NDM: News values

"Galtung and Ruge (1981) defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not."

How has new and digital media technology changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values?

• Immediacy: has it happened recently?

New and digital has effected the concept of immediacy within the news through the fact that audiences can constantly able to access different news stories, through mediums such as Twitter or search engines, Google or Yahoo. This news value has thus been positively impacted by the growth of new and digital media as audiences are more prone to accessing the regularly updated news. 

• Familiarity: is it culturally close to us in Britain?

The familiarity news value has been effected by the growth of new and digital media in a positive way as audiences are able to consume the new technological developments in multiple places across the UK and find news specific for their region. The new technological developments allow audiences to find out their local weather smart phones, which is more efficient than the traditional means. 

• Amplitude: is it a big event or one which involves large numbers of people?

The amplitude news value has been heightened through new and digital media technologies as news can be spread to vast groups on social networking sites, alongside news institution's applications that are provided free of access on smartphones, i.e. BBC news. Specifically, hashtags are used regularly on Twitter, to enhance the severity of news stories among a wide cross section of the public, so this is another prime example of the benefits new technologies have brought to news values.

• Frequency: does the event happen fairly regularly?

In regards to the frequency value, some events may not happen on a regular basis or be too familiar for audiences, thus they may not be interested in consuming them or happen to find out about them. For instance, 'Twitter' and 'Facebook' are such vast social mediums and not all of the tweets and statuses are seen by large groups of people, especially if they are not popular, thereby resulting in a consumption decrease.

• Unambiguity: is it clear and definite?

The unambiguity news value is arguably negatively effected by the growth of new and digital media as there may be an increase in unreliabilty due to the recent ability to film and photograph events (Citizen Journalism). This content may then be skewed and used in 'news stories' in the incorrect context, thus jeopardising the clarity and definite validation of the news stories. 

• Predictability: did we expect it to happen?

The predictability news value is accentuated through new and digital media technologies as audiences are presented with a greater amount of news, most which would be unexpected. For example, citizen journalism such as the 'Eric Garner: "I can't breathe.."' case, is prime evidence of news that may have not been reported unless new technologies and citizen journalism were around. Thereby, the overall predictability of news has changed as audiences are constantly exposed with news that wouldn't have been labelled as "news", unless it was captured through citizen journalism or featured on a social networking site such as Twitter or Facebook. 

• Surprise: is it a rare or unexpected event?

Linking the surprise news value with the predictability value, they both have proven to be heightened positively through new and digital media technologies as audiences are presented with content that initially would have been restricted from viewing  such as, the Virginia TV Shooting, 2015. Through new technologies such as the video application on Twitter, alongside Youtube, the murder and ex-presenter was able to upload live footage of the attack onto the e-media platforms for audiences to see. These technological developments thus illustrate to audiences 'surprising' news that is rare and unexpected - as proven in the extreme incident of the Virginia Shooting. 

• Continuity: has this story already been defined as news?

The continuity news value is reiterated upon new technological developments such as 'Twitter' through the ability of hashtagging. This allows audiences to remain familiarised with important news stories, alongside enhancing the continuity of the news stories as researchers and journalists can constantly add to existing articles while maintaining their target audiences. 

• Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people?

New and technological developments have impacted the elite nations and people values positively as social networking sites in particular, craze upon news associated with the "rich, famous and elite". Specifically, news applications found on smart phones such as the 'Daily Mail', focus solely on informing audiences of celebrity gossip and news articles. This is a perfect example of news values successfully utilising new and digital media developments. 

• Negativity: is it bad news?

The negativity news values has arguably turned towards positive news through new and digital media feeding audiences with an increasing amount of advertisements that tap into their interests, when they are consuming news. For instance, the 'click-bait' found upon most websites in association a consumers history, is then advertised when they browse on different news websites. This possibly then desensitizes the graphic content that audiences may be exposed to, as they are also shown advertisements that tap into their pleasures and interests. 

• Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

The balance news value has been impacted effectively on new and digital technologies as audiences are proposed with a greater variety of news stories, some that compliment each other and others which juxtapose greatly. For instance, 'The Guardian' highlights a dense amount of stories in relation to different sub genres, and within that genre there tends to be a lot of juxtaposing articles to prevent a sense of bias associated with the overall category, i.e. drug related issues with black youth vs. white drug smugglers. 

New and Digital Media Stories: Week 6

Article from The Guardian

The article expresses the increasing video footage that is shown on social networking sites as 'Twitter' and the fact that audiences are more prone to watch video on there as oppose to traditional platforms such as Television. 

Key Facts and Statistics:

•  Twitter has become a broadcaster itself: its 316 million active users currently watch 370 years worth of video every day on the service. That viewing is up 250% in the last six months alone, with 90% of it happening on mobile devices.
• “They like shorter clips – 30 to 45 seconds – and we also know that it should be something that people will want to share with each other,” says Fred Graver, creative lead for Twitter’s global TV team.
• Periscope’s role in that evolution looms large in the conversation. Twitter’s live-streaming video app launched earlier this year with 40 years worth of Periscope video now watched every day according to Biddle and was used by the famous Ant and Dec.
• “It’s very much a ‘now’ experience. And in the case of TV, it’s often those connecting moments that let you behind the scenes: like when Ant and Dec did it before the Britain’s Got Talent finals. ‘Oh, the music’s on. We’ll see you on TV!’. That last line had that ‘this is a moment that we’ve had before we go to the mass moment of television.”- Graver. “It should be intimate: that palm-of-your-hand thing. It should be very immediate: ‘this is happening right now’. And they should also remember that it’s conversational,” he says.

In my opinion, I think that the cinematic experience of consuming video through the traditional platform of television, is personally more appealing than having to squint your eyes towards a minuscule iPhone 4 or 5 screen. However, for those with the iPhone 6, which is virtually the size of a mini television, the experience may be more accessible and leisurely. I think it is interesting that Twitter have incorporated their own video broadcaster as part of the application, as it will really enhance the speed of tweeting a video clip. Alongside, adding to their own brand identity which is becoming successful across all sub platforms - socialising and news access - videos, photos, polls etc. 

Article from The Telegraph

The article addresses Facebook's technical bug which allowed users to see how many people were viewing their profiles. However, this wasn't an intentional move from the conglomerate and rightly so, as it wasn't popular with the public who began to use 'Twitter' and tweet about their upset. 

Photos from the Twitter site included:

In my opinion, if I was a Facebook user, I would like to see how many people have viewed my posts or pictures as a sense of security ultimately and I would even be interested in seeing "who". Nevertheless, I can understand why some users may be uncomforted by this as it may stop them from posting status's as they won't even be viewed.

NDM News: Citizen journalism

Article from Media Magazine 30: "The Rise and Rise of UGC"

Notes from the article

Examples

• The boarder between institutions and audiences are "eroding" as users are becoming both consumers and publishers.
• User Generated Content (UGC) is coming towards its peak as audiences are able to create and publish their own content and this change is primarily due to the rise in new technological developments, such as video phones etc.
• The first main example of 'Citizenship Journalism' was in 1991, where an African American male 'Rodney King' was beaten up by four police officers for speeding, which was caught on film on a camera phone by George Holliday. This home footage made prime time news and became an international media sensation. 
• As technology has improved over the years, millions of people have the access to filming capabilities, through their mobiles, tablets etc and thus can rapidly distribute this over the internet. - breaking the news and traditional means of distribution.
• It is not only citizen journalists that have arose in breaking news, it is also User Generated Content, which plays a huge role in conveying news. Consequently, news organisations have included formats for participation - message boards, chat rooms, Q&A polls etc.
• The natural disaster of the Asian Tsunami on December 26th 2004, was an example of UGC where much of the footage was captured by citizen journalists. - social networking sites helped provide witness statements and accounts to help the survivors and family members get in touch with each other. 
• The London Bombings on July 5th, 2006 where people were able to account the events on their phones.
• In 2007, mass murderer Seung-Hui Cho (South Korean), was recorded by Jamal Albarghoti, from his mobile phone video camera of the terrible events. Alongside, the murderer himself, who recorded himself in the act, which was then available on YouTube and CNN.
• Twitter and Flikr came to the forefront during the November 2008 Mumbai bombings in India, where people put their own lives at risk and recorded the travesty which was taking place. 
• The Hudson River plan crash on January 15th 2009, was reported by citizen journalists, who tweeted (Janis Krun's tweet: "There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy."), which helped alert the national news who then swung into action. 

Theory (audience reception etc.) / Audience Benefits

• Uses and Gratification Theory as audiences are able to build personal relationships with each other on News institution's websites, through the 'comments' and User Generated Content areas that have been implemented. 
• Audiences are exposed with a greater amount of information, some in which may have initially been "gate-keeped", to prevent Moral Panic (Cohen).

Benefits to Institutions

• Bigger institutions have consequently been buying up social networking sites over the years, rather than launching their own challenges, for instance, YouTube was bought by Google, Microsoft invested in Facebook, etc, which consequently helped enhance their revenues in the long run.
• Institutions are able to examine social mediums and establish possible stories from Citizen Journalists. 

Wider Issues and Debates

• In the future their may be an increase in redundancy, as institutions potentially could cut down on trained staff in which they hire. 
• 'Unmoderated Free Content', may individuals may upload/post inappropriate content, which could cause 'Moral Panic (Cohen) and harm to others.
• Their is a greater sense of awareness for audiences to embody through their greater accessibility to news and catastrophic events. 
• Citizen Journalists are arguably beating paid journalists to the job, thus taking their main stories away from them and the overall news institutions. 

 Social, Historical, Econical, Political

• Social - Audiences are able to address issues regarding race through the citizen journalism that they are able to capture on their phones, quickly and clearly, to then virally expose on social media sites - i.e. "the white racist police in America towards black people" - a rising issue expressed across social networking, reiterated with photographic evidence and video. 
• Historical - In years to come, potentially there may be no 'outstanding' or 'memorable' journalists who institutions and the public can look back and admire.
• Economical - Audiences no longer rely on  purchasing a 'newspaper' to find out news any more, which effects the overall revenues within each news institution.
• Political - Anti-government campaigns can be created through blogs and polls, alongside, footage that can be captured by citizen journalists to enhance negative thoughts and ideas created by individuals. 

1) What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?


"News that is generated by ordinary people." 

definition: the collection, dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the general public, especially by means of the Internet.


2) What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?

One of the first examples of citizen journalism was in 1991, where George Holliday captured the attack on Rodney King, who was receiving a beating from a group of police officers, captured on his video camera. This resulted in the 'LA Riots'. 

3) List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.

Institutions have involved formats for participation - message boards, chat rooms, Q&A polls, blogs and comment feeds.

4) What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?

One of the dominant differences between professional footage and first hand is the quality in which consumers will receive their news. This is evident through the images of the 'LA Riots, 1991 or the 'London Bombings', 2005, which contain evidence from the scene in very grainy, blurry, poor quality film. Whereas, news conglomerates use high quality technical equipment which mostly contains shots of the aftermath of the different events. 

5) What is a gatekeeper?

A gatekeeper is the attendant who controls the releasing of news, ultimately deciding what is and isn't news. 

6) How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?

The role of the gatekeeper has changed in regards to social media sites, as there isn't an immediate sense of control in what is unleashed within the net. However, major news organisations are still able to 'gate keep' what is and isn't allowed to be illustrated within their sites. For instance, the 'crowd sourcers' who moderate and mediate UGC. 

7) What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?

One of the underlying concerns that journalists have over the rise of User Generated Content, is the fact that their initial 'main stories' are being taken before they even get a chance to validate them and professionally record accounts of the events. 


What impact is new/digital media having on the following:

• News stories

The impact of 'New/Digital' media within news stories is the fact that institutions are able to publish their articles towards the upcoming generation, such as, 'The Guardian' posting links via 'Twitter' to their most recent news story. Additionally, audiences are now able to 'comment' or on 'Twitter', "retweet", in response to news stories, which consequently adds  to the publicising of the overall article. 

• The news agenda (the choice of stories that make up the news)

Institutions are slowly forced to write about stories that they once may have neglected, for instance, racial based news in association with the elite ("I can't breathe", Eric Garner). This is as a result to citizen journalists, who have captured events to reinforce the severity of these cases, which thus caused Moral panic (Cohen) across social media sites. Therefore, news institutions must highlight the 'news' that is important and relevant to different societies. 

• The role of professionals in news

The role of professionals in the news has been effected slightly by citizen journalism as UGC has proven to highlight and present news (Hudson River Crash, 2009 by Janis Krun: "There's a plan in the Hudson..", Twitter) on social networking sites before the professionals have found the news itself. This is a model example of UGC informing mass audiences of news before journalists and there are several others that have done this too. However, as there is a word limit of sites such as 'Twitter' only allowing audiences 240 caps to convey their points, this means that the journalists can thereby gather extensive evidence from different sources to then publish valid, thorough news, which isn't, in most cases the same on UGC news stories.  

New and Digital Media Stories: Week 5

Article from The Guardian

The article outlines BBC's growing concern that they are losing younger audience groups through new devices (smart phones etc). And how thy are attempting to make BBC appeal more to the younger generation consumers - for instance, an I-player log in, which can be accessed through mobile devices - the mean in which is dissecting the BBC's younger audience. 

Key Quotes and Facts: 

• “What we’re thinking about is OTT: is this a threat to TV, is Netflix a threat to TV? No it isn’t. It represents a small part of what people want from TV,” said North, speaking on a panel at the Mipcom conference in Cannes.
• “But social will grow and become the primary activity: the kid sitting there with the TV on, but they’re on their [mobile] screen. So it’s where the attention lies from screen to screen.”

In my opinion, I think it is a wise move that BBC are looking closely at what best fits the needs of the younger generation in terms of TV, as after all they will become the older generation eventually and it is ideal that they function the accessibility toward their upcoming audience base. 

Article from The Guardian

The article addresses Amazon Primes' new offer to members for a six month free trial of the digital edition of the Washington Post and a discount on future subscriptions. The deal sparked intense speculation about how the power of the world’s largest online retailer would be brought to bear on one of the US’s most prestigious titles.
Key Quotes: 

• “Offering free access to new subscribers through Prime allows us to connect with millions of members nationwide who may not have tried the Post in the past,” said Washington Post president and general manager Steve Hills. 
• “With this special offer, Prime members can see firsthand why more than 50 million people monthly choose the Washington Post as their source for news.”
• Bezos’s $250m acquisition of the Washington Post brought to an end 80 years of ownership by the Graham family, which turned the paper into one of the most respected titles in the world via its series of scoops over the Watergate scandal.
• “Offering free access to new subscribers through Prime allows us to connect with millions of members nationwide who may not have tried the Post in the past,” said Hills.

In my opinion, I think that this is a prime example of the impact new and digital media is having on the newspaper's print industry and it is quite upsetting to see. The concept and behaviour of one commuting and buying a hand print copy of a newspaper, is far more appealing in my eyes than relying on an electronic device to attempt to offer the same thing. However, the offer of a six month free trial is appealing, but yet jeopardising for journalist and revenue sales. 

'Build The Wall' - Analysis

The article: Build The Wall

1) Summarise each section in one sentence:

• Section 1 (To all of the bystanders reading this…)

Simon addresses his extreme certainty that news journalism should be appreciated, through the hard efforts that are put into it and this is must be highlighted through consumers paying for the high quality provided by the news institutions. In Simon's eyes: A pay wall is non-negotiable and all news institutes should join forces and abide by this.  

• Section 2 (Truth is, a halting movement toward...)

