace them?
The answer....is all sorts
of things.
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00:03:44,540 -->
00:03:47,980
New ways to get news.
New ways to read it.
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00:03:47,980 -->
00:03:51,280
New ways to share it.
But it's still early days
for the
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00:03:51,280 -->
00:03:55,569
brave new digital world.
Days of experimentation,
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00:03:55,569 -->
00:03:58,469
where some win and some
lose.
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00:03:58,469 -->
00:04:03,680
After eighty years Newsweek
will print its
last edition. Newsweek is
going all digital
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00:04:03,680 -->
00:04:09,220
and ending its run as a
print publication
that began in 1933. Newsweek
is the second
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00:04:09,220 -->
00:04:16,220
largest weekly magazine
after Time. Newsweek circulation
dropped more than 50 per
cent, from 3.1 million
55
00:04:16,720 -->
00:04:22,800
to a million and a half. IBT
Media has bought
Newsweek for an undisclosed
amount. The magazine's
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00:04:22,800 -->
00:04:29,240
new owner hopes to succeed
where others have
failed.
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00:04:36,000 -->
00:04:39,800
Well, I think anybody who
tells you that they
know what the news business
will look like
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00:04:39,880 -->
00:04:46,280
in five years, is either
lying or delusional.
The simple answer is we
don't know.
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00:04:46,880 -->
00:04:51,890
Dan Gross was a Senior
Editor at Newsweek.
He was there in 2012, when
the magazine took a bold step.
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00:04:52,810 -->
00:04:58,370
And the decision was made to
essentially turn
it from a print publication
into a digital
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00:04:58,370 -->
00:05:04,080
publication to sort of meet
consumers where
they were, try a different
model.
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00:05:04,080 -->
00:05:07,340
Newsweek merged with an
online brand called
the Daily Beast.
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00:05:07,340 -->
00:05:11,760
It continued as online only.
That was unsuccessful.
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00:05:11,760 -->
00:05:16,330
A year later it was sold
again.
Its story..... is now a
cautionary tale in the publishing industry.
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00:05:18,280 -->
00:05:24,750
We now work in an industry
today that didn't
exist 5 years ago. I work
for the Daily Beast,
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00:05:24,750 -->
00:05:29,750
which is a publication that
didn't exist 5
or 6 years ago. And many of
the publications
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00:05:29,750 -->
00:05:35,870
that existed and that I
worked at when I got
into this industry 25 years
ago, don't exist anymore.
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00:05:41,000 -->
00:05:49,000
"I would say there is
both more optimism on
creating new news outlets
and probably a little bit
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00:05:49,000 -->
00:05:53,480
more pessimism on the future
of the legacy
outlets."
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00:05:53,900 -->
00:05:58,770
Professor Bill Grueskin
specializes in digital
journalism at Columbia
University in New York City.
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00:05:58,910 -->
00:06:02,510
One of the most respect
jouranlistic insitutions in the world.
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00:06:02,510 -->
00:06:04,940
Home of the Pulitzer Prize.
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00:06:05,040 -->
00:06:11,330
"I think the biggest
problem is the news
organizations that are just
kind of holding
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00:06:11,330 -->
00:06:16,160
tight and saying, you know,
at the end of
the day, we have to do
things pretty much
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00:06:16,160 -->
00:06:21,270
the way we have done them
for the last 20-30-50
years. And that to me this
is the really scary
76
00:06:21,270 -->
00:06:23,240
prospect for a lot of news
organizations."
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00:06:23,240 -->
00:06:28,440
"The old distribution
for me used to be bunding
up a newspaper and hiring a
kid and throwing
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00:06:28,440 -->
00:06:32,610
it at somebody's house. And
now distribution
is getting people to come to
your homepage
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00:06:32,610 -->
00:06:36,990
but that's also essentially
getting the Internet
and the world to do your
heavy lifting for
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00:06:36,990 -->
00:06:39,560
you, to share it
around."
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00:06:39,560 -->
00:06:43,840
In the digital world, many
publishers are
STILL struggling to
transform.
82
00:06:43,840 -->
00:06:48,280
Trying to turn themselves
from physical papers...to
online news sites.
83
00:06:48,280 -->
00:06:51,660
In the United States the
process has been
going on for a decade.
84
00:06:51,660 -->
00:06:53,760
In Europe, it's still early
days.
85
00:06:53,760 -->
00:06:59,440
"It's going to happen
in Europe just as
it did in the US and a lot
of it is simply
86
00:06:59,440 -->
00:07:04,000
demographic. Everyday some
people die, and
those people were people who
were weaned on
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00:07:04,000 -->
00:07:08,830
print, grew up and grew old
on print. And
every day new people
entering their consuming
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00:07:08,830 -->
00:07:13,310
lives, they enter the key
demographic as we
say."
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00:07:17,010 -->
00:07:22,610
Here in Amsterdam, Peter
Vandermeesch is the Editor of the NRC Handelsblad.
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00:07:22,610 -->
00:07:24,890
One of the largest and most
important papers in the country.
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00:07:24,890 -->
00:07:29,780
Vandermeesch sees his
industry and his newsroom
facing a major transition.
92
00:07:34,920 -->
00:07:40,774
I'm afraid the next 10 to 15
years will be
difficult for many
newspapers,
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00:07:40,774 -->
00:07:45,298
so we can't afford to bury
our heads in the sand,
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00:07:45,298 -->
00:07:48,479
many journalists will lose
their jobs
95
00:07:51,470 --> 00:07:55,198
The question for
all markets worldwide is:
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00:07:55,198 -->
00:07:58,968
Will we be able to stay at
the current level?
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00:07:58,968 -->
00:08:03,682
We have 200 full-time
journalists
and almost 1000 employees,
98
00:08:03,682 -->
00:08:06,843
that's an immense operation.
99
00:08:06,843 -->
00:08:09,976
Can we maintain these
operations?
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00:08:09,977 -->
00:08:12,206
I have real doubts about it.
101
00:08:12,207 -->
00:08:15,426
European newspaper sales
have only declined slightly
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00:08:15,426 -->
00:08:19,570
and are far less dependent
on advertising,
unlike their American
counterparts.
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00:08:19,570 -->
00:08:22,029
However, their future is
also digital.
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00:08:22,029 -->
00:08:27,948
When you build a news brand
today,
you obviously do it
digitally,
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00:08:27,948 -->
00:08:30,507
you don't start a newspaper.
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00:08:30,507 -->
00:08:34,517
The fact remains that
many digital brands
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00:08:34,517 -->
00:08:40,670
somehow still would like to
have
an analogue presence
somewhere.
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00:08:45,154 -->
00:08:51,840
"And So the established
brands have this burden
of trying to meet their
existing consumers
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00:08:51,840 -->
00:08:58,200
where they are and at the
same time try to
invest and create the next
generation when
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00:08:58,200 -->
00:09:00,869
the technology is changing
every six months
to 12 months."
