Times Union, Albany County reach deal on arena naming rights
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 Proposal keeps newspaper's name on venue for 5 years.
The Times Union has struck a deal with Albany County to keep the newspaper's name on the county-owned arena through 2020, according to a proposal before county lawmakers. The naming rights for the 17,500-seat South Pearl Street venue, known since 2007 as Times Union Center, should net the county $1.75 million over five years, arena General Manager Bob Belber said. Belber said the new pact is a better deal for the county because while the annual naming rights fee is reduced, it also cuts by a third the annual mandatory advertising the arena and its acts must buy in the newspaper, reducing the likelihood that taxpayers will have to make up any shortfall.
The agreement, which was not competitively bid, means more favorable financial terms for the county at least one year ahead of schedule - and possibly two, Belber said.
The ambiguity is owed to a discrepancy in the initial 2006 naming rights deal, which officials said contained conflicting information about when it expired.
The first year of the new pact is actually an amendment to the terms for this year, which was initially intended to be the last of the decade-long marketing partnership. More
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Google Gives Publishers What Facebook, Apple Haven't: A Paywall
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The New York Times has moved guardedly with Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc., posting just 30 articles a day on new platforms controlled by those companies.
Starting Wednesday, the Times will be posting more than double that number of stories on a new alternative newsreader promoted by Google Inc. The reason? The Times asks readers to buy digital subscriptions after getting 10 free articles a month. Google readers count toward that limit. Facebook and Apple readers don't.
Publishers have been tentative about fully embracing new digital platforms for their articles because they want to protect revenue from online ads and subscribers as their print business has waned. Google, by pushing readers toward paid subscriptions, is giving media companies a tool they've craved and may put pressure on Facebook and Apple to follow suit. More
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Dow Jones Joins Google for the Launch of AMP
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Dow Jones has been working collaboratively with Google throughout the development of AMP and we are pleased that The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch are part of Wednesday's launch. Making the mobile experience faster is incredibly important to us. We will continue to work with Google to shape the experiences that our customers expect from both our news content, as well as our advertising, while also contributing to the continuing innovation of a subscription business model.
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The New York Times couldn't decide on just 1 David Carr fellow, so it chose 3
From Poynter.com
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 The New York Times has chosen Amanda Hess, Greg Howard and John Herrman as the first recipients of the David Carr fellowship. More than 600 people applied for the two-year fellowship, according to a press release. The fellowship was originally going to just one person.
"We found these three candidates so compelling that we decided to select all of them," said Dean Baquet, executive editor, The New York Times. "They are thoughtful, deep reporters. We will learn as much from them as they will from us."
Hess, winner of a 2015 Mirror Award, comes from Slate and will write for the culture desk. Howard comes from Deadspin and will write for the Magazine. Herrman, co-editor of The Awl, will write for the business and media desks.
The fellowship was established in memory of the late David Carr and "was created to bring diverse voices into The Times and to nurture a new generation of Times journalists. Fellows will build on Mr. Carr's commitment to holding those in power accountable and telling deeply reported stories."
The fellows start on March 15.
Click here for a bit from each of their essays and more. |
You Know That You Still Read A Newspaper, Right?
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I find that people get very confused by the term "newspaper". I actually had a very high-ranking public official say to me recently that he "didn't read newspapers anymore, [he] gets all his news online."
The absurdity of that statement still makes me pause. Where does he think the "news" he reads online comes from? Who employs the reporters, writers and editors who do most of the actual reporting, writing and publishing? The fact of the matter is that many of us have bought into this idea that the "digital realm" is so different and distinct from the physical world that we don't understand that many organizations still play in both worlds.
Legacy newspapers today currently manage at least two very different types of businesses. The first is a print business that is slowly declining but - surprise - has more legs than people think and - double surprise - actually makes money. The second is a digital daily news business that is growing audience rapidly but, like other digital content businesses, is struggling to figure out how to be consistently profitable. Legacy news organizations tend to get discounted as compared to their digital-only peers, but in fact, they shouldn't be. Legacy newspapers actually have some huge advantages over digital-only shops:
- They have established brands and operations that still throw-off cash. Yes, newspapers have been struggling with legacy costs. But in the news business, one cannot underestimate the power of reputable brands and newsrooms - and the existence of print operations that still drive customers to advertisers and make money. There are many digital-only businesses that would love to have something (anything) that made money - and it would be very difficult to over-estimate the investment that will be needed over many years to create credible brands and news cultures on par with historic newspapers. Take the airline industry, for example. Many startups have challenged the status quo since financial struggles began in the 1970's, yet three out of four of the surviving major carriers in the U.S. are "legacy" companies. Incumbency has its advantages.
- The public has a continuing, insatiable demand for news. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the public is consuming more news than ever and the curve is accelerating. Cat videos and click bait may get the attention, but if you want to pick a digital content segment with legs, then news is where you want to be. Newspapers are already there and, as I often say, "Google isn't going to interview the quarterback."
- To paraphrase IPONWEB Founder, CEO and Chief Scientist Boris Mouzykantskii, PhD, "Digital ad inventory may be infinite, but good digital ad inventory is not." Ad dollars will go to the best sites with the best kinds of traffic and engagement. While ad inventory across the entire web is theoretically infinite, most of that inventory exists on low-value, long tail sites. If you have high-value branded content with growing engagement by valued consumers, then your ad inventory is both scarce and valuable. This is the space occupied by highly credible news organizations.
I don't want to underplay the wrenching changes that newspapers are going through as they move from a traditional delivery system to a new, very different one. But looking forward, why would you count them out? Instead, I think the better argument is that the digital businesses newspapers are growing today are very likely to be the long-term content winners in the race for both eyeballs and dollars.
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In a New York Minute is the weekly electronic newsletter of NYNPA, providing you with member news, money-saving and money-generating ideas, and upcoming events. If you would like to contribute to this newsletter please reply to this e-mail or contact mmiller@nynpa.com. For more on NYNPA please visit us on the web at www.nynpa.com.
Mary Miller Education Services Director
New York News Publishers Association
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Sunshine Week Content
Includes a Free NIE
4 x 10 feature, editorials and an original multi-page Bob the Squirrel cartoon
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This month's feature highlights the importance of
Sunshine Week which is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know.
Anyone who would like to share his or her editorial on the significance of Sunshine Week is encouraged to email a copy to Mary Miller at mmiller@nynpa.com
Contact Mary Miller at mmiller@nynpa.com or call 518-449-1667 x 701 for a high resolution copy of this feature.
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