This section expresses the falling moment in which industry leaders, misused the internet as mere advertising scheme, instead of creating pay wall from the start, and how this is a dominant factor infringing upon how they can set up a pay wall now. Specifically, Simon outlines the fact that audiences may be unwilling to suddenly pay for something that was once free. Additionally, he establishes that in fact web sites have increased the monthly readership in both the 'Times' and 'The Post', in America, than ever before. He goes into sufficient detail into American economical changes through the outbreak in TV and how it became successful with a range of channels that audiences pay for. He then compares it to the newspaper industry and provides implications as to how to newspaper industry can too flourish and create high revenues without just advertising. 

• Section 3 (Beyond Mr. Sulzberger and Ms. Weymouth…)

Simon insights an audience towards the fact that the damage was caused before it was even recognised - newspaper's overall agenda to fill pages of articles and advertisement isn't coherent for a social climate that is constantly prone to change. A noteworthy point was his reference towards 'The Baltimore Sun's' who set a pay wall for both their print and digital newspaper, and this has proven to be worthwhile, in terms of revenues.

• Section 4 (For the industry, it is later than it should be…)

Simon evaluates the altering outcomes in which the 'Times' and 'The Post' will face if they take the plunge and the build the wall, which is what Simon desperately thinks will have long term benefits. The second scenario makes valid points in regards to how revenues can increase solely through the subscriptions added to news websites and how $10 monthly across an estimation of 300,000 people, will have a yearly outcome will reflect the efforts made by the institute. 

3) Read this response to the article by Dave Levy, criticising and disagreeing with David Simon's viewpoint.

What references to new and digital media can you find in Levy's response?

• He highlights that blogs and Twitter are the gateways of online news
• Paid subscription/Online Subscriptions may lead to no print newspapers being consumed

4) Finally, what is your own opinion? Do you agree that newspapers need to put online content behind a paywall in order for the journalism industry to survive? Would you be willing to pay for news online? Critical autonomy is the key skill in A2 Media - you need to be able form opinions on these issues.

In my opinion, I think that Simon makes exceptionally valid points in relation to the importance of professional journalists being credited for the work that they produce. I think that as the internet is becoming a new society in itself, with a plethora of accessibilities for audiences to access. Thus it is only right that we pay for the standard of information that we consume from newspapers. In regards to the film industry, 'Netflix' - an international film streaming site, primarily available for those who take up a yearly subscription which subsequently allows audiences to consume as many films as they wish. Likewise, 'Newspapers' should too, embody this same strategy, as audiences have proven to be able to adapt to 'buying/subscribing' on the net - from buying dvds, to subscribing to an online streamer.  Therefore, they audiences should have no issue with doing purchasing their news. In addition, creating a pay wall across the digital newspapers, this will be successful for the young and upcoming generation who are most familiar with the digital platform, than print. Specifically, it is ideal that newspapers put online content behind a pay wall so journalist's work are appreciated and the print platform's legacy lives on - paying for content that is high in quality, as oppose to free inaccurate links on social mediums, e.g. Twitter. To finalise, I would be willing to pay for news as I think it is essential that journalists, researchers and editors are all recognised and valued for their great impact into informing nations and I think that if they aren't, this could detrimentally effect the quality of news that we start to receive.

The future of newspapers

Summarise: The Economist - Who killed the newspapers? 

The article explains the fact that newspapers have lost the most to the internet and this is evident across the USA, western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. A noteworthy point is that this has been going on for decades, however, the decline has intensively hastened over the last few years. “The Vanishing Newspaper” by Philip Meyer estimates that by 2043 the newsprint will die in America as the last exhausted reader tosses aside the last crumpled edition. This sort of theory, is obscure to some, however more and more young people are getting their news online. Britons aged between 15 and 24 say they spend almost 30% less time reading national newspapers once they start using the web. Advertising is another element addressed within the article - how it has dominated the internet and is almost everywhere. Switzerland and the Netherlands newspaper's have lost half their classified advertising to the internet. The article proceeds to highlight that newspapers haven't yet completely shut down, but gradually small institutions are beginning to crumble, whereas popular conglomerates are trying their hardest to maintain their status as a print platform. Furthermore, the new force of “citizen” journalists and bloggers are introduced and the article explains how the web has opened the closed world of professional editors and reporters and is now available to anyone with a keyboard and an internet connection. Consequently, some professionals have suffered from this. The article finalises with their idea that in the future an elite group of serious newspapers will be available everywhere online, alongside, independent journalism backed by charities, thousands of bloggers and citizen journalists. 

