Media Going Mobile

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704825504574582343994653198.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and four other publishers are coming together to create a company that will make print material available on mobile devices such as smart phones and e-readers.

This doesn’t strike me as any particularly clever idea, or one that will make that great of a difference, but at least it’s a move that’s forward-thinking rather than catching up. It seems like so many of print’s problems are because of or exacerbated by purely re-active thinking. Where would they be now if they had been on top of new mediums like Craigslist that undermined their monopoly on classifieds?

While this joint venture doesn’t sound all that significant to me in terms of predicting consumer demand, it is significant that competing media firms are joining forces in order to prepare for a quite uncertain future. Steps like this which seek to fill future consumer needs before someone else steps in to do so are what Big Media need to take in order to survive and thrive. The article says that executives in the news industry don’t want to lose control of their business the way the music industry did. To avoid that they must embrace new technology and adapt quickly to it, just as consumers do. The article states that this joint venture is considering technology that hasn’t even been invented yet. This is what needs to be happening.

The Prophet Byrne

http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-businessweek-boss-byrne-im-launching-new-company-to-kill-businessweek-2009-12

Ex-BusinessWeek CEO John A. Byrne confidently answered a number of questions in a post declaring why he is joining what he calls a revolution in the news industry. He discusses the decline of traditional models and asserts that their glory days are gone for good - predicting, however, that they will not completely die but fall in behind digital content.

One optimistic and encouraging statement from Byrne was that newcomers to the field have the advantage over incumbents. He sees “unprecedented opportunity” for fresh ideas. It only makes sense that a void needs filling – with crippling cost-cutting measures, layoffs, and closings, there is going to be a huge amount of journalism that will be left undone unless someone steps in to do it. There are many motivated and talented people out there who are willing to do it, and as Byrne foresees, there will probably be a countless number of attempts, of which some significant percentage will succeed.

I was particularly encouraged by Byrne’s comments on the future of print. Newspapers’ dramatic decline is clearly evident, but up to this point most of what I have heard about their future has been loose conjecture. Byrne envisions them taking up a supporting role, even predicting print spinoffs of digital outlets. This format makes sense. I’ve never been able to accept the idea of a future without the significant presence of print, however diminished. With its tradition, convenience, and practicality, there will be a solid demand for it for a long time. Byrne claims, “TV didn’t kill radio. Cable didn’t kill the networks. The VHS tape and the DVD didn’t close down all the movie theaters.” This is a simple yet intelligent consideration of history in an answer to the question of whether print is dead, and it provides a good context within which to speculate on the future of the medium.

I’d have to agree with most of the comments under the post in expecting a certain amount of success for Mr. Byrne. Talent coupled with this kind of attitude may be all it takes to make it in this uncharted media territory.

Lenders as Owners

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i7pEEJ6O5hFBc9IhqCsnos91yhTgD9C9I0201

As newspapers lose revenue and struggle with outstanding debt, their lenders are poised to take ownership of them. A significant number of large publications face the possibility that their most viable option is to give their lenders, in many cases banks, part or complete ownