“Having very frequent, more positive and hopefully collaborative conversations with startups who want to use their catalog, having those conversations much,  much earlier on, and building out a long-term where they’re proactively pursuing those collaborations with mutually favorable terms, as opposed to ending up in a position where they have to be purely reactive and suing companies and people which definitely is not a good place to be in financially but also in terms of public perception.”

– Cherie Hu, Water & Music

Guest: Cherie Hu, Founder, Water & Music

How is the way the music industry and musicians are compensated similar to and different from the way publishers are compensated? What lessons has the music industry learned to help them better protect against unauthorized use of their content? How could web3/blockchain play a role in compensation models for the music and publishing industries? What are the potential roles AI could play in music creation and/or distribution? 

In this episode of News Take, Cherie Hu, founder of music collaboration and research firm Water & Music, joins News Take host Rebecca Frank for a fascinating discussion about how the music industry has navigated changes to the ways music is distributed and consumed. Hu draws parallels, as well as distinctions, between how musical content is protected and compensated, and those same aspects of publishing. She shares insights on how emerging technologies, including web3/blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged by content creators now and possibly down the road, and breaks down the two camps of AI users from a philosophical and business perspective. Finally, she touches on the work Water & Music is doing to bring new industry innovators together, as well as her take on trends in music innovation that translate to the publishing world.

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Speaker bio:

Cherie Hu is the founder of Water & Music, a research network focused on analyzing music and tech trends. Previously, Cherie penned hundreds of articles on music and tech as a freelance writer for publications including Billboard, Forbes, Pitchfork and Variety. She has spoken as an expert commentator on CNBC and SiriusXM Volume; as a guest lecturer at institutions such as Harvard University, NYU, Northeastern, and Berklee College of Music in Valencia; and spoken at over 30 conferences around the world.

Related links:

Water & Music

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News Take Production Team:

Host and Executive Producer: Rebecca Frank, VP, Research & Insights, News/Media Alliance

Production Support, Editing & Distribution:

Georgi-Ann Clarke, Social Media & Content Manager, News/Media Alliance
Rachel Fox, Manager, Membership & Events, News/Media Alliance
Lindsey Loving, Director, Communications, News/Media Alliance

Audio & Video Engineer: Current Media Group

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The post News Take Episode 204: Navigating the Digital Media Transition: Lessons from the Music Industry appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Our competition is not another news outlet in Philadelphia, it’s the 24 hour clock, it’s Netflix, it’s YouTube, it’s scrolling through Instagram. So how are you going to break through in someone’s day, so that they feel compelled to read your content, and further compelled to pay for that content. We think about this in terms of our content strategy in the newsroom, we strive to be useful, revealing and responsive, that’s the lens that we look through what we produce.

– Lisa Hughes, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Guest: Lisa Hughes, Publisher, The Philadelphia Inquirer

How can magazines and newspapers innovate to attract and keep subscribers in an increasingly competitive landscape? What must news and magazine publishers do to continue to keep their readers engaged over the long-term?

In this episode of News Take, Lisa Hughes, the first female Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, joins News/Media Alliance VP, Research & Insights, Rebecca Frank, for an insightful conversation about the evolution of magazine and newspaper media during a time of rapid change. Hughes shares how she’s led with innovation at top magazine and news publications to introduce successful new products and brands that have kept readers and subscribers coming back for more. She talks about her very first experiences working in the magazine publishing business, and how she rose through the ranks to become a top executive at The New Yorker and Condé Nast Traveler before making the transition to Philadelphia’s flagship newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, where four weeks in she found herself brand new and having to adapt and respond amid a nationwide shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She shares how innovative strategies and products, including live blogs, newsletters and gamification have been successful in driving audience engagement, as well as the potential of new platforms such as TikTok for meeting audiences where they are. She also talks about the risks and opportunities that come with new technologies such as generative AI and where she sees the technology having the most potential to optimize the reader experience.