111
00:09:03,419 -->
00:09:07,489
A misunderstanding for many
people is they say, oh,
there's something happening
with newspapers,
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00:09:07,589 -->
00:09:11,420
no one is reading that
newspaper anymore,
that's not true. It's just
the business model
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00:09:11,420 -->
00:09:13,449
that doesn't work for them
anymore .
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00:09:13,474 -->
00:09:17,248
De Persgroep is the largst
newspaper publisher in Belgium and Holland
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00:09:17,273 -->
00:09:18,048
and prints seven national
dailies.
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00:09:18,049 -->
00:09:23,549
The owner of this publishing
giant, Christian
Van Thillo, wants his people
to never lose
focus on print.
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00:09:24,149 -->
00:09:34,349
This was my greatest fear I
think in the beginning
of this decade, when
internet was such a hype
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00:09:35,709 -->
00:09:42,490
and everybody said...You
know, paper is dead
wood, or dead trees and it's
over with this
119
00:09:42,490 -->
00:09:52,190
industry and what we said
was "Let's try to
develop our news sites with
digital savvy
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00:09:53,149 -->
00:09:59,139
people and let's continue to
concentrate on
papers
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00:09:59,139 -->
00:10:01,350
And that is the same for
papers on the other
side of the Atlantic.
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00:10:01,350 -->
00:10:08,350
The New York Times.
Perhaps the world's
best-known newspaper.
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00:10:08,730 -->
00:10:14,120
Over 150 years old, it's
trials and tribulations
have made it the
bell-weather of the publishing
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00:10:14,120 -->
00:10:18,439
industry in the United
States.
It's tried several
large-scale experiments
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00:10:18,439 -->
00:10:21,629
to adapt to modern
technology.
126
00:10:21,629 -->
00:10:28,629
"We've got into a point
where we are going
to be uncomfortable about
the pace of change
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00:10:28,639 -->
00:10:30,449
for a very long time to
come.
128
00:10:30,449 -->
00:10:33,620
Paul Smurl leads the digital
strategy for
the New York Times.
129
00:10:33,620 -->
00:10:39,300
Where the talk is no longer
only about websites....but
ever NEWER ways to read
news.
Paul Smurl - The
New York Times
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00:10:39,300 -->
00:10:44,589
Mobile is the most recent
sort of disrupter
or enabler, depending on
your point of view.
131
00:10:44,589 -->
00:10:51,350
We see more people using
mobile devices on
phones and tablets,
Smartphone penetration
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00:10:51,350 -->
00:10:56,370
in the US is at an all time
high. I believe
that at the end of this
year, one in every
133
00:10:56,370 -->
00:11:02,899
three US adults will have a
tablet. The penetration
in Europe is lower, but I
think that will
134
00:11:02,899 -->
00:11:04,089
come over time.
135
00:11:04,089 -->
00:11:09,999
we really believed that the
explosion of mobile
devices now is going to
change our industry
136
00:11:09,999 -->
00:11:15,120
and that publishing is
going to be print and
electronic and electronic
137
00:11:15,120 -->
00:11:19,269
will move more and more in
the electronic
way.
138
00:11:24,069 -->
00:11:29,469
As papers migrate to
multiple digital platforms,
there are good financial
reasons for keeping
139
00:11:29,509 -->
00:11:30,730
the physical newspaper.
140
00:11:30,930 -->
00:11:37,230
"You know that's a
question about whether
at some point we'll stop
printing the paper
141
00:11:37,500 -->
00:11:40,849
I think is a common one. I
don't think it's
going to happen in my
professional lifetime
142
00:11:40,949 -->
00:11:48,249
and it may not happen in my
lifetime, lifetime.
There is a very devoted
audience; we have over
143
00:11:48,869 -->
00:11:51,580
1.1 million home deliveries
subscribers."
144
00:11:51,980 -->
00:12:01,180
"I'll be dead I guess.
For a long time.
No No. I. It's not gonna
happen anytime soon,
145
00:12:01,449 -->
00:12:11,849
we are still printing 1.4
million copies per night,
we don't see a major major
decline in our circulation."
146
00:12:12,149 --> 00:12:15,779
Van Thillo thinks the
transition to digital
must be made carefully.
147
00:12:15,779 -->
00:12:22,490
I think that has all to do
with the choice
you make with respect to
your newsrooms is
148
00:12:22,490 -->
00:12:29,339
when you ask an editor to
switch from paper
to online, he is not gonna
concentrate on
149
00:12:29,339 -->
00:12:37,439
the paper anymore and what
happened in many
many news houses, is that
people didn't make
150
00:12:37,660 -->
00:12:45,360
a choice of being good with
their paper on
paper and electronically
they just said, no
151
00:12:45,770 -->
00:12:50,220
we are gonna switch and if
you switch and
you don't concentrate on how
to make a good
152
00:12:50,420 -->
00:12:54,199
paper, well the paper is
going to be lousy
and people are going to just
leave your paper
153
00:12:54,199 -->
00:12:55,629
and they will cancel their
subscription.
154
00:12:55,629 -->
00:13:00,720
"....the digital
audience and the print audience
are becoming more and more
separate from each
155
00:13:00,720 -->
00:13:06,129
other, and people who want
print really want
it. People who want digital,
whether it's
156
00:13:06,129 -->
00:13:11,300
on a computer, or an iphone,
they really want
that experience. Some people
want both, but
157
00:13:11,300 -->
00:13:15,620
in fact, there are actually
two very different
audiences in their
demographics and their
158
00:13:15,620 -->
00:13:16,920
reading habits.
159
00:13:16,920 -->
00:13:22,519
"We have many many more
technology driven
people in our company."
160
00:13:22,519 -->
00:13:29,040
designing websites,
designing apps, and having
the right engineering and
then a seamless transition
161
00:13:29,040 -->
00:13:35,360
to IT, that has become very
very important.
162
00:13:35,360 -->
00:13:39,819
Dan Gross says an entire
generation has now
come of age during the
digital relution.
163
00:13:39,819 -->
00:13:46,819
"....in the same way,
people don't know what
a rotary phone is, right?
They, the kids who
164
00:13:47,009 -->
00:13:50,769
are growing up they really
don't know how
to read a newspaper."
165
00:13:50,769 -->
00:13:56,339
"When I look at our new
students, I see very
few of them bringing a
newspaper into school every day.
166
00:13:56,339 -->
00:14:01,879
That doesn't mean that they
are not consuming
news or reading news or
watching news, but
167
00:14:01,879 -->
00:14:06,869
they are much more likely to
be doing that
on a device that they can
hold in their hand."
168
00:14:06,869 -->
00:14:11,189
And what they're
reading...they're most often
reading for free.
169
00:14:11,189 -->
00:14:19,189
"Go back 15 years, when
a lot of these organizations
were just getting up online.
And people thought,
170
00:14:19,479 -->
00:14:24,489
the main thing you have to
do is to accumulate
as big of an audience that
you possibly can
171
00:14:25,389 -->
00:14:30,379
and then we'll figure out
later on how to
make money on it, probably
through advertising."
