I fear that some of us may be losing sight of what brings people to media websites in the first place. It's content, and there is a reason people say "Content is king." You can't "monetize" visitors you don't have.
Prof. David E Carlson, Director of Interactive Media Lab, University of Florida zum Pogramm der Interactive Media Conference, die momentan in Atlanta abgehalten wird.
[Via poynter.org]

Some people regard the weblog as the first truly native form of Web content creation. And I said that might be true, but that weblogs hadn't yet created a commercial engine underneath them. I said they were populated by a mostly passionate group of amateurs. And there's nothing wrong with that, but in order for a medium to take off, it needs to have a group of professionals who are compensated and a business model underneath that can support that professional class. And what I was saying is that we may be on the cusp of that happening.
Martin Nisenholtz, CEO of New York Times Digital in einem Interview mit MediaPost: Q&A: Martin Nisenholtz

Sehr interessante Keynote von Martin Nisenholtz, Chief Executive Officer - New York Times Digital anlässlich des 2004 Information Industry Summit Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) zum Thema "Electronic Publishing":

We can all see the vague outlines of several elements coming increasingly into focus. These include:

Infrastructure that allows millions of ordinary users to access a broad array of media types, from simple text to video and animation. This infrastructure includes broadband and very powerful personal computing devices.

Dramatic consumer behavior shifts – both at home and in the office – placing connected devices in the center of the consumer's day. A control shift from the center to the edges of the network. An increasing willingness to pay for content online.

A whole array of creation technologies – from low-cost, digital video to widely available, advanced publishing platforms – that enable new ideas and formats to bubble-up, initially in the hands of amateur bloggers, but over time subsumed by a new professional class.

On the other end, core infrastructure that greatly enhances the user experience, including inexpensive, highly portable, very powerful networked devices.

Profitable Phase II content businesses like ours, populated with people who have new competencies and resources to support experimentation among a professional class of collaborating colleagues.

Eine grundsätzlich sehr weitsichtige und auch "einsichtige" Vision von Martin Nisenholtz,....die manche Print-Journalisten einmal mehr nicht verstehen wollen werden. (Nur was er denn mit "in the hands of amateur bloggers, but over time subsumed by a new professional class" wohl konkret gemeint hat? Blogende Journalisten oder journalistisch arbeitende Blogger?)

Hier gibt's den vollständigen Vortrag von Martin Nisenholtz zum Nachlesen: The Pong of Electronic Publishing

Interessant in diesem Zusammenhang ein Artikel von Larry Pryor mit ähnlichen "Voraussagen",....allerdings bereits vor 2 Jahren veröffentlicht.(!!),....The Third Wave of Online Journalism (26.04.2002):

"We have to engage in a conversation with our audience. … We look at what users are doing and use it to inform how our product develops."
-- Stephen Newman, deputy general manager, nytimes.com

"Involve the community - make people part of the (news) organization."
-- Jane Ellen Stevens, multimedia instructor, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

"Give them what they want and give them value."
-- Julie Weber, digital media manager, Hearst Newspapers

News organizations online are increasingly realizing that the key to success lies in giving readers what they want, when they want it. That means churning out news on more than a once-daily deadline, respecting privacy, creating interactivity, giving readers options and control. Many of these demands -- especially the need for more constant news updates -- mean major changes in the way newsrooms work. Many organizations are working to meet the needs of this new online audience.

[Via: Rich Gordon - The Third Phase of Electronic Publishing ]

Zeitungen und ihre Community:

Virtual Newsroom allows submissions of any kind to be made to the News-Register. Links listing some of the types of items accepted are found on the Virtual Newsroom site. They include news of community events, business, education, arts and living, sports, letters to the editor and other types of press releases. In addition, a link allows readers to submit news tips. A substantial amount of important news comes to us from the public, in the form of tips. We then assign reporters to follow up on the tips, often getting news we wouldn't otherwise have been able to provide to our readers.

The Virtual Newsroom: http://www.news-register.net/vnr/

Mehr Infos dazu: Newspaper Has New Link To Community

[Via: Poynter.org ]

James Glen Stovall, Journalistik-Professor an der University of Alabama hat ein Buch zum Thema online-Journalismus geschrieben: Web Journalism - Practice and Promise of a New Medium.