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Speaker bio:

Lisa Hughes is Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer. As Publisher, Hughes brings to the role an impressive track record, having successfully transitioned an iconic print brand into a multi-platform, profitable business. Hughes is the first woman Publisher and Chief Executive Officer in The Inquirer’s 190-year history. Hughes is known as a skilled business executive who values and respects journalism. Under her nine-year leadership, The New Yorker, owned by Condé Nast, grew from a largely print-only magazine into a multimedia enterprise. Over the past decade, The New Yorker revamped its website and paid digital content strategy and built award-winning mobile apps. Hughes launched the acclaimed New Yorker Radio Hour and Podcast, and restructured The New Yorker Festival into a profitable business. She left the company at the end of 2017. Prior to The New Yorker, Hughes served as VP Publisher of Condé Nast Traveler for 10 years, steering that magazine through the most successful period in its history.

Watch the next episode of News Take

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Send your suggestions for future News Take guests to Alliance VP, Research & Insights Rebecca Frank at rebecca@newsmediaalliance.org.

News Take Production Team:

Host and Executive Producer: Rebecca Frank, VP, Research & Insights, News/Media Alliance

Production Support, Editing & Distribution:

Georgi-Ann Clarke, Social Media & Content Manager, News/Media Alliance
Rachel Fox, Manager, Membership & Events, News/Media Alliance
Lindsey Loving, Director, Communications, News/Media Alliance

Audio & Video Engineer: Current Media Group

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The post News Take Episode 203: Pioneering Innovation at Legacy Magazine and News Media Brands appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

In this video featuring highlights from the News/Media Alliance Industry Summit, held on September 30, 2022 in New York, speakers offered expert tips and actionable insights on trending topics, including using data to deepen reader engagement, expanding ecommerce opportunities, and the future potential of Web3 in the context of news and magazine publishing.

Watch Now:

Speakers featured (in order of appearance): Scott Stein, USA TODAY/Gannett; Linda Li, SVP & General Manager, Wirecutter (The New York Times); Tyler Sperry, Director, eCommerce +
Affiliates, America’s Test Kitchen; Alysia Borsa, Chief Business Officer and President of Lifestyle, Dotdash Meredith; Beth Diaz, Vice President, Audience Development and Analytics, The Washington Post; Robin Berjon, Former VP, Data Governance, The New York Times

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day
License code: 3TCNKHDLZCSHBI9Q

Panel Recaps:

Session 1: Using Data to Deepen Reader Engagement

Session 2: Expanding eCommerce Opportunities

Session 3: Could Web3 Really Be a Thing for Publishers?

Related:

Full session recording: Fireside Chat with Robin Berjon: Could Web3 Really Be a Thing for Publishers?

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Guest: Eric Barnes, The Daily Memphian

What are some of the things to consider when starting a local newspaper? How can you be nonprofit and still operate like a for-profit newspaper? How did you attract subscribers in a competitive market? What went better than you expected and what didn’t go as well? What have you learned about finding the best revenue mix? What should someone thinking about starting a local newspaper know before they get started?

In this episode of News Take, News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with Eric Barnes, CEO of The Daily Memphian (Tennessee), about his experience over the last four years launching a nonprofit local newspaper. Eric takes us from the very initial discussions and fundraising steps, to deciding whether to publish a print edition or be a purely a digital news publication, to how they decided what to charge for subscriptions and how they structure their organization to allow them to employ 40 newsroom staff (Hint: It’s not on pure philanthropy!) He shares everything, from how they took cues from the community to chart a practical course for advertising, fundraising, and reporting; to why they don’t do sponsored content and scaled back on podcasts; to how they found a balance that is working for them. This must-listen primer on launching a nonprofit digital news publication is full of practical tips and takeaways for anyone wanting to run a news publishing business!

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Speaker bios

Eric Barnes

Eric is CEO of The Daily Memphian, an online daily news source in Memphis that launched in September 2018. For ten years, Eric has hosted “Behind the Headlines” on Memphis’ PBS station, a weekly news show focused on local government, business and the community. Since 2019, he has also hosted “The Sidebar,” a podcast on The Daily Memphian and radio show on local radio station WYXR, that focuses on arts, culture and everything in between. Eric is also publisher of a group of community newspapers in Tennessee, and a former president and current board member of the Tennessee Press Association. He is currently president of the American Court & Commercial Newspapers and is on the board of the Local Media Association. He is a novelist and a published short story writer, and has a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s from Connecticut College.