172
00:14:30,379 -->
00:14:37,379
"....it's very easy to
look back with 20/20
hindsight and say, this was
a mistake. We
173
00:14:37,839 -->
00:14:44,839
could have changed the
course of events. But
so, rather than describe it
an original sin,
174
00:14:45,470 -->
00:14:52,470
I guess I would say it's
something that probably
helped support the growth of
the web, the
175
00:14:53,879 -->
00:14:57,639
web platform which was
immature 10-15 years
ago.
176
00:14:57,639 -->
00:15:00,345
'Free of charge' scares me.
177
00:15:00,345 -->
00:15:07,198
I'm convinced that,
with the arrival of the
internet,
178
00:15:07,198 -->
00:15:10,758
publishers really made a
mistake
179
00:15:10,759 -->
00:15:15,174
by giving everything for
free
just to make them grow.
180
00:15:15,174 -->
00:15:20,290
This shouldn't have been a
big surprise, a number
of people were dropping
their print newspapers
181
00:15:20,290 -->
00:15:25,199
subscription and the ad
revenue that would
go with it, because they
figure I just can go
182
00:15:25,199 -->
00:15:29,720
online and read it a couple
of times a week. I don't need
a newspaper.
183
00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:34,660
With newspapers giving away
their content
for free...a new kind of
online website has
184
00:15:34,660 -->
00:15:37,639
emerged.
One that took their free
content...and used
185
00:15:37,639 -->
00:15:41,179
it to make money for itself.
186
00:15:41,179 -->
00:15:47,029
Sure, she's on of the most
powerful women
in media. Her website The
Huffington Post
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00:15:51,420
was a game changer.'' AOL has announced that
it will acquire the liberal
political blog
188
00:15:51,420 -->
00:15:55,990
site The Huffington Post for
315 million dollars
Monday morning.' '
189
00:15:55,990 -->
00:16:02,420
The Huffington Post, one of
the most successful
news portals, is launching a
German edition.
190
00:16:03,139 -->
00:16:07,379
'Arianna's detractors say
that aggregator
sites like The Huffington
Post, partly powered by bloggers are killing journalism.'
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00:16:20,730 -->
00:16:25,869
This is The Huffington Post.
Founded in 2005, it's one of
the most popular
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00:16:25,869 -->
00:16:31,619
news websites in America.
It's also the best known of
news aggregators.
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00:16:31,619 -->
00:16:35,379
Executive International
Editor Nicholas Sabloff
explains.
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00:16:35,379 -->
00:16:42,379
"I think most people's
definition of aggregation would
be to produce a piece of
content where some
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00:16:42,519 -->
00:16:47,829
of the information is
originating somewhere
else. Perhaps it was
originating in a report
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00:16:47,829 -->
00:16:52,009
from the Associated Press,
and so it could
be an article based on
that."
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00:16:52,009 -->
00:16:57,229
The Huffington Post creates
its own content,
and it's readers post a
million comments a month.
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00:16:57,329 --> 00:17:00,000
month.
It also links to stories
from online newspapers
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00:17:00,000 -->
00:17:03,939
but far more
controversially, it uses information
taken from those stories.
200
00:17:03,939 -->
00:17:07,280
Not only in the U.S....but
around the world.
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00:17:07,280 -->
00:17:13,510
"Today we are in
Canada, the UK, France, Spain,
Italy and Japan with many
more markets to
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00:17:13,510 -->
00:17:18,020
come in the next 18 months
and we've really
found that the platform and
the approach to
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00:17:18,020 -->
00:17:22,640
content and engagement in
social has really
travelled well in those
markets."
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00:17:22,640 -->
00:17:28,930
"So we go in, find a
team of local editors
and a local partner to build
an edition that
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00:17:28,930 -->
00:17:33,290
really fits, you know, a
local language that
really has an opportunity to
be, not just
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00:17:33,290 -->
00:17:38,360
the Huffington Post in
French, but you know,
a great brand new site for a
French reading
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00:17:38,360 -->
00:17:39,050
Audience."
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00:17:39,050 -->
00:17:43,140
Many European newspapers
editors and publishers
see this a threat.
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00:17:43,140 -->
00:17:46,100
It's theft, pure theft.
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00:17:46,100 -->
00:17:48,354
One of my big frustrations
is
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00:17:48,354 -->
00:17:53,013
NBC puts a lot of energy in
investigtive journalism.
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00:17:53,013 -->
00:17:58,393
One second later,
the results of those
investigations
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00:17:58,393 -->
00:18:00,824
are available on Dutch sites
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00:18:00,824 -->
00:18:03,641
and a minute later on sites
worldwide.
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00:18:03,666 -->
00:18:06,239
I don't get anything in
return.
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00:18:06,264 -->
00:18:11,236
Those sites say they merely
aggregate news, which is
correct
217
00:18:11,261 -->
00:18:13,794
They benefit from the sweat
of our
brows.
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00:18:13,794 -->
00:18:20,740
"If someone aggregates
and when we say aggregation
it's really copy-paste to
build its own business
219
00:18:22,660 -->
00:18:28,010
it's plain theft. It's as
simple as that.
We're talking about that to
the European
220
00:18:28,010 -->
00:18:32,200
Commission as well, it's
something that has
to be banned. It's not
because its easy and
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00:18:32,200 -->
00:18:37,940
because its fun that you
have to allow it.
It's very simple. If we
continue to allow
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00:18:37,940 -->
00:18:40,830
it, there will be no content
ten years from
now."
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00:18:40,830 -->
00:18:43,040
Sabloff sees aggregation
differently.
224
00:18:43,040 -->
00:18:47,210
"If you are on the web
and not doing that
aggregation, you're not,
that is a really
225
00:18:47,210 -->
00:18:51,770
important thing to be
delivered to the reader.
So for people who are let's
say concerned
226
00:18:51,770 -->
00:18:57,000
about aggregation, perhaps
they are not spend
much time on the web and
search how content
227
00:18:57,000 -->
00:18:57,780
is consumed there."
228
00:19:12,180 -->
00:19:16,680
Edwy Plenel is the former
editor of Le Monde
in Paris.
229
00:19:17,180 -->
00:19:19,080
His concerns with the way
the Huffington Post
works...
230
00:19:19,180 -->
00:19:20,140
Is that it threatens the
very nature of news.
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00:19:24,840 -->
00:19:27,523
Our enemy is called
entertainment.
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00:19:27,523 -->
00:19:32,931
We give information, they
offer entertainment.
233
00:19:32,956 -->
00:19:37,050
Entertainment tries to
triumph over information.
234
00:19:37,050 -->
00:19:38,389
Infotainment
235
00:19:38,389 -->
00:19:43,867
Their ally is Fox News in
the U.S.,
which is a real caricature,
236
00:19:43,867 --> 00:19:46,334
or a success like the
Huffington.
237
00:19:46,334 -->
00:19:49,853
They are aggregators of
opinions.
238
00:19:49,853 -->
00:19:52,505
They gather opinions
everywhere, and say:
239
00:19:52,505 -->
00:19:56,165
'Look, it's journalism,
since there are debates.'
240
00:19:56,165 -->
00:19:58,785
But opinions is not
democracy.
