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

The Star Tribune reported that Klobuchar wrote “an estimated 8,400 columns over 30 years.” Starting at the Star Tribune as a general columnist in 1965, he wrote about anything and everything, but first and foremost, about the town and the lives of its people. An avid chronicler and active community member, he was passionate about journalism and the local community he served. He genuinely cared about his fellow community members, and it showed in his work.

Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, “People like Jim Klobuchar are what make this industry so special. He is a shining example of how local journalism – provided by journalists who are members of the community themselves – is ingrained in our everyday lives. We are honored to count him as one of our own and we will continue to honor his legacy through promoting the importance of quality local journalism.”

The University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication will be introducing a scholarship in honor of Klobuchar’s many contributions to the field. They are currently accepting donations in his memory.

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The post Statement: News Media Alliance Remembers Longtime Journalist, Jim Klobuchar appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Photo via iStock/Getty Images Plus by Kritchanut

One of the biggest challenges facing newspaper publishers today is building an audience among Gen Z and younger news consumers. Thanks to social media and the tech platforms, younger generations of news consumers have access to a wide range of sources and can easily view news from dozens, if not hundreds, of outlets in a matter of minutes. But that abundance of news means that many younger readers don’t have the same relationship with their local newspaper that their parents have. The Star Tribune is looking to change that.

Expanding News in Education

Last month, the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune launched their expanded News in Education program, which offers free digital access to the Star Tribune to every school district across the state of Minnesota. The program, supported in part by a grant from the Google News Initiative (GNI), seeks to increase name recognition of the Star Tribune among a new generation of Minnesotans, and to teach them the importance of quality local news.

“Young audiences are important to us because they represent the news audiences of tomorrow,” said Steve Yaeger, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of circulation for the Star Tribune. “I want young people exposed to the Star Tribune brand because I want them to know that it’s vibrant, it’s relevant, [and] it’s useful. And I need them to know about us. I need them to know how to find us, how to access us and to come back.”

But Yaeger and his colleagues aren’t just seeking to build up their own audience. With the News in Education program, they’re trying to bring local news into the classroom.

The New York Times, USA Today, The Seattle Times and others have programs that provide high school and/or college students with free or discounted digital access, as well as partnerships with restaurant chains and hotels (e.g. Starbucks offers free digital access to several news sites to customers in its cafés), but as Yaeger learned, not many local news outlets offer the same level of access, at no cost, to students or educators.

To ensure the Star Tribune was helping their community, they conducted a listening tour of school districts around the state to hear from teachers and students about how they wanted to use Star Tribune content.

“We had a number of focus groups. Then we went out and we did classroom observation. We just spent a lot of time learning about how educators are using news and using Star Tribune specifically in the classroom,” Yaeger explained. “We heard from educators that [having access to the national outlets] is great, but they’re not local, they’re not telling you anything about life in Minnesota. And kids today are very interested in decisions that are being made about their lives and their futures close to home.”

Knowing that the intended audience was eager to partner with Star Tribune, Yaeger and his team determined that digital access would be most beneficial to the school districts. They applied for (and got) a GNI grant to help them develop the technological infrastructure needed to provide access to a large population using a variety of digital education platforms.

“[Google helped us] not only take away all the barriers [to access], but take away all the friction as well, making [accessing the Star Tribune] as easy as logging into Google Classroom,” Yaeger explained. “To do the things that need to be done to enable that easy one-click access for every student in the district at one time is just a massive leap forward compared to the digital access that we were offering before.”

Replicating the program at other local and regional news outlets

The Star Tribune will also be creating a public playbook to help other local and regional news outlets develop similar education programs to get their names – and their news – in front of the next generation of news readers. They will also create a “roadmap” of the technical aspects of the project so newsrooms will know from the start how to tackle some of the more complex elements of providing access to such a broad audience.

“This is a program with a lot of short-term wins and excitement built into it, but it also is very, very much a long-term investment for our business,” Yaeger said.

And so far, that investment is paying off. After launching the pilot program in their first school district this past spring, Yaeger reported seeing the amount that students are reading go “way, way up.” Star Tribune plans to provide access to all interested school districts by the end of the 2021-22 school year. “That’s what it’s all about,” Yaeger said. “It’s about getting more students easier access so they can be better informed.”