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The post News Take Episode 112: Lessons in Practicality from The Daily Memphian: “A Lot of People Don’t Know We’re a Nonprofit” appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John Murray

Arlington, VA – The News Media Alliance has named The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (North Dakota) (Small category), the Detroit Free Press (Medium category), the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Medium Category) and Newsday (Long Island, NY) (Large category) as the recipients of the 2021 John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development.

A selection committee of Alliance and American Press Institute (API) staff members selected the four recipients (with a tie in the Medium category) for their exceptional innovation and sophistication in understanding content strategy as part of audience development. Their effective use of multiple platforms and formats for sharing content; development of thoughtful, responsive content and programs to help readers navigate important issues (e.g., Covid-19 vaccines, local crime, etc.); livestreaming sports and virtual events; and leveraging social media, video, and newsletter products to introduce their brands to new audiences resulted in measurable positive impacts on audience growth, subscription and advertiser revenue, and print and digital subscriptions.

All four news publishers successfully applied one or more of the seven ‘Table Stakes’ capacities of modern news publishing, which were developed as part of the Knight Lenfest Local News Transformation program.

Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, “We continue to be amazed at the innovation and creativity our members have shown year after year in their submissions for this Award. While we received many impressive nominations again this year, these four news organizations showed some amazing results in growing audience and revenue for their digital products and services that exemplify what is possible when news organizations listen to readers and what they need, and meet them where they are. I know John Murray would have been really excited and proud to see the hard work news publishers are putting in that is paying off in the form of new and engaged audiences.”

Michael Bolden, Executive Director and CEO of API, said, “The four winners of the John P. Murray Award demonstrated successful applications of the transformational thinking news organizations must put into practice in the digital age to better serve their communities. The winners can build on their success, while their work offers useful case studies that other publishers can follow in their own markets. Putting such peer learning into practice is one of the most powerful tools we have in journalism to help move the industry forward.”

This is the third year of the John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development, which was established in memory of former Vice President of Audience Development John Murray, who was with the organization for over 20 years before passing away in 2018. Murray was known across the news industry for helping Alliance member news publishers improve audience development and engagement, and for convening members to share best practices.

In response to being named a recipient of the 2021 John P. Murray Award:

• Stephanie Schroeder, Chief Customer & Marketing Officer at Forum Communications said, “The Forum is beyond honored to be chosen as one of the recipients of this prestigious award. We believe that our audience is our most valuable asset, so we are proud to be recognized for our efforts in trying to better serve them. Our work is not yet finished – and it likely never will be – but it’s work we feel privileged to do.”
• Brian Manzullo, Social, Search & Audience Editor at the Detroit Free Press stated, “On behalf of the Detroit Free Press, it’s an absolute honor to receive this award from the News Media Alliance in memory of John Murray. It’s a testament to the efforts by our entire newsroom in not just engaging our audiences, but involving them throughout the newsgathering process to empower our journalism and deliver meaningful impact in our communities. Thank you so much to the News Media Alliance for recognizing our work, and most of all thank you to our readers who help push us to become better at serving them.”
• Dennis Francis, Oahu Publications, Inc. President and Publisher said, “Innovative audience development allows the Honolulu Star-Advertiser to focus on its core mission of providing the community with local news, sports, commentary and entertainment while spurring public discussions on the critical issues affecting the lives of our readers and the communities they serve across the State.”
• Debby Krenek, Publisher of Newsday, said, “We could not be prouder of what the team has achieved for our organization with Newsday LIVE events. We’re incredibly honored that their work is being recognized by our peers at the News Media Alliance.” Melissa Carfero, Newsday’s manager of event strategy and development, added, “It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award and to be recognized by News Media Alliance, especially for excellence in audience development. The success Newsday LIVE has seen year over year is undoubtedly attributed to the expertise, determination and unwavering commitment our team shares in making each event more successful than the last.”