241
00:19:58,810 -->
00:20:04,684
A democracy is where
opinions
are formed based on
information.
242
00:20:04,709 -->
00:20:09,755
If democracy would simply be
an exchange of opinions,
243
00:20:09,780 -->
00:20:13,777
everyone would be at war
against everyone.
244
00:20:14,210 -->
00:20:20,000
In an attempt to compete
against aggregators,
and to create new successful
financial models,
245
00:20:20,000 -->
00:20:25,680
many traditional newspapers
have been experimenting.
One of those
experiments....is pay walls.
246
00:20:25,680 -->
00:20:28,610
Charging people to read the
stories they put
online.
247
00:20:28,610 -->
00:20:35,610
In 2011 we were told by
media pundits and
others our competition that
this was doomed
248
00:20:35,930 -->
00:20:42,930
to fail, that it was dumb,
that you know was
ill conceived and now, 2
years later, the
249
00:20:43,650 -->
00:20:47,790
whole tenor of that
conversation has changed
completely.
250
00:20:47,790 -->
00:20:53,910
The original impetus for our
decision to
move to pay was about
retraining readers,
251
00:20:53,910 -->
00:20:59,900
users, consumers that
valuable content should
be content that people pay
for.
252
00:20:59,900 -->
00:21:04,775
The New York Times
anticipated
on the issue of the paid
news.
253
00:21:04,775 -->
00:21:06,526
That's the solution.
254
00:21:06,526 -->
00:21:12,406
All high-quality,
informative press
that serves as a reference
255
00:21:12,406 -->
00:21:15,645
should defend its values
on the internet.
256
00:21:15,645 -->
00:21:19,696
You can't do free and paid
at the same time.
257
00:21:19,721 -->
00:21:22,554
You choose.
Embrace the paid option
258
00:21:22,579 -->
00:21:25,035
as leverage for the creation
of value
259
00:21:25,470 -->
00:21:30,310
So far, the pay wall has
paid off for the
New York Times with over
seven hundred thousand
260
00:21:30,310 -->
00:21:35,380
digital subscribers.
But at Columbia University,
Bill Grueskin
261
00:21:35,380 -->
00:21:36,340
is cautious.
262
00:21:36,340 -->
00:21:42,090
I think it has been
moderately successful
on a very temporary basis.
Everyone points
263
00:21:42,090 -->
00:21:49,090
to the New York Times
because they quickly got 5-6-7
hundred thousand subscribers
to their digital product.
264
00:21:50,520 -->
00:21:55,390
No other news organizations
in the
US are even close to that,
which you see from
265
00:21:55,390 -->
00:22:00,740
on over 10, 20, 30 thousand,
people paying
you know 50-100 dollar a
year, it's not a
266
00:22:00,740 -->
00:22:06,390
huge amount of money. The
problem is, as they
say, trees don't grow to the
sky, I mean every
267
00:22:06,390 -->
00:22:08,260
publication has its limit.
268
00:22:08,260 -->
00:22:12,230
There's no doubt in my mind
that everybody
who is in the business of
publishing content
269
00:22:12,230 -->
00:22:18,000
online has a segment of
their audience that's
willing to pay for that
content, because it's
270
00:22:18,000 -->
00:22:22,290
differentiated in some way.
If you don't have
a segment of your audience
willing to pay,
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00:22:22,290 -->
00:22:27,460
you might as well go out of
business, because
you're not doing something
that's really valued
272
00:22:27,460 -->
00:22:28,610
by people."
273
00:22:28,610 -->
00:22:35,120
the New York Times is sort
of unique among
US publications and in that
it has a sufficient
274
00:22:35,120 -->
00:22:40,320
number of people around the
country who are
sufficiently passionate
about the product
275
00:22:40,320 -->
00:22:45,530
that they are willing to pay
for online.
I think most newspapers will
be experimenting
276
00:22:45,530 -->
00:22:51,600
with pay walls in one way or
another. Many
already have been, it's hard
to see that many
277
00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,480
successes thus far.
278
00:22:58,080 -->
00:23:00,684
It's hard to run back the
decision to
give news for free.
279
00:23:00,684 -->
00:23:04,977
We're like a butcher who
gave away free steaks for 15
years
280
00:23:04,977 -->
00:23:10,320
and now tells his regular
customers
they have to start paying.
281
00:23:10,320 -->
00:23:13,967
They wonder why.
They never paid for steak.
282
00:23:13,992 -->
00:23:15,901
So they don't understand.
283
00:23:16,050 --> 00:23:19,980
My first piece of advice
would be to go talk
to your readers about what
they might be willing
to pay for.
284
00:23:20,820 -->
00:23:25,760
"And is there a way to
build a product or
an offering around that, at
a price point
285
00:23:25,760 -->
00:23:32,150
that people find reasonable.
If so, get started
right away. That would be my
advice. I wish
286
00:23:32,150 -->
00:23:34,400
we had started sooner."
287
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:38,900
Because while traditional
publishing companies
debate the merits of pay
walls, the ever changing
288
00:23:38,900 -->
00:23:45,900
world of digital technology,
is creating whole
new KINDS of journalism.
289
00:23:46,230 -->
00:23:50,630
Already the capital of
finance, fashion and
advertising, New York City
is fast becoming
290
00:23:50,630 -->
00:23:55,980
the place to be for tech
start-ups.
The market is one of those
markets, is so
291
00:23:55,980 --> 00:24:00,830
big, that I don't spend time
thinking about
how big it is. Brand advertising is gigantic.
292
00:24:00,830 -->
00:24:05,920
Buzzfeed is a different
story. The social
content hub relies on
sharing, not googleing,
293
00:24:06,520 -->
00:24:11,160
gets double the traffic from
Facebook than from
a Google search and 40
percent of its traffic is mobile.
294
00:24:16,770 -->
00:24:22,340
New York City.
A hotbed of journalistic
creativity and innovation.
295
00:24:22,340 -->
00:24:25,440
Here near the Flatiron
building, is Silicon
Alley.
296
00:24:25,440 -->
00:24:32,440
The heart of New York's
internet and new media
companies.
297
00:24:34,000 -->
00:24:38,700
This is Buzzfeed.
An entirely digital news
organization.
298
00:24:38,700 -->
00:24:44,160
Through it's website and
App, it gets around
80 million individual
readers a month.
299
00:24:44,160 -->
00:24:49,380
"People weren't sure
what to make of us when we came on the scene, they were saying
sort of Buzzfeed is all
about cats, kind of
300
00:24:49,380 -->
00:24:54,230
a common thing, Buzzfeed is
about cats. How
are they gonna do serious
news?"
301
00:24:54,230 -->
00:25:01,000
Jack Shepard is Buzzfeed's
Editorial Director.
From his desk he
co-ordinates 200 young reporters.
302
00:25:01,000 -->
00:25:04,550
And their work... is
shifting the way we read
news.