The post Star Tribune Reaches Gen Z with Classroom Access; Will Create Playbook for Other Local Publishers appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

PeopleImages / E+ via Getty Images

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Consumers who spend more on entertainment subscriptions also spend more on news media subscriptions

Arlington, VA – A study conducted by researchers at University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication in cooperation with the News Media Alliance and the Minneapolis-St. Paul-based Star Tribune uncovered new drivers of digital news media subscriptions that provide news publishers keys to growing subscription revenue. The study, which surveyed consumers in Minnesota, found that those who have entertainment subscriptions (e.g., Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) are more likely to purchase a digital subscription to a newspaper, and there is a positive correlation between spending more on entertainment subscriptions and spending more on news media subscriptions.

The objective of the study was to understand consumers’ willingness to pay and motivations for subscribing to news, entertainment media and sports content. Specifically, the researchers wanted to know how newspaper subscription costs fit in to consumers’ overall subscription budget. The survey was conducted with Minnesota residents between April 24 and June 4, 2019, and received just under 500 responses. The responses were weighted to reflect the U.S. Census data for the state of Minnesota.

The study revealed that the average Minnesota household has approximately four digital media subscriptions, including 1.3 news subscriptions. Subscribers report setting a budget of about $600 per year for media subscriptions, but they actually spend closer to $700 per year ($58/month).

Nearly all respondents report paying for both news and entertainment, and while entertainment is the major driver of subscription spending, there are interesting findings pertaining to news media spending. For example, local news subscribers are more likely to subscribe to a national news outlet, with one-third (33 percent) of Star Tribune subscribers saying they also have a subscription to a national newspaper such as The New York Times or The Washington Post (compared to 7 percent of non-subscribers of the Star Tribune). Thus, having a Star Tribune subscription also appears to drive subscriptions to other local news media.

There is a trend toward an increasingly mobile audience when consumers engage with media subscriptions, with mobile use (58 percent) surpassing print (54 percent) and gaining on computer use (74 percent). While news media subscriptions tend to be driven more by print readers, this does not necessarily suggest that news media subscriptions will decline with the increase in mobile device use. “The continued growth of mobile for digital media consumption should neither surprise nor worry anyone,” said Steve Yaeger, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at the Star Tribune. “As our sales across all platforms attest, people are still hungry for quality news irrespective of device. These data show that as long as news publishers are innovating and adapting to meet consumer needs and desires, subscribers will continue to seek out and subscribe to newspaper content.”

In terms of perceived value of different types of subscriptions, consumers are willing to pay more for sports content and streaming music subscriptions. Therefore, while appealing to a smaller audience segment, sports content represents an opportunity for news media to grow reader revenue.

When it comes to motivators, timeliness—getting the very latest updates—is the top motivator for subscribing to news. This finding can serve as guidance to publishers on marketing the value proposition of their product to current and potential subscribers (i.e., the best source for breaking news), as well as how to evolve (e.g., through partnerships with growing streaming services) to remain relevant and appeal to a broader audience, as well as reduce the risk of subscription fatigue.

News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern said, “We’re very pleased we could help provide this research, which will help our members – especially the smaller, local newspapers – as the newspaper revenue model shifts from primarily ad-based to more subscription-based. Overall, this study highlights many potential opportunities to enhance their offerings to help drive digital subscriptions.”

The Alliance hopes to repeat the study in other markets to understand regional and national differences in spending, willingness to pay and motivations to subscribe. “We’re excited to have a template that can be used to do the same research in other markets, to understand what drives subscriptions in different parts of the country,” stated Rebecca Frank, Alliance Vice President of Research & Insights. “These insights will be extremely valuable to news publishers as subscription revenue becomes an increasingly important revenue source.”

To view the full study, click here. Member login required.

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Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Manager, 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 near Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Va., 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 New Study Reveals Connection between Entertainment, News Media Subscriptions appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

On June 27, Star Tribune Media Co. announced Derek Simmons as the company’s new chief creative officer to lead development of innovative print and digital solutions that showcase The Star Tribune’s acclaimed journalism.

You’ve worked for the Star Tribune for over ten years – what does an organization like this mean to you? What makes you want to stay?

This is my second stint with the Star Tribune. I was here from 1998 to 2007 in various roles, and then at the Los Angeles Times until late 2013. Only a few scenarios would have pulled me out of California, and one of them was the opportunity to run the visuals department for an organization like the Star Tribune. It’s a great company with fantastic people, and I had a solid history from working there. When I left the Star Tribune in 2007, it was the right time to try something different. In 2013 it was the right time to come back. We have one of the best publishers and one of the best editors. Many great things have happened, and I’m very proud to be part of this organization. We continue to build something very special here. If we could do something about the winters, it would be perfect.

What are you excited about while moving into this position?