All four recipients will receive an award to display at their property; a check for $1,000 to put toward enhancing their audience development and engagement efforts; and will be invited to present their success stories an upcoming Alliance member best practices webinar. The Alliance will also add this year’s recipients to a plaque that is displayed at its headquarters.

For more information about the John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development, click here.

###

Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,000 news organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print, digital and mobile publishers of original news content. Headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of news media through communication, research, advocacy and innovation. Information about the News Media Alliance (formerly NAA) can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

The post News Media Alliance Announces Recipients of 2021 John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Guests: Jim Bernard, Star Tribune and Mike Orren, The Dallas Morning News

Is there such a thing as a typical reader or subscriber? What role does the e-Paper play in the transition to digital (and why did our speakers initially despise the product)? Do new storytelling formats such as podcasts and social media present viable business models, and how can news publishers successfully venture into this space? What are news publishers getting right on the tech side, and where do they still need to improve?

In this episode of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern sits down with Jim Bernard, Senior Vice President for Digital at the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune and Mike Orren, Chief Product Officer at The Dallas Morning News for a candid conversation about the challenges and opportunities that arise from understanding your readers and subscribers and how to give them what they want (and when, where and how they want it) – all while prioritizing revenue (because at the end of the day, newspapers need to sell subscriptions). From the differences between print and digital subscribers and their desires, preferences, and behaviors, to why the e-Edition is a valuable product, to approaches to experimenting with new forms of storytelling (including audio and video), to their most exciting plans for 2022, Orren and Bernard draw from their leadership experience to offer insights on navigating the constantly changing news consumption landscape.

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Speaker bios

Mike Orren is the Chief Product Officer at The Dallas Morning News, leading the teams responsible for all digital products, marketing, business intelligence, and digital audience. Prior to that, he was President at Belo Business Intelligence, where he leads marketing, analytics, product development, strategy and sales infrastructure for A.H. Belo Corporation, publisher of The Dallas Morning News. He founded Pegasus News, the largest single-market digital news pure-play in the US in 2005, eventually selling it to a publicly-traded broadcast company. Mike has served in senior roles at American Lawyer Media and D Magazine (where he launched the first city magazine website). His work has been recognized with awards from Editor & Publisher, The Dallas Press Club, the North Carolina Press Association and The Dallas Business Journal. Mike is a graduate of Duke University.

Jim Bernard is Star Tribune’s senior vice president for digital with responsibility for the company’s portfolio of digital properties and operations, including StarTribune.com – the state’s most-visited website with 7 million unique visitors each month. He also oversees dozens of other digital products, including Star Tribune mobile apps, print “replica” edition, CityPages.com and 19 Minnesota high school sports websites. Jim joined Star Tribune in 2010 from Dow Jones MarketWatch and prior to MarketWatch, he held a series of executive positions with Dow Jones. Jim earned his MBA from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa.

Watch the next episode: Tech Trends: What Publishers Need to Know

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News Take Production Team:

Host and Executive Producer: Rebecca Frank, VP, Research & Insights, News/Media Alliance

Production Support, Editing & Distribution:

Georgi-Ann Clarke, Social Media & Content Manager, News/Media Alliance
Rachel Fox, Manager, Membership & Events, News/Media Alliance
Lindsey Loving, Director, Communications, News/Media Alliance

Audio & Video Engineer: Current Media Group

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The post News Take Episode 101: Local News: Understanding What Readers Want and How to Deliver it to Them appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

marchmeena29 / iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Steve Jobs was famous for announcing “one more thing” toward the end of his Apple product announcements. Typically, that “one more thing” was a new device that would reshape consumers’ expectations of what technology could do for them. (Sometimes that one thing was a price point – how much would the future cost?) In more recent years, the tone of Apple’s presentations has shifted, as the company’s focus has moved away from new devices to services and features designed to keep users happy. But the June 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote speech, which introduced the company’s iOS 15, did feature one more thing that should have many news organizations paying attention.