303
00:25:04,550 -->
00:25:08,700
"We always thought as
the, actually the way
that people consume news
nowadays. If
304
00:25:08,700 -->
00:25:13,910
you think about what your
Facebook feed is
like. Facebook is, it will
be an amazing breaking
305
00:25:13,910 -->
00:25:18,850
news story from a Supreme
Court decision and
then it will be an update
about how your aunt
306
00:25:18,850 -->
00:25:23,330
is doing, and then it will
be, your brother
sharing cute pictures of his
cats and then
307
00:25:23,330 -->
00:25:27,460
it will be your sister
sharing baby pictures
and then another sort of
breaking news story
308
00:25:27,460 -->
00:25:31,010
about the future of
journalism or whatever.
And that's all kind of
people are getting,
309
00:25:31,010 -->
00:25:34,770
are really really used to
consuming news in
that way.
310
00:25:34,770 -->
00:25:38,700
Buzzfeed covers it all.
From indepth political
analysis...to movies
311
00:25:38,700 -->
00:25:44,560
reviews....to pictures of
cats.
But Buzzfeed didn't start as
a news company.
312
00:25:44,560 -->
00:25:50,390
We began as a technology
company which is
still very much in our DNA
and we thought
313
00:25:50,390 -->
00:25:57,100
a lot about kind of building
algorithms to
surface really great
content, that people
314
00:25:57,100 -->
00:26:01,260
would want to share.
And then kind of as the
media landscape evolved
315
00:26:01,260 -->
00:26:05,800
to be really really focused
on social in particular
and sharing, we were in a
really good position
316
00:26:05,800 -->
00:26:10,530
to kind of take advantage of
that because
we got great with a very
small team writing
317
00:26:10,530 -->
00:26:15,040
things that would go viral
and that would sort
of get spread way beyond our
sort of our small
seed of readers.
318
00:26:16,830 -->
00:26:23,130
"Buzzfeed like a number
of digital sites had
a few advantages going in.
One was the expertise
319
00:26:23,130 -->
00:26:27,370
in technology. And then, the other
thing that they had from the
very beginning
320
00:26:27,370 -->
00:26:30,400
was a strong sense of an
audience.
321
00:26:30,400 -->
00:26:37,400
News coming from a friend,
is vastly more
powerful than something that
you accidently
322
00:26:37,950 -->
00:26:43,010
ended up on, or something
that comes from
an old broadcast model of 1
person deciding
323
00:26:43,010 -->
00:26:45,610
what the news is and telling
many people.
324
00:26:45,610 -->
00:26:50,370
In the digital news
revolution journalists and
editors are no longer the
only ones setting
325
00:26:50,370 -->
00:26:54,200
the news agenda.
Through social media... each
of us becomes an editor.
326
00:26:57,140 -->
00:27:03,970
We are living now in an era
of a network which
is not just a broadcast
model of one to many.
327
00:27:03,970 -->
00:27:08,040
It's a model of, of lots of
different people
who are networked, who are
at work and tweeting things
328
00:27:08,440 -->
00:27:13,290
and sharing things on
Facebook and email,
and emailing things to each
other. And so
329
00:27:13,290 -->
00:27:19,850
if you think about your
network as being your
publishers in a way rather
than thinking about
330
00:27:19,850 -->
00:27:25,930
yourself as being sort of
deciding what's
news, it's, it can be very
liberating.
331
00:27:26,330 -->
00:27:31,050
Not only does Buzzfeed
present the kind of
the variety you might find
on Facebook.....it
332
00:27:30,550 -->
00:27:35,810
USES facebook, Twitter, and
other social media
sites to distribute its
content.
333
00:27:35,810 -->
00:27:38,830
The medium is changing.
And so's the message.
334
00:27:38,830 -->
00:27:44,200
"The thing that is kind
of central to what
Buzzfeed does in particular
is really always
335
00:27:44,200 -->
00:27:51,020
thinking about social. Our
reporters are writing
with Twitter in mind. They
will think about
336
00:27:51,020 -->
00:27:54,140
how can I write a headline
that would be a
Tweet.
337
00:27:54,140 -->
00:27:59,210
Being a technical company
first, Buzzfeed
was already in the number
crunching business.
338
00:27:59,210 -->
00:28:04,730
So when it became a news
business, it developed
advanced mathematical
formulae to decide which
339
00:28:04,730 -->
00:28:07,370
stories to tell, and how to
tell them.
340
00:28:07,370 -->
00:28:12,090
And so we have very much
like a starve-the-losers mentality.
The stuff that is not doing
341
00:28:12,090 -->
00:28:15,500
well, that is not fitting
our needs or sort
of actually kind of getting
out there and
342
00:28:15,500 -->
00:28:19,860
being really social, will
kind of sink to the
bottom, and the algorithm
helps to do that.
343
00:28:19,860 -->
00:28:22,590
And surface the stuff that
is doing really
well
344
00:28:22,590 -->
00:28:27,500
So how does Buzzfeed's
number system work?
That, they're keeping to
themselves.
345
00:28:27,500 -->
00:28:32,380
But the basic idea is this.
Buzzfeed can calculate which
of its stories
346
00:28:32,380 -->
00:28:37,540
people are reading and
SHARING most often.
It can then give these
stories a higher profile.
347
00:28:37,540 -->
00:28:41,600
Which in turn can make them
more likely to
be read.
348
00:28:41,600 -->
00:28:45,400
It's a feedback loop based
on popular opinion.
349
00:28:45,400 -->
00:28:52,400
And you know, one of the
issues with print
publications is, you never
really know what
350
00:28:52,680 -->
00:28:58,200
people are reading in your
newspaper or in
your magazine. A website,
you know exactly
351
00:28:58,200 -->
00:29:04,000
how many people are reading
it, you know where
they are coming from, you
know how long
they are spending on each
story.
352
00:29:04,025 -->
00:29:13,725
And so, in an old print
publication, people just
kind of published stories,
and the assumption was
everybody read
everything. That was never true,
353
00:29:13,750 -->
00:29:18,650
but we have no idea how many
people
were actually reading story
X on page 1 versus
story Y on page 3.
354
00:29:23,030 -->
00:29:28,070
Not far form Buzzfeed's
Manhattan offices...
is a company that creates
this kind of technology.
355
00:29:28,070 -->
00:29:31,080
Now.... as you read a
website....the website
reads you.
356
00:29:34,280 -->
00:29:41,280
"Now when you start to
see data in real time,
special data, it changes
everything."
357
00:29:44,100 -->
00:29:48,670
Tony Haile is the CEO of
Chartbeat,
a company that buys and
sells software that
358
00:29:48,670 -->
00:29:55,670
analyzes how every
individual uses news websites....down
to the smallest detail.
359
00:29:56,220 -->
00:30:03,220
We're getting pings every
few seconds and
that means we can see are
you actually reading,
360
00:30:03,800 -->
00:30:08,690
are you writing something,
are you scrolling?
I can see how many people
are on my site right
361
00:30:08,690 -->
00:30:14,030
now, I can see the stories
that they're liking
right now, what's working
for my audience,
362
00:30:14,030 -->
00:30:16,190
what's not working for my
audience. Did they
come from Facebook?