Aufgegriffen werden unter anderem Themen wie Public Journalism:

"This new relationship will have profound effects on the way journalists gather information and make decisions. Readers are likely to become sources of information and lead journalists to new inquiries and stories. They could provide valuable perspective to journalists who are new to a story or not part of the community they cover (two of the major criticism of journalists today), offering points of view that journalists would not normally hear in talking with “official” sources about their stories. The public journalism movement (often called civic journalism), which seeks to involve the community in journalistic decision making, could be taken to a new level with the Web."

....Weblogs:

”... on some topics, weblogs are a source of up-to-date information that no media organization attempts to match. In addition, weblogs have an inherent respect for their audiences and take advantage of their wide-ranging knowledge and expertise. While contributions may not come from trained journalists and may not be vetted through a traditional editing process, weblogs offer the possibility of presenting a much wider range of points of view about information than would be possible in the traditional media."

und Communities:

"The idea of an Internet community is something of a radical departure for traditional journalistic thinking. These ‘communities’ may be short-term and topic-oriented. They may not be confined to the geographic areas that have traditionally defined audiences for journalists. They are likely to dissipate once the issue that brought the individuals together fades. On the other hand, they may survive and thrive beyond the control or the participation of the journalist who began them."

[Via Hypergene MediaBlog]

Interessante Artikel aus der American Journalism Review zum Thema Zeitungslesen,...und Leser.

Gleanings from the gold mine give newspapers a lot to worry about. But researchers and editors are framing them into the heartening central message that the persistent readership slide can be reversed, and certain steps can help.

That call-to-action is sending changes rippling through newsrooms, as hundreds of papers mobilize to apply the new intelligence. They are cramming in community news, adding "ordinary people" beats, juicing up promotion, and moving beyond the newsroom to upgrade their service and management.
....dies war wohl voraussehbar,....und weiter:

Other conclusions are surprising if not shocking. The most vital step of all, the research says, may be making the paper easier to use; however, contemporary touches such as more attractive design, extensive use of color and informational graphics matter less than heavy promotion and easy-to-understand organization. Advertising and service sometimes outrank editorial content in luring readers. Readers want shorter stories in some cases (about weather), but longer ones in others (about science and technology); fewer stories on some topics (crime), but more on others (community activities, lifestyles, global relations and "how we are governed").

The research encourages more narrative-style writing, more awareness of how ads help draw readers to editorial content, and special attention to attracting readers who are young..

Ebenso interessant und aufschlussreich Teil II: Was mögen die Leute in der Zeitung?

1. The fastest way to draw readers is to make papers easier to read and use.
2. Raising satisfaction with content increases readership.
3. Local-local news tops the list of content that drives readership.
4. Feature-style writing helps increase reader satisfaction.
5. Interesting ads attract readers to news.
6. Service rivals content in importance.
7. Attracting younger readers requires more radical innovation.
8. Papers should manage smarter, train better, pay more.

Hier die vollständigen Artikel nachlesen:
Why Do People Read Newspapers? - American Journalism Review - Studie .
UndWhat They Like.

Besondes empfehlenswert in diesem Zusammenhang auch folgende Untersuchung des Readership Institute: Readership decline is not inevitable:

Significant improvements to newspaper content, service, brand and internal culture can and do grow readership. Institute research in 2000-2003 identified key drivers of readership; subsequent action by newspapers is proving the point. The Institute is a joint venture of the Newspaper Association of America, American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Media Management Center.

Journalismus als Dienstleistung – die neue Rolle einer modernen Regionalzeitung

Vortrag des neuen BaZ-Chefredaktors Ivo Bachmann vor der Statistisch-Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesellschaft Basel am 1. Dezember 2003 blieb nicht ohne Nachwirkungen. Hier ein subjektiv ausgesuchter Ausschnitt aus dem Vortrag:

Noch immer sehen viele Berufskollegen in ihren Lesern reine Informationsempfänger. Interaktion oder Kooperation, gar ein regelmässiger Dialog ist selten gefragt. Es gibt sogar Leserbriefverantwortliche, die sich täglich über ihre Kundschaft ärgern und jeden direkten Leserkontakt als Belästigung empfinden.

Zu diesem Thema hatten wir beim Beobachter mal eine sehr angeregte Diskussion. Es ging um ein neues Grundkonzept und dabei um die Frage, wie wir unseren Leserinnen und Lesern begegnen. Und wie wir sie benennen.

Mein Vorschlag war, künftig konsequent von Kundinnen und Kunden statt von Leserinnen und Lesern zu reden. Und dies nicht nur, um der Multimedialität des Titels gerecht zu werden. Der Begriff „Kunde“ beinhaltet mehr: Er steht auch für ein besonderes Verhältnis zum Leser, zur Zuschauerin, zum Zuhörer. Ein Kunde hat Rechte, hat Interessen, hat Ansprüche; er ist aktiver und gleichberechtigter ins Geschehen involviert.

Der Zoff war programmiert. Redaktoren als Kundenberater?! Der Chefredaktor hatte wohl schlecht geschlafen. Leser sind doch keine Kunden! Inserenten sind Kunden! Und um die kümmert sich die Anzeigenabteilung im Verlag.

Nun, mir ging es damals eigentlich nicht so sehr um den konkreten Begriff. Sehr wichtig schien mir aber die Diskussion darüber, wie wir Journalisten unserem Publikum begegnen. Wie reagieren wir zum Beispiel auf Kritik? Was machen wir mit unbequemen Lesermeinungen? Und ganz generell: Wie wichtig ist uns das, was unsere Leser bewegt? Es ging mir also nicht um Quote und Kommerz; es ging mir um eine Haltung. Journalismus ist nicht Dienst am Bildschirm; Journalismus ist Dienst am Leser.

Hier gibt's den kompletten Vortrag im Wortlaut zum Nachlesen.
[Quelle: Onlinereports von Peter Knechtli ]

....und eine sehr verwandte, interessante Vergleichs-Quelle: "WE-Media" : http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/ ;-))

Historically, journalists have been charged with informing the democracy. But their future will depend not on only how well they inform but how well they encourage and enable conversations with citizens. That is the challenge. (siehe auch Eintrag von Cybi vom September.)

Back to life, back to reality ! :-))

Interessanter Artikel von Steven Johnson bei Discover.com. Er hat während 1 Woche die "Headlines" von Technorati.com mit den "traditionellen" Headlines der New York Times,CNN Wall Street Journal oder BBC u.s.w. verglichen.

No, Technorati’s Breaking News isn’t a replacement for the traditional front pages or nightly news broadcasts. But neither does it create the narrowing perspective of the Daily Me. It’s more like an ongoing exchange between the top-down approach of traditional journalism and the bottom-up approach of the Web: Professional writers and editors generate the stories, and the Web’s vast audience decides which ones deserve our attention. And this approach may well result in the best of all possible journalistic worlds.

Hier den vollständigen Artikel bei Discover.com nachlesen: How the Web Edits News - A new headline service lets the readers collectively decide what's important. [Via poynter.org - Amy Gahran ]

Eine Studie des Instituts für Journalistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft der Universität Hamburg zeigt: Das online-spezifische Angebot an deutschen Hochschulen ist eher theorieorientiert und stark von Studiengang und einzelnen Dozenten abhängig. Überraschend: Die praxisorientieren Journalistikstudiengänge bieten weniger online-journalistische Angebote als die Institute für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Publizistik.

Erste Erkenntnisse aus laufenden Experteninterviews bieten zwei Erklärungen. Viele der Befragten gaben als Grund für die geringe Zahl eine bewusst medienübergreifende Ausbildung an: Wer generell gut recherchieren und schreiben kann, so die Argumentation, der kommt später auch mit dem Online-Medium zurecht.

Einige der Befragten wiesen demgegenüber auf eine stärker online-spezifische Ausbildung in ihrem Studiengang hin. Für die geringe Anzahl online-spezifischer Lehrveranstaltungen machten sie vor allem den Mangel an entsprechenden Lehrkräften und technischen Ressourcen verantwortlich.

Weiterlesen bei HOCHSCHUL-AUSBILDUNG: Mediumspezifisch vs. crossmedial I+II.
Bestandesaufnahme: Ausbildung im Jahr 2003.
Ausführliche Studien-Dokumentation.
Und eine PowerPoint-Präsi dazu.
[Via: http://www.onlinejournalismus.de/ ]

Aus dem BloggerCon-Newsletter von Dave Winer:

NYU journalism prof Jay Rosen, and BloggerConner, and Lydon interviewee, posted a gem with ten things that are Radical About the Weblog Form in Journalism. A must-read for all would-be radical bloggers, like you! ;->

Hier Nachlesen: What's Radical About the Weblog Form in Journalism?
These ten things, for starters. Got others? Hit the comment button.