The iOS announcement highlighted how the upcoming operating system can integrate into users’ lives in a post-pandemic world and continued Apple’s theme of supporting user privacy. As SVP of engineering Craig Federighi said, “We don’t think you should have to make a tradeoff between great features and privacy. We believe you deserve both.” Much of the pre-announcement conversation focused on App Transparency Tracking (ATT), which provides individual users with the ability to opt out of having their app behavior tracked and shared with advertisers. The feature is seen as a particular challenge to Facebook, which earns the bulk of its massive revenues from advertising (due to its ability to provide advertisers with valuable metrics about app behavior). Following its release in February, one study found that “U.S. users choose to opt out of tracking 96 percent of the time” when prompted. Many news organizations, rightly concerned about Facebook’s power in the advertising market, saw ATT as an attack on the platforms’ dominance. The hope was that advertisers would shift budgets away from Facebook (and to channels that used their own first-party data, such as news publications and apps) once it lost some power to target and track users.

However, the iOS 15 announcement featured “one more thing” that has some in the news industry concerned: an update called Mail Privacy Protection. As CNN described, “The email app on Apple devices will now hide users’ IP addresses and their location, so companies sending emails can’t link that information to users’ other online activity. Additionally, senders can’t see if or when users open their email.” Specifically, Mail Privacy Protection will not allow email senders to track the pixel that is used to determine open rates. Email senders – including news organizations – will lose the powerful engagement metrics on how many of their promotions, offers, and importantly, newsletters, are being opened.

In his analysis of the announcement, Nieman Lab’s Joshua Benton points out this change is substantial – “This is Apple Mail, the dominant platform for email in the U.S. and elsewhere. According to the most recent market-share numbers from Litmus, for May 2021, 93.5% of all email opens on mobile come in Apple Mail on iPhones or iPads. On desktop, Apple Mail on Mac in responsible for 58.4% of all email opens.” Benton’s piece reviews the ongoing conversation about the changes and points out, “Open rates will now officially be useless,” and that small publishers, especially individual newsletters, have the most to lose. In a tweet, Matt Taylor of the Financial Times points out that the change will “hurt small pubs the most,” and that “for those with no audience it might stop them from ever succeeding.”

Platformer writer Casey Newton – who rounded up multiple tech and news industry responses to the announcement – agreed with Benton’s conclusion that without the ability to track email opens, publishers will “adjust, somehow.” In Newton’s newsletter, he shared that he wasn’t “sure that people doing email-based journalism have all that much to worry about from the shift.” He cites independent newsletter publisher Alex Kantrowitz, whose ad-supported newsletter “was sold out for the first half of the year, thanks to a premium audience he identified not by pixel-based tracking but by a good old-fashioned reader survey.” As Renee Cassard, chief research officer at the media conglomerate Omnicom pointed out to Digiday, “The marketplace has sort of realized that there are limits to behavioral data.” Beyond straightforward behavior tracking, publishers can leverage research and data-generation tools to understand not only what their readers have done, but who they are and what they want. This data would be of high value for internal product development as well as advertiser needs.

Kantrowitz’s perspective may be the most helpful for news publishers that send newsletters and are concerned about the changes. But as with any alternative, it is not practical to view it as a magic bullet solution to preserving long-term relationships – in fact, a simple open rate calculation was never an indication of that, either. It has just been the key metric by which advertisers value newsletter placements (until now). The point is that there are many ways to build relationships with readers, and as the industry shifts toward a more consumer-needs driven model, newsletters should be seen as tools for promoting engagement and building habitual, loyal, paying readers; not viewed solely for their potential to attract advertisers. Eventually, there will be a new “open rate.” But as these indicators evolve, continuing to meet readers where they are and provide high-value products will best position your organization for success.

The post Apple’s Latest Privacy Announcement Will Impact a Key Tool in News Publishers’ Audience Engagement Toolbox: Email Newsletters appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John Murray

Arlington, VA – The News Media Alliance has named the Arizona Daily Star’s #ThisIsTucson (Small category), The Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH) (Medium category), and McClatchy (Large category) as the recipients of the 2020 John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development.