363
00:30:16,190 -->
00:30:20,970
Did they come from Twitter?
Did they come
from someone referring to
us? I can see what
364
00:30:20,970 -->
00:30:25,800
are my most engaging pieces
of content, so
that's where I can find
diamonds in the rough
365
00:30:25,800 -->
00:30:28,180
which I can promote. All of
these things I can understand
366
00:30:28,180 -->
00:30:35,440
immediately and I can act on
them to change the headline,
change the image, try and
communicate the value of this
story in a better way.
367
00:30:35,840 -->
00:30:36,880
It's not about clicks, it's
about people.
368
00:30:38,880 -->
00:30:44,200
People...and money.
The more people that read
stories on your
369
00:30:44,200 -->
00:30:51,200
website, or your stories on
Facebook or Twitter...the
more you can charge
advertisers.
370
00:30:54,480 -->
00:30:58,800
"... it's about
people's time and attention.
And when you have that,
that's when you can
371
00:30:58,800 -->
00:31:04,770
build a loyal returning
audience, and something
that brands actually care
about and value."
372
00:31:04,770 -->
00:31:07,740
Brand is the watchword in
the digital media
world.
373
00:31:07,740 -->
00:31:13,480
And what you are seeing is
the understanding
that the future of
publishers is going inlved
374
00:31:13,480 -->
00:31:18,960
having a loyal audience,
they can monetize
in a variety of ways. And
that means not just
375
00:31:18,960 -->
00:31:24,140
trying to maximize traffic
anymore but trying
to build an audience who
knows who you are,
376
00:31:24,140 -->
00:31:29,600
likes what you do and comes
back. That's very
very different than before.
377
00:31:29,600 -->
00:31:32,800
And that's how companies
like Buzzfeed make
money.
378
00:31:32,800 -->
00:31:36,740
Taking what they learn about
how readers read,
and turning it into
advertising.
379
00:31:36,740 -->
00:31:40,870
And so what we do is, we
work with brands
to help them, to take the
principles that
380
00:31:40,870 -->
00:31:46,000
we have learned from
editorial and to help
the brands kind of create
content that is
381
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,440
really sharable. And so it's
all the same
principles except from the
point of view of
382
00:31:50,440 -->
00:31:53,160
giving a message about a
brand or whatever
it is.
383
00:31:53,160 -->
00:31:57,780
Shareable advertising.
Ads that look a lot like
news.
384
00:31:57,780 -->
00:32:00,780
It's controversial.
And there are those
concerned the drive to
385
00:32:00,780 -->
00:32:05,240
make stories popular, in
order to bring in
more advertisers, will lead
to lowest common
386
00:32:05,240 -->
00:32:06,750
denominator news.
387
00:32:06,750 -->
00:32:12,940
Journalists should be
fundamentalists
when it comes to
information,
388
00:32:12,940 -->
00:32:15,705
because the enemy is there,
389
00:32:15,705 -->
00:32:19,547
on the television,
the radio and the internet.
390
00:32:19,547 -->
00:32:23,813
He will dissolve journalism
into entertainment.
391
00:32:23,813 -->
00:32:27,559
And of course infotainment
is free of
charge,
392
00:32:27,559 -->
00:32:30,508
it manipulates the public,
manipulates the masses,
393
00:32:30,508 -->
00:32:34,403
it makes them laugh
and takes the popular road.
394
00:32:34,403 -->
00:32:36,101
It uses the masses.
395
00:32:36,101 -->
00:32:39,182
Journalists work with an
audience.
396
00:32:39,182 -->
00:32:44,128
The masses are anonymous,
they click
and are gone.
397
00:32:44,153 -->
00:32:47,297
There is no democratic
conversation.
398
00:32:47,322 -->
00:32:50,063
We create a bond with our
audience.
399
00:32:50,088 -->
00:32:53,789
The audience discusses,
ponders and reflects.
400
00:32:53,814 -->
00:32:57,817
The democratic debate is
what is
fundamentally at stake here.
401
00:32:57,817 -->
00:33:02,770
So there is always this
fear, especially around
real time data, that you are
going to stop
402
00:33:02,770 -->
00:33:09,330
being a great quality
publisher and just write
Miley Cyrus stories all day
just to get the clicks.
403
00:33:09,330 -->
00:33:16,330
And that is utterly untrue.
We've seen real
time data in publications
across the world.
404
00:33:16,560 -->
00:33:21,700
After a little less and a
month or so of using
this kind of stuff, people actually realized
405
00:33:21,700 -->
00:33:25,350
they are not changing their
mission. They
are still focusing on great
content, but they
406
00:33:25,350 -->
00:33:29,440
just have so much more
information to be able
to make the right decisions.
407
00:33:29,450 -->
00:33:34,740
It's still thinking about
making things that a huge
amount of people will really
like and respond
408
00:33:34,740 -->
00:33:38,860
to. And that's not, that's
turns out not to
be the lowest common
denominator stuff. It
409
00:33:38,860 -->
00:33:43,450
turns out to be really
really good stuff and
really interesting and
compelling stuff and
410
00:33:43,450 -->
00:33:48,200
new things and kind of I
don't know, people
are a lot smarter than they
are given credit for.
411
00:33:48,200 -->
00:33:55,200
And so, writing for a large
audience,
people who really are going
to love our stuff,
412
00:33:55,550 --> 00:33:57,520
makes us writing good things
rather than the
other way around.
413
00:33:59,210 -->
00:34:04,053
I'm afraid lots of free news
comes from sites driven by
algorithms
414
00:34:04,053 -->
00:34:06,799
which leads to a brave new
world.
415
00:34:06,799 -->
00:34:11,752
That's the economic model
of this type of sites.
416
00:34:11,752 -->
00:34:18,543
We want many clicks so we
can
generate a lot of euros in
publicity.
417
00:34:18,543 -->
00:34:24,436
So we need to publish
what the reader wants on our
site.
418
00:34:24,436 -->
00:34:30,255
Whether it's naked women
or dogs or cats, we'll give
it to them.
419
00:34:30,255 -->
00:34:36,581
Luckily we are more
concerned with
what we think the reader
should know
420
00:34:36,606 -->
00:34:39,310
rather than what they want
to know.
421
00:34:39,310 -->
00:34:44,019
So, do you give readers what
they want to
read, or give readers what
they should read?
422
00:34:44,019 -->
00:34:47,419
And I've always thought of
that as a false
question
423
00:34:47,419 -->
00:34:52,339
Newspapers have comic
strips, they have crossword
puzzles, they have advice
columns,
424
00:34:52,339 -->
00:34:55,670
they have a lot of space to
sports,
425
00:34:55,670 -->
00:34:58,839
and there is nothing really
wrong
with that, particularly what
you're trying
426
00:34:58,839 -->
00:35:05,839
to do, is get people, is
appeal to people's
interest on a bunch of
different levels.
427
00:35:08,460 -->
00:35:13,140
The Columbia School of
Journalism is trying
to prepare the next
generation of journalists...
428
00:35:13,140 -->
00:35:18,269
for next generation
journalism.
