News organizations launch clubs, share content

It's been a little more than two months since I joined PBS MediaShift as an associate editor, and that means I've produced two features for the site (in addition to my editing and site management duties). Below are excerpts from the articles. Enjoy.

Cats Sleeping with Dogs? Rival News Orgs Share Content, Revenues

by Craig Silverman, October 21, 2009

Next month, newspapers all over the United States will begin sharing sports stories online and in print as part of an initiative that sprung from the Associated Press Sports Editors. Then, early next year, the Washington Post and Bloomberg with unveil a new co-branded business section on the paper's website that will offer content from both organizations.

These are just two of the next-generation content-sharing initiatives being pursued by news organizations. The first generation of sharing agreements saw stories swapped by papers in Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, New York and New Jersey among other places. (Read this previous MediaShift article about the Ohio News Organization [OHNO].) These agreements focused on print editions, and involved little or no revenue sharing. Content-sharing is now moving into its next phase by bringing stories online and looking at ways to share revenue.

This spirit of cooperation is largely driven by the fact that newspapers have fewer reporters in the newsroom, which means they produce less content. So they are teaming up with once-hated competitors, striking alliances with strategic content partners, and looking at ways to share their content online, while still reaping the resulting clicks and ad revenue. In the process, some long-held taboos of the news business are falling by the wayside...

Can Memberships, Clubs, Cruises Keep Media Companies Afloat?

by Craig Silverman, September 21, 2009

Late last month, an ad for a new job appeared on the Guardian's careers website. The position for "General Manager - Guardian Club" was notable because it signaled an important initiative at the paper in the form of a new entity, the Guardian Club.

"The club will make our most committed readers/users feel they are genuinely part of our organization and reward their loyalty," the ad read. "The General Manager has the unique opportunity to set the direction, create the club and then deliver on that ambition."

Just over a week earlier, the New York Times announced a club of its own, the New York Times Wine Club. It promised to provide "readers and other wine enthusiasts with distinctive wines from many top regions around the world." And by the end of August, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette unveiled a new membership offering in the form of PG+, a paid online service that promised to offer subscribers access to "interactive features and exclusive content" in addition to "access to special Post-Gazette events" and discounts.

These new memberships and clubs, which focus on offering services to readers that are largely different than a pay wall, are a byproduct of declining advertising revenues. As a result of that lost income, news organizations are looking at new ways of generating revenue from readers. The Washington Post has PostPoints, a reader rewards program that offers special benefits to subscribers and online readers...

October 24, 2009 | Filed Under Feature articles, Media Criticism, MediaShift 

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