A selection committee of Alliance and American Press Institute (API) executives selected the three recipients for their exceptional innovation and sophistication in understanding content strategy as part of audience development. Their effective use of multiple platforms and formats for sharing content; thoughtful content and programs to help readers navigate the events of 2020, including the coronavirus pandemic, protests against systemic racism, and the 2020 presidential election; and registration programs to introduce their brands to new audiences, among other major undertakings, resulted in measurable positive impacts on audience growth, subscription and circulation revenue, and print and digital subscriptions.

All three news publishers successfully applied one or more of the seven ‘Table Stakes’ capacities of modern news publishing, which were developed as part of the Knight Lenfest Local News Transformation program.

Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, “We have been really pleased with the response from our members to this award. Even in the midst of a global pandemic that threatened the livelihoods of many local news publishers, our members were able to show incredible growth.

Chavern continued, “While we received several impressive nominations again this year, these three organizations showed some amazing results that really demonstrate how far the industry has come, and how news publishers have innovated and are seeing great success in growing audience and revenue for their digital products and services. I know John Murray would have been really excited and proud to see the hard work news publishers are putting in that is paying off in the form of new and engaged audiences.”

Jeff Sonderman, Deputy Executive Director and Executive Vice President at API, stated, “As the United States and the world were rocked this past year by crises and major events, it became more important than ever that news organizations center their audiences’ needs in their reporting and expand to serve all types of people. This year’s award recipients provide inspiring examples of how growth is possible through refining content strategies to appeal to more people while improving business practices to grow reader revenue. It’s a pleasure to congratulate the winners and to know that the work they carry on serves the legacy of John Murray so well.”

This is the second year of the John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development, which was established in memory of former Vice President of Audience Development John Murray, who was with the organization for over 20 years before passing away in 2018. Murray was known across the news industry for helping Alliance member news publishers improve audience development and engagement, and for convening members to share best practices.

In response to being named a recipient of the 2020 John P. Murray Award:

• Irene McKisson, #ThisIsTucson team leader, said, “We’re honored that our team was chosen as an example of how a small team can make innovation and content strategy a central part of audience development.”
• Terrence Williams, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Keene Sentinel, stated, “We are delighted to receive a John P. Murray Award and be among the many prestigious past and current recipients. It’s been a total company effort to grow our digital audience while doing all we can to hold onto print subscribers, too. Being part of the Table Stakes program at Poynter in 2019-2020 provided us invaluable guidance and practices, and we continue to work at those daily. My praise goes to our staff members who have committed to this effort and to our readers for their support of our journalism.”
• Abby Reimer, Director of Consumer Product & Research at McClatchy, stated, “The success of McClatchy’s registered user strategy shows the impact of collaborative work, thoughtful design, and listening to research. We leaned on data analysis, and A/B testing to implement a holistic mid-funnel experience that has so far led to more than 1.75 million registered users and more than 20,000 new subscribers. We’re excited to continue this important work, which sustains local, essential journalism in our communities.”

All three recipients will receive an award to display at their property; a check for $500 to put toward enhancing their audience development and engagement efforts; and will be invited to present their success stories an upcoming Alliance member best practices webinar. The Alliance will also add this year’s recipients to a plaque that is displayed at its headquarters.

For more information about the John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development, click here.

###

Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
571.366.1009
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,000 news organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print, digital and mobile publishers of original news content. Headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of news media through communication, research, advocacy and innovation. Information about the News Media Alliance (formerly NAA) can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

The post News Media Alliance Announces Recipients of 2020 John P. Murray Award for Excellence in Audience Development appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Earlier this year, the European Union adopted its new Copyright Directive that modernizes and harmonizes copyright laws across the EU. Article 15 of this Directive creates a “Publishers’ Right” that grants publishers in the EU an independent right to protect their content against unauthorized uses by online platforms. It was a major step toward recognizing the value of high-quality journalism and helping to ensure that news publishers are compensated for the use of their content by services such as news aggregators (which currently use – and benefit financially from using – news publishers’ original content without compensating the publisher).

However, in response to France’s recent implementation of the law, the first country to implement it, Google has indicated that it will remove all snippets (unless publishers agree to waive their right to compensation) from search results in France, arguing that doing so would allow it to avoid licensing content under the Copyright Directive.