429
00:35:18,269 -->
00:35:23,000
Technology is key to the
success of journalism.
That's one reason why we
started a joint-degree
program here at Columbia,
430
00:35:23,200 -->
00:35:27,870
where students who are
coming here to get dual degrees, both
431
00:35:27,970 -->
00:35:32,070
computer science and
journalism. It's going
to be increasingly important
for a journalist
432
00:35:32,170 -->
00:35:37,930
to understand what are both
the possibilities
and the limitations of what
technology can
433
00:35:37,930 -->
00:35:42,369
bring to the field. And
that's become just hugely
important.
434
00:35:42,369 -->
00:35:45,440
As newspapers try to get us
to pay for their
stories....
435
00:35:45,440 -->
00:35:48,410
And companies like Buzzfeed
give us news for free,
436
00:35:49,789 -->
00:35:53,900
there are other experiments
going on where
you wouldn't expect them.
437
00:35:53,900 -->
00:35:59,630
When newspapers began to
fail, often the first
place they cut, was
investigative journalism.
438
00:35:59,630 -->
00:36:02,119
The kind of journalism that
wins Pulitzer
Prizes.
439
00:36:02,119 -->
00:36:06,869
It's expensive, and time
consuming.
But now....the online world
is creating a
440
00:36:06,869 -->
00:36:10,380
new generation of
investigative journalists.
441
00:36:12,569 -->
00:36:17,549
And that takes us back to
San Antonio, Texas.
And Laura Frank.
442
00:36:17,549 -->
00:36:21,799
After the Rocky Mountain
News folded, she
decided to take her skills
as an investigative
443
00:36:21,799 -->
00:36:24,599
reporter, and create
something new.
444
00:36:24,599 -->
00:36:32,899
How could we create an
entity that would get
at those investigative
stories and share them
445
00:36:32,930 -->
00:36:39,930
with other news rooms. And
reach as broad
an audience of Coloradans as
possible.
446
00:36:41,920 -->
00:36:48,920
And that was kind of the
beginning of thinking
about how this I-news
network could be created.
447
00:36:55,890 -->
00:36:59,990
Tonight a new investigative
report from I-News.
448
00:37:00,015 -->
00:37:10,715
Our window into what's
happening in the skies
comes from Burt Hubber, the
former Rocky and Post
reporter, works for the
non-profit journalism outlet I-News.
449
00:37:10,740 -->
00:37:14,240
I-News is five people full
time, and we pulled
in some other folks too.
450
00:37:17,165 -->
00:37:23,265
An online investigative news
site which creates content
for its own website, and to
sell to other news agencies.
451
00:37:23,869 -->
00:37:27,160
The Rocky Mountain News,
when it closed, had
452
00:37:27,160 -->
00:37:35,260
200 people in the newsroom
and a 20 million
dollar budget. I-News has
five people and
453
00:37:36,009 -->
00:37:43,009
less than 500,000 dollar
budget. We would have
been proud at the Rocky
Mountain News to show
454
00:37:43,359 -->
00:37:49,579
the kind of impact with the
journalism that
I-News has had. So to be
able to do that with
455
00:37:49,579 -->
00:37:56,579
a fraction of the people and
a fraction of
the price is kind of a feat.
456
00:37:57,420 -->
00:38:01,349
But there's still a price.
And that's where the
Internet has created
457
00:38:01,349 -->
00:38:04,769
a new way to pay for
journalism.
Crowd funding.
458
00:38:04,769 -->
00:38:11,769
I think probably the best
way to finance investigative
reporting is through
individual donations,
459
00:38:13,499 -->
00:38:18,389
small, individual donations,
because when
you have
460
00:38:18,389 -->
00:38:24,460
tens of thousands of
individual donors, that's
a predictable revenue
stream.
461
00:38:35,160 -->
00:38:40,560
As non-profit movement
grows, we can try
and chase the same revenue
models that the
for-profits did,
462
00:38:40,569 -->
00:38:44,609
or we can think about more
about
models that have long-term
perspective.
463
00:38:44,609 -->
00:38:49,539
Kevin Davis is the Executive
Director of the
Investigative News Network,
464
00:38:49,539 -->
00:38:54,109
an organization representing
over 80 non profit
newsrooms.
465
00:38:54,109 -->
00:38:57,410
I'm optimistic because the
economics are not
466
00:38:57,410 -->
00:39:04,029
as daunting when you think
you have more nimble
organizations. We don't yet
have all the solutions,
467
00:39:04,029 -->
00:39:07,920
but we, the difference
between now and say
three years ago, is we now
have a better sense
468
00:39:07,920 -->
00:39:12,230
of what the revenue streams
can look like
and what they should look
like, and when you have
469
00:39:12,230 -->
00:39:16,670
a better sense of where
things are heading,
you can work towards that.
470
00:39:16,670 -->
00:39:18,980
Non-profit digital
journalism appears to be working.
471
00:39:18,980 -->
00:39:22,430
But there are other models
as well.
472
00:39:22,430 -->
00:39:26,530
Models out to MAKE money.
473
00:40:10,470 -->
00:40:14,430
In Paris the former editor
of Le Monde has built a new
online brand - Medipart.
474
00:40:14,430 -->
00:40:19,799
Globally, it's one of the
most successful
examples of digital
investigative journalism.
475
00:40:19,799 -->
00:40:25,359
Planel has a team of 35
fulltime journalists
whose stories have brought
down government
476
00:40:25,359 -->
00:40:27,759
ministers, and unveiled
malfeasance.
477
00:40:27,759 -->
00:40:31,910
The idea behind Mediapart
was to reinvent journalism.
478
00:40:31,910 -->
00:40:36,771
Mediapart's ambition or
preference
is to try to show
479
00:40:36,771 -->
00:40:40,397
what the press of the 21st
century
will be like.
480
00:40:40,397 -->
00:40:47,458
It's the laboratory that
shows we can
reinvent both press and
journalism
481
00:40:47,483 --> 00:40:54,210
in a digital format, while
preserving
the traidtional client
relation.
482
00:40:55,920 -->
00:41:02,160
He says not only is it
necessary for the public
to pay for this kind of
journalism...it's a civic duty.
483
00:41:03,290 -->
00:41:06,600
When we launched Mediapart,
484
00:41:06,600 -->
00:41:10,382
they thought the medium
determined the content,
485
00:41:10,382 --> 00:41:13,163
so information had to be
free,
486
00:41:13,163 -->
00:41:17,014
it had to be a constant
flow,
be superficial,
487
00:41:17,014 -->
00:41:20,181
it had to be short and
mainstream,
488
00:41:20,181 -->
00:41:25,281
conformist, camp follower,
people,
anecdotal, entertainment,
489
00:41:25,306 -->
00:41:28,868
all that destroys
the value of our profession.
490
00:41:28,893 -->
00:41:33,419
If journalists do not defend
the value of their work,
491
00:41:33,444 --> 00:41:38,057
which is producing
information
of public interest,
492
00:41:38,082 -->
00:41:39,528
they are condemned.