• Do you agree with its view that it is ‘a cause for concern, but not for panic’?

In my opinion I don't agree with this statement, specifically the word 'concern', as I believe that as the times are changing it is only right for news institutions to expand towards a new platform and potentially halt others, to succeed. Through the coming age of new and digital media, alongside the phenomenon that the internet has unleashed in the 21st century, it is vital that conglomerates channel their news to fit the most efficient mean of communication for the mass public - online. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that newspapers should become extinct - it means journalists and editors should build upon setting a modern illustration of a 'newspaper' through digital means;whilst maintaining niche attention towards newspapers and lowering the costs, to please their audiences incline towards the print platform. 

New and Digital Media Stories: Week 4

Article from The Guardian

The article summarises a new technological development within the social networking sites 'Twitter' which is the possible extension of character space for 'tweeters'. 

Quotes and Ideas include: 

• Twitter has struggled with growth and is still in the midst of a search for a new CEO
• Some people aren't fond of the proposition as they believe the limit is a good thing
• Twitter's most recent report is having 316 million monthly users - about one-fifth of Facebook's user count - and they are now looking for ways to increase that number, through advertising
• Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research said that the company are overperforming - "Show me another business growing at 70% year over year" ... "the problem is one of expectations, they're one of the top sellers of digital advertising on the planet"

In my opinion, I think that the word limit is in fact a good way to help regulate the posts in which people are tweeting. In particular, it forces individuals to think more wisely and carefully about what they are saying. Besides, the images and videos that have been added to tweets, provide users the opportunity to further enhance the point of each tweet. 

Article from The Guardian

The article introduces an audience to the podcast 'Reply All' which is a show about the internet and covers everything from conspiracy theories to heavy government assoicated debates. It is hosted by  PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman and has been around for less than a year, but has already become well known.

Key Quotes and Ideas: 

• Vogt and Goldman's intentions: "We were both fans of radio jounalism and internet culture and you didn't get to see radio talk about the internet at the level of familiarity that we liked"... "When it did cover a topic we were interested in it felt like there was  a lot of explaining it and not a lot of going into it. We thought there might actually be enough people as nerdy as us that could do it and it would work".
• They created 'Reply All' as a show aimed directly at "people as nerdy" as the hosts, featuring great stories and solid reporting.
• Their first story revealed the challenging reporting can be over the internet, where they had a problem with the formatting of the YouTube site.
• Reporting on the internet has certain challenges - occasional prank calls, some glitches.

In my opinion, I think that a podcast is a great way to communicate to an audience, like radio's once and still to some, do, in an efficient way. As most people have smart phones or internet access, audiences can select from a range of podcasts and listen to interesting debates and topics to learn new values and possibly global news. 

Newspapers: The effect of online technology

1) Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online? Why?

I think that James Murdoch addresses valid point, "It is essential for the future of independent digital journalism that a fair price can be charged for news to people who value it", as it is vital that journalists are credited for the work that they do. The BBC's independent act of attempting to be the dominant news source, essentially does leave other news institutions with a loss, jeopardising their overall revenues in consumption from audiences. BBC's act is especially threatening for the journalists that belong to other institutions as their stories may not be as appreciated or recognised. Alternatively, as a public service broadcaster, it is ideal for audiences to have a trusted brand, easily accessible source of news, such as 'The BBC', thereby, their act is arguably credible in enhancing their institution. 

2) Summarise 'Three Years on: Has the Times digital subscription project worked? 

• The Sunday Times and The Times have now amassed a total of 140,000 digital paying subscribers "mainly on tablet". 
• The figures show the consumption from audiences: 

3) Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sun) behind a paywall?