This is not the first such law to be passed in Europe. Similar laws previously passed in Germany and Spain. While Germany’s law was found to be invalid due to procedural issues, Spain’s law – passed in 2014 – requires news aggregators such as Google to pay for a license to use news content. As a result, Google decided to shut down its Google News service in Spain at the end of 2014.

For years, critics have attempted to make the case for why the EU should not adopt a similar law, arguing that the Spanish law and resulting Google News closure were disastrous for Spanish news publishers, with some publishers experiencing double-digit drops in web traffic.

And for years, we’ve heard otherwise from our European colleagues.

To better understand the impact of the closure of Google News in Spain, we recently spoke with our European colleagues and reviewed publicly available website data. What we found was that much of the data contradict the narrative pushed by Google and other opponents of the Publishers’ Right. The data we reviewed do not indicate that publishers would be significantly harmed if Google ceased to operate Google News in a particular country.

Here is what we found:

In addition to talking with our colleagues at Spanish and European news industry organizations, we looked at other studies, as well as publicly available unique visitor data and other statistics from eight Spanish news publisher websites since 2014. The data we reviewed indicates that the closure of Google News in Spain in 2014, and the underlying Spanish law, were not detrimental to the Spanish news publishing industry as a whole. In fact, they indicate that those Spanish news publishers included in the analysis were minimally affected and that the reduction in traffic following the closing of Google News was, if anything, low and temporary.

Since the Google News Shutdown in Spain, Overall Traffic to News Sites Went Largely Unchanged

Over the long-term, data showing online website traffic trends for Spanish news sites from 2014 up to 2019 seem to have remained largely unchanged, with the total number of unique monthly visitors actually increasing with many publishers. For example, El País, one of the biggest newspapers in Spain, reported 8.5 million unique monthly visitors in October 2014 before the Google News shutdown, whereas in December 2015, that number had increased to 16.6 million.

In addition to the decrease in total traffic appearing to be relatively small, anecdotes from those close to the Spanish news publishing industry indicate that the publishers made up for any loss in referral traffic from Google with organic traffic growth.

Cutting Out the Middle-Man Benefits News Publishers Because Direct Traffic Is More Valuable Than Referral Traffic

A 2017 study looking at the effects of news aggregators on news consumption (based on Spanish data) also shows that Google News acts as a substitute to publisher landing pages, the traffic to which is generally assumed to be more valuable to publishers than click-throughs to individual articles. So, the closure of Google News may therefore actually increase more valuable traffic to news publisher sites.

Other data show that publishers in countries without Google News – such as Denmark and Finland – are doing comparatively well, even while struggling with similar challenges to news publishers in other countries.

Finally, the aggregators’ use of news content without compensation may hurt consumers as it does not help sustain, in the long-term, the kind of high-quality journalism they rely on. A survey by the European Commission found that 47 percent of Europeans who access news through news aggregators, online social media or search engines do not click on the links and access the original articles, thereby depriving news publishers of valuable traffic. Research we reviewed has also found that readers often do not see Google News as a major driver for their news consumption habit, therefore reducing the effect of its hypothetical closure in any given country.

While data on the impact of the Spanish law is limited, our findings suggest that the picture is not as clear-cut as critics say it is. The news publishing industry in Spain was not devastated by the adoption of the ancillary copyright law, and countries without Google News still support relatively healthy news industries.

You can find the full analysis of our findings, containing more statistics, examples and study findings here.

The post Google News Shutdown in Spain Was Not as Bad as Google Would Have You Believe appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Share our infographic below to let people know Google’s changes to its Incognito browser are damaging to both news and consumers.

Under these changes, implemented as part of Google’s Chrome 76 browser update in late July 2019, users are able to “sample” news content indefinitely. Google says this was done to “protect users’ privacy,” but this is not true – the change does nothing more to protect users’ personal identities.

If people can sample forever, then the result will be one of two things:

1. No more sampling, hard paywalls, everyone pays all the time.

OR

2. News is all free, no investment in journalism, news goes away.

The post Infographic: Changes to Google’s Incognito Browser Harm News and Consumers appeared first on News/Media Alliance.