I’m excited to work with folks inside and outside the newsroom in finding unique ways to showcase and distribute our great content. Innovation and creativity are best as team sports, so I’m looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues on all the opportunities and challenges ahead. This promotion formalizes work I was already doing to some extent, and doing that creates a little more publicity and pressure. But that’s a healthy thing.

What can you tell us about your plans in this newly formed position?

Check back with me in six months! The plan right now is to explore and learn more about how our company operates and what challenges need tackling in the short term. I’ve worked in newsrooms for 25 years, so my singular focus has been on storytelling and visual journalism as it pertains to newsroom folks like reporters, editors, designers, photographers, etc. Part of my challenge now is to come at storytelling and journalism from different perspectives and to apply our newsroom’s visual philosophy and aesthetic to our entire company.

What is your proudest achievement within the news media industry?

I’ve been very fortunate in my career to work with some of the best in this business, and those relationships have led to many great wins. My proudest achievement: Three consecutive years of Top 10 finishes in the world at the Society for News Design’s Creative Competition. When we did it in 2015, it was a first for our company. To do it again in 2016 and 2017 was a real mind blower and puts us alongside some of our most respected peers like the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post. And it shows how committed we are as a company when it comes to visual journalism and storytelling.

How have you seen the news industry evolve?

It would be quicker to list ways it hasn’t evolved. The saying, “The one constant is change” has been our mantra for the last decade. In many ways, it’s made us better. It’s certainly made us more nimble. But it’s also made us take a few steps backward in terms of deep cuts in staffing, print space and so on. At the Future of Newspapers conference earlier this year, Jeff Bezos said, “You can’t shrink your way to profitability.” He’s right. Having deep pockets helps prove that point, and certainly, a lot of folks can’t afford to take that stance. I think we’re getting smarter about not just doing less, but picking our spots a little better. Doing less in some areas in order to more where it counts.

Where do you see the future of news media?

Just a few years ago, mobile technology was a distant spectator in the game of content delivery and consumption. Now it is a major player. So the future is happening quickly. Things like wearable tech and voice-activated assistants are exciting when it comes to storytelling. It will be great to dive into that more at some point. Virtual/augmented reality is also making huge gains and will look much different two years from now.

Print will probably look a lot different a few years from now. At the same time, I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon. I can actually imagine a time when it will be seen as a luxury item or status symbol. It may cost more and maybe you can only get it on Sundays. It will be curated and delivered especially for you, and it’s your escape from technology. It’s tangible, highly personal and doesn’t come with constant notifications, distractions or interruptions. Think pieces, analysis, opinion and long-form narratives I hope will always find a home of some sort in print. And with those will come great visuals.

The post Meet Derek Simmons, Star Tribune’s First Chief Creative Officer appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

What drew you into news media?

I majored in journalism, international relations and business. I really liked journalism and business and I find both important, so I wanted some sort of combination. I liked the idea of the business side of media. I was also the editor-in-chief of the environmental newspaper at my school in Miami University in Ohio. I had the background, which is actually sort of rare these days, that people actually go into the field they majored in.

Describe a “typical” day on the job

Every day is different. I am a connector; I bring departments together to maximize revenue across Star Tribune’s portfolio of advertising solutions. This has manifested in leadership roles on exciting initiatives like our new Star Tribune Magazine and the strategy to re-energize our tried and true products like preprints through the expansion of our opt-in footprint and developing local insert packages. As long as we keep seeing success – and we have! – Star Tribune is going to keep investing in initiatives that bring “more of what matters to Minnesotans. All Day. Every Day.” And I am excited to have the opportunity to be a leader for the revenue and success of these initiatives!

Do you consider your age an advantage or disadvantage in the industry?

I tend not to think about age. It’s really about what kind of energy and passion you bring. No matter your age, you can work with anyone. What sets you apart is what kind of passion you are bringing.

Any advice for younger people hoping to enter the industry?

Come into work with a passion for what you are doing. Also, keep in mind that what you are doing is helping the community. If you remember you are helping to build a better community, it will help you bring that passion to the table. Another good idea is to get involved in your industry. Seek out opportunities to learn from others who are already in the industry. This will help with experience before you even enter the field.

What do you see as the future of news media?

I don’t think news media is going anywhere, but it is always changing. This is an exciting time because there is so much change going on. Currently, there are a lot of opportunities to connect advertisements and media. Newspapers used to be the best marketing location; now we see ads going other places. This is why we need trusted journalism right now, like we have at Star Tribune. Trusted news sources are where people will go.

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