In my opinion, as Murdoch previously stated "The world is changing and newspapers have to adapt", thereby, through newspaper's becoming digitally accessible, it's only right that fees are set too. Murdoch's decision to put his news content behind a paywall, further confirms the validity of the news for audiences. This also maintains a sense of familiarity for consumers, as it is effectively the same as purchasing a print copy of the newspaper - now however, digitally, faster and more convenient. Alternatively, some may argue that as "times are changing", its only fair that news institutions start providing important news stories for free and possible put a paywall for specific sub genres within the news, e.g. 'Celebrity Gossip', appealing to set target audience groups. 

4) Choose two comments from below the Times paywall article - one that argues in favour of the paywall and one that argues against. Copy a quote from each and explain which YOU agree with and why.

Quote in favour: Frank • 2 years ago

"I'd put my money on The Times when it comes to UK-based newspapers.

Mail Online's audience is vast, especially for a UK-based title. Yet with all that scale, with the most advanced data strategy, and undoubtedly with cost help from the wider organisation, it still only makes a tiny profit. More sadly, is that the product is getting further and further away from news; their strategy is to create a deluge of rapidly-written disposable content then overlay it with audience data. It also works with lots of partners to develop their data - many of which will retract that partnership over the next 2-3 years as they seek to retain value for themselves.

The Times, more than any other paper, is more ready for a printless future, should it arise, as they just need to migrate users, in relatively low numbers. to the digital subscription. And it is having an almighty practice run to get it right. It doesn't need to create the vast volumes of (crap) content that the Mail does and it has a very strong brand argument to ad buyers.

What the management of MailOnline have done is show that the free model might just work ever so slightly, but probably not in a robust, profitable way. What News UK have shown is that they can move over paying customers, and keep a healthy ratio of decent content to preserve the brand equity.

nb: I do not work or have ever worked for News Corp / UK / International"

Quote that is against: pauljaymes • 2 years ago

"In any business, success depends on delivering one of three things to customers: lowest cost, differential quality, or a niche unavailable elsewhere. Newsprint is no exception, but the lowest cost product in the marketplace is set at zero.

Times isn't niche, that's the like of aviation monthly, so it has to deliver a product of sufficient quality for readers to be willing to pay the premium. Is it doing this? I would say not really, more work is needed, and it's hard to see how the quality can improve with costs being cut."

Out of the two quotes, there are elements that I agree with on both sides, for instance, 'Pauljaymes', makes noteworthy points regarding the importance of things that consumers look for "lower cost". Therefore, this holds thought towards the reality of whether audiences will want to pay for monthly subscriptions - how much will it cost? Specifically, what is "premium" about 'The Times' digital website that makes it more prestige than buying a regular copy and will this appeal to their audience group? However, in regards to comments made by 'Franky', I am in favour of his view that through the 'Mail Online's' free accessibility they aren't making as much money once subtracted the 'click bait' and advertisement revenues. Also, is the news quality extremely valid? Would both of these factors better both the institutions and audiences if they added a paywall too? I think they would.   

5) Summarise this article from the Media Briefing on the continuing decline of the newspaper industry. 

• The circulation for the UK's newspapers is at least half way down and recent figures suggest the number of people who report reading a newspaper in print is falling even faster.
• Readership for British national newspapers, as estimated by the National Readership Survey, has fallen 13 percent on average compared to the previous year.
• Particularly bad results for the Independent, Daily Mirror and Guardian. By comparison, the Audit Bureau of Circulation's circulation figures show a fall by an average of only 6 percent.

6) Why do you think the Evening Standard has bucked the trend and increased circulation and profit in the last two years?

The Evening Standard are primarily aimed at commuters for their 'no-wifi' travels, leaving them to idealistically purchase a newspaper to accompany them. Therefore, I believe that through the institution establishing the idea of increasing their daily copies from 700,000 copies to 900,000, this would assist the increase in circulation, which it consequently did. This is pure evidence that the institution looked at the strategy that would be most effective for their audience group, which is where their success is derived from. 

7) Is there any hope for the newspaper industry or will it eventually die out? Provide a detailed response to this question explaining and justifying your opinion.

There is most certainly hope for the newspaper industry as long as the institutions look specifically at what their audience groups want - which is the best platform for them to access their news on. Ideally, institutions should consider targeting newspapers primarily towards niche audience groups and upping the cost. Additionally, they should consider providing a mainstream news feed accessible with a slightly lower cost through the internet or new and digital applications. This will thereby result in audiences actively choosing which way they intend to consume their news. In particular, as the older generation (primary print platform consumers), in twenty-so years will be dying out and the dominant communication mean will become 'digital', thus most people will incline to subscribing to a paywall or simply buying a digital application. However, it is vital that the institutions apply the same amount of clarity and validity from professional journalists, to both print and digital platforms to ultimately please their audiences. 

NDM: Audience and Institution - how news consumption has changed

1) What are the key statistics relating to the influence of new and digital media?

News Consumption

• The majority of adults in the UK (95%) say they follow the news
• Television is by far the most-used platform for news with 75% of adults consuming
• Increase in internet or apps consumption for news, with over four in ten (41%) - dominantly 16-34 age group
• Almost half (45%) of 16-24's say their most important news source is a website/app

TV News Consumption

• BARB figures show that each adult watched an average of 115 hours of national and international news on TV (2013)
• Majority of this (64%) was on BBC One or BBC Two and a further 12% on the BBC News channel
• 16-24 year olds consumed only 27 hours of news on television
• 196 hours for those aged 55 and over

Attitudes towards different types of news

• When asked which topics they considered to be news, UK adults nominated crime (53%), worldwide current affairs (53%), UK-wide current affairs (51%) and UK-wide politics (49%)
• UK politics and current affairs, and worldwide current affairs,are seen to have societal importance by half (49%) of UK adults, crime by 48% and weather by 45%
• Younger and older age groups find different news topics personally interesting
• The 16-24's, specific news categories such as crime, sports, technology and science/environment fall into the top ten topics
• The over-55's are more likely to nominate, general world news and UK and regional current affairs

Reasons to follow the news

• Three in five (58%) UK adults say they follow the news to find out “what’s going on in the world”
• Next most-cited reason is to know “what’s going on across the UK” (56%)
• “What’s going on in my local area” (49%)
• “What’s going on in respective nations” (46%)
• “Because I feel it’s important to keep informed about certain issues” (42%).

2) Come up with an example of an institution that has benefited from the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. Explain how new technology has helped the institution and try to find statistics or financial figures that support your point.

The Guardian

The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper founded in 1821 and is accessible in both print and in recent years on-line, too. In August 2013, 'The Guardian' in paper, formed an average daily circulation of 189,000 copies and the newspaper's online edition was the fifth most widely read in the world as of October 2014, with over 42.6 million readers. In the UK, it's combined print and online editions reach nearly 9 million readers.

• The Guardian publishes online, with free access both to current news and an archive of three million stories. 
• The website offers G24 which is a free printable A4 format PDF 24-hour newspaper containing the top stories and a monthly subscription of the complete newspaper in PDF format.
• As of May 2013, it was the most popular UK newspaper website with 8.2m visitors per month, ahead of the Mail Online.
• The 'Comment is Free' section features columns by the paper's journalist and regular commentators as wellas articles from guest writers, with readers comments and responses below.
• Censorship is exercised by Moderators who can ban posts with no right of appeal, by those who they feel have overstepped the mark.
• The paper has also launched a dating website 'Soulmates', and is experimenting with new media, having previously offered a free twelve part weekly podcast series by Ricky Gervais - In January 2006 Gervais' show topped the iTunes podcast chart having been dowloaded by two million listeners world.

3) Find an example of an institution that has suffered as a result of the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. In what way has it had a negative impact? Again, try and find actual statistics or financial figures to explain your point.

 'Ealing Times' is a prime example as to a newspaper that has suffered as a result to changes in new and digital media, as they do not have an application for smart phones, which is the easiest way for individuals to consume information. However, the have kept up to date with the new technological developments through their website. In particular, a niche audience would directly go to the shops to buy the newspaper as the majority won't be interested. Thereby, the institution isn't getting high revenues that will ultimately help increase the quality of the journalism.