1. Technology Evolution and its Impact on News
Richard Gingras

2. Beware!
Do not presume the old journalistic model will be saved by new technology
It won’t!

3. Technology Progression: Simplified
Networks
Faster, more pervasive, hopefully cheaper
Computers
Faster, smaller, more multi-functional
Mobile
Thinner, more powerful, hopefully carrier independent
Displays
Thin, flexible, embedded
Projection
Pico!
Embedded, personal, pervasive
GPS
Geo-code
Pervasive
Embedded

4. What won’t change We had better hope so!
Openness of networks
Access to distribution
Free speech
What killed newspapers was not Google but the openness of the Internet
Openness broke distribution control and busted newspaper business models

5. Implications of the Web on News Product Design
Richard Gingras

6. On an optimistic note…
Journalism’s future will be stronger and more valued than journalism’s past or present
Newspapers are dying because we have put a press into everyone’s hands – can that be bad?
Journalism’s future will be molded by many new creative endeavors, not by the painful transmogrification of existing entities

7. Accept new economics Presume no economic savior, there is none
Newspaper economics were based on controlled distribution – that’s now anachronistic
Micro-payments are not a macro solution
$40 print ad CPMs are history
Subscription fees are self-defeating unless content has extraordinary value
Revenue: assume an RPM of $10
Expense: drive to a PV CPM of $6

8. Traffic flows Inbound traffic: Cover Page versus Rest-of-Site
50%
50%

9. Traffic flows Source of rest-of-site traffic
Search, aggregators, , blogs, news-ranking sites (e.g. Digg, NewsTrust)
Behaviors: query-driven as well as browsing
83% use search to access news; 53% frequently
15-25% of news site traffic comes from search/aggregation
It’s not only a good traffic but it’s a great source of new “uniques” and an opportunity to drive product discovery

10. Rethink content architecture
Core of the matrix is the story
Like music, the atomic unit of news has changed
Need/opportunity to rethink form and function
Don’t think editions; don’t think ephemeral streams of articles
Is it an article? Or is it a living resource?
Ephemeral anthrax attack article
Persistent anthrax attack resource

11. Create living resources
Web rewards URL stability
Better page rank and placement in search
More visitors and usage against a single topic
More sharing and engagement

12. Leverage the trusted crowd
More writers publishing today than ever before
The blogosphere, Wikipedia
More chaff, yes, but also more wheat
How can one optimally:
Harvest high-quality, self-determined work
Lead work into areas of interest/need
Provide guidance on ethics and style
Develop appropriate compensation models
There is a huge benefit to those who develop the skills and processes to do this well

13. Building trust via transparency
People trust people, not institutions – and the institutions are shrinking
The site’s value and values should be clear
Ethic policies
Editorial processes
Author bios and history of work
Recent Articles

14. Rethink the output “Every new medium begins as a container for the old”
The long-form article is not the end product of the reporting effort
The end product is organic:
Articles, posts, facts, related docs, reader contributions, discussion, databases, etc. etc.
And, yes, the long-form should be reconsidered
Audience is low, abandonment is high
How might one better achieve the objective to inform?

15. Abandonment by Length 59% 2 67% 3 71% 4 100% 41% 100% 43% 33% 100% 44%
30%
29%
71% 4

16. Database journalism
How can technology allow more effective use of the fruit of a reporter’s efforts?
Can more reporting generate persistent informational resources?
Yes, but only if the thought process changes

17. Rethink the roles
What is the day-to-day role of a reporter when creation and publication can be in the reporter’s hands?
What is the day-to-day role of an editor in an edition-less environment with a crowd of participants to lead, guide, and harvest?

18. Richard Gingras richard@richardgingras.com 650 793 0093
Finis
Richard Gingras