493
00:41:39,553 -->
00:41:41,479
That is what is at stake
here.
494
00:41:41,640 -->
00:41:45,739
Plenel and his partners took
an enormous financial
risk with Mediapart
495
00:41:45,739 -->
00:41:48,799
Investing more than five
million Euros of
their own money.
496
00:41:48,799 -->
00:41:51,423
At first people said we were
crazy.
497
00:41:51,423 -->
00:41:54,144
Too much investment,
too many people.
498
00:41:54,144 -->
00:41:59,080
If we wanted people to pay,
the contents had to be
spot-on.
499
00:41:59,080 -->
00:42:02,860
So we needed a team
of about thirty people.
500
00:42:02,860 -->
00:42:05,633
We needed quality
journalists
501
00:42:05,633 -->
00:42:08,774
capable of making that
content.
502
00:42:08,774 -->
00:42:10,159
So that was it.
503
00:42:10,184 -->
00:42:13,952
We hired young journalists
from different fields
504
00:42:13,977 -->
00:42:20,715
and told them we had money
to pay
their salaries during three
years.
505
00:42:20,740 -->
00:42:24,224
And we'll fight to overcome
the
challenge.
506
00:42:25,549 -->
00:42:30,210
Plenel and his team believed
that only one
thing could help them win
that battle.
507
00:42:30,210 -->
00:42:34,524
The key to our success is
journalism.
508
00:42:34,524 -->
00:42:40,047
Our motto is: Freedom of the
press
is not the privilege of
journalists,
509
00:42:40,047 -->
00:42:41,687
it's a citizen's right.
510
00:42:41,687 -->
00:42:49,113
We're in the middle of a
battle.
Not a corporate battle or a
professional battle
511
00:42:49,113 -->
00:42:53,526
but a battle where
our democracy is at risk.
512
00:42:53,779 -->
00:42:56,430
So you can see laws that
have changed, policies
513
00:42:56,430 -->
00:43:01,170
that have changed, personal
behavior that
has changed. It's
measurable, you can see
514
00:43:01,170 --> 00:43:07,299
the impact, and that's a
very powerful thing,
not only for a news
organization but also
515
00:43:07,299 -->
00:43:15,699
for a community, for a
state, to say, when
we have high-quality
journalism, it makes a difference.
516
00:43:15,910 --> 00:43:20,819
"...we have to succeed.
The stakes are too
high for our society.
517
00:43:20,819 -->
00:43:27,772
So far....for
Medipart....it's worked.
In a way that could
eventually give traditional
newspapers a run for their
money.
518
00:43:28,868 -->
00:43:31,714
Mediapart has 76,000
subscribers.
519
00:43:31,714 -->
00:43:37,146
How many printed copies
does Liberation sell in
France today?
520
00:43:37,146 -->
00:43:38,330
35,000
521
00:43:38,355 -->
00:43:42,109
How many copies of Le Monda?
90,000.
522
00:43:42,134 -->
00:43:46,030
Mediapart became a contender
in just five years.
523
00:43:46,055 -->
00:43:47,977
That's just fantastic.
524
00:43:48,599 -->
00:43:55,289
While his organization is
based in Paris and
works in the French
language, Plenel thinks the next
step is taking it to the
world.
525
00:43:56,190 -->
00:43:58,326
Mediapart will be a role
model
526
00:43:58,326 --> 00:44:04,789
when it succeeds in another
language
and in a different country.
527
00:44:04,789 -->
00:44:07,974
I can see more and more
curiosity.
528
00:44:07,974 -->
00:44:14,322
International colleagues who
come to take a look at what
we do.
529
00:44:14,322 -->
00:44:17,900
We have a spanish cousin
called infoLibre.
530
00:44:17,900 -->
00:44:24,007
The real challenge will be
when
there's a Mediapart in
English.
531
00:44:30,179 -->
00:44:34,879
The success of Mediapart has
not gone unnoticed
in the Untied States.
532
00:44:36,630 -->
00:44:42,069
Where I think non-profit
journalism particularly
in the United States is
heading is at the European model.
533
00:44:42,069 -->
00:44:48,519
Ultimately you have to get
direct revenues.
You have to be able to
monetize the communities
534
00:44:48,519 -->
00:44:52,039
that you serve. It
represents the value they
see in you.
535
00:44:52,039 -->
00:44:57,039
Look, I'm a big fan of
journalism.
We obviously are here at the
536
00:44:57,039 -->
00:45:02,239
New York Times and we want
to see it survive. And to
the extent that that gap can
be filled by
537
00:45:02,239 -->
00:45:09,239
some of these new, you know,
investigative
niche non profits that are
cropping up to
538
00:45:09,609 -->
00:45:16,140
keep you know companies and
governments honest
through investigative
journalism - I'm a big fan.
539
00:45:16,499 -->
00:45:20,819
"But the fact is the
function that we play
in the society, the
disinfecting aspect that
540
00:45:20,819 -->
00:45:27,259
we take in society, it's a
discrete one, it's
an intellectual one. Not
everybody gets it.
541
00:45:27,259 -->
00:45:34,249
So the trick is going to be,
to really make
this is a long-term play, we
have to educate
the public,
542
00:45:34,249 -->
00:45:38,849
we have to get people to
care, and not just care. It's not enough
543
00:45:38,849 -->
00:45:43,160
to 'like' something on
Facebook, you have
to give a little bit."
544
00:45:43,160 -->
00:45:48,529
Journalism...NEWS....continues
to evolve as
our technology evolves.
545
00:45:48,529 -->
00:45:54,759
And it's an ongoing process.
A constant game of trying to
keep up.
546
00:45:54,759 -->
00:46:00,880
Newspapers are becoming
digital brands.
New companies are taking
advantage of new technology
547
00:46:00,880 -->
00:46:03,749
to create a new kind of
news.
548
00:46:03,749 -->
00:46:08,619
"This is a golden age
for consumers of information,
and to a degree it's a
golden age for the
549
00:46:08,619 -->
00:46:11,080
people who produce it."
550
00:46:13,180 -->
00:46:17,850
"Because the purpose of
journalism is not just to write great
stories, it's to
communicate."
551
00:46:20,150 -->
00:46:25,669
It could well be that thanks
to digital,
we're actually getting
closer to what it used to be like,
with all these disparate
voices.
552
00:46:26,700 -->
00:46:32,799
"Either you find ways
to transform your company,
or you just feel "it's
not gonna happen anymore'
because I was too
late."
553
00:46:39,269 -->
00:46:45,609
Nobody wants to get left
behind and sort of
people are going to figure
that out.
554
00:46:46,999 -->
00:46:51,091
With Mediaprt we found
our second youth.
555
00:46:53,144 -->
00:46:58,944
I feel like journalism is a
promise
to the public,
556
00:46:58,945 -->
00:47:11,198
and I felt like we were
breaking that promise. My God, we
found a way to keep it,
didn't we? Yeah, we did.
Journalist -
Wouter Verschelden
Director - Jeremy
De Ryckere
Editing - Ludo
Bollen
Thanks to David
Perlich
2013 VRT News