News from the information industry

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August 2014 Newsletter

Can papers make it on their own?

One by one, big media companies are splitting themselves in two, holding on to their sexier, more lucrative properties - broadcast, film, digital - and casting off their print operations to sink or swim.

The trend reached a crescendo in the past week. First, E.W. Scripps and Journal Communications entered into a deal in which Scripps will own both companies' broadcast properties, and a new entity, Journal Media Group, will own the newspapers. On Monday, Tribune Co. completed the spinoff of its newspapers into a separate, stand-alone company. And on Tuesday, Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper company, and owner of USA TODAY, announced a similar plan.

How can papers make it on their own? Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, sums up the challenge succinctly: "You have to find enough new products and revenue streams to make up for print advertising loss."

Hearst's magazine chief is still hot on print deals

Hearst's magazine publishing group continues to look for acquisitions and is more likely to purchase a print property than a digital asset, president David Carey said.

Carey said although digital media is growing faster than print, it tends to be from a very small base. And in many cases, digital properties that are up for sale aren't profitable. "It's hard for us to pay $200 million for properties that don't make money," he said.

5 Ways to Increase Redemptions of Mobile Coupons

Mobile coupon usage is on the upswing, with 75% of mobile shoppers having redeemed a coupon from their smartphones last year, and 80% saying their perceptions of a retailer would improve if that retailer offered mobile deals. Despite the obvious consumer interest in mobile coupons, however, many retailers - and particularly, smaller merchants - are still struggling to get their footing in this new marketing world. 

Gannett Agrees to $1.8 Billion Buyout of Cars.com Site

Gannett Co., the owner of USA Today, has agreed to buy out the other companies that own cars.com for $1.8 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Gannett already owns about 27 percent of the auto-sales website, so the deal values the whole business at about $2.5 billion, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. An agreement could be announced as soon as today, the person said.

Splitsville: Why newspapers and TV are going their separate ways corporately

Like the sale of the Washington Post this time last year, the merger of E.W. Scripps and Journal Communications, announced last night, and their reorganization into separate print and broadcast companies came as a jaw-dropping surprise.
But the morning after, the complicated transaction makes perfect sense. 

What if? ... The NY Times ended its daily print edition

Stop the presses! (For 6 days a week!) ... Yes, I'm being serious.
The recent New York Times "Innovation" report, a meant-to-be-internal strategy document proposing a (long-overdue) digital-first future for what is arguably the best newspaper and digital news operation on the planet, painted a depressing picture.
Despite beefing up its digital business and creating large technology and R&D teams to help the iconic news company lead the digital way and depend less on its print edition and more on emerging digital initiatives and opportunities, the report, produced by eight NYT employees, identified cultural and institutional barriers to getting beyond a "print-first" mentality. In other words: The company is going to falter if it doesn't put digital first and dump the anachronistic mindset of "the print edition is still king." (Newspaper-industry print revenues are not likely to pull out of their steep dive - ever.) 

Online video is growing faster than most other advertising formats and mediums.
* Video ad revenue will increase at a three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% through 2016, according to our estimates. 
* That's faster than any other medium other than mobile. And much faster than traditional online display advertising, which will only grow at a 3% annual rate.  

Emerging Trends In Mobile And What They Mean For Your Business

There's no question that mobile is here to stay. Just look at smartphone penetration, which stands at 70 percent in the U.S. And the ramp-up has happened almost overnight, as the average American now spends seven more hours each month with their phones than they did in 2013.

What our customers have to say....
 

Thanks for making our site profitable!

 

Mr. Joe Mathes

Delta Online/Rev1Up!

606 Fremont Street

Kiel WI 53042

 

Dear Joe,

 

I would like to thank you, your brother Mike, and Pam Biegler for helping us launch our new online business directory product, Stateline 411. The adjustments you suggested for our rate structure certainly helped us present a product that could hardly be turned down by any client. Generating nearly half our annual goal in just a little over three days gave us the kick start we were hoping for.

 

As you proved when you helped us sell advertisers to support our main website a couple of years ago, the style you and Pam use in making "four legged" sales calls made our staff feel comfortable, helped us close sales on the spot, and trained our staff to handle future presentations on their own in a productive and professional manner.

 

You had one of our sales reps so pumped up that she closed three more deals on the Monday following your visit, and it was ALL new business!

 

Thanks again. We look forward to working with you, Mike, and Pam when we upgrade our website in the near future.

 

Tee'em up!

 

Regards,

Carl C. Hearing

Vice President/General Manager

Monroe Publishing LLC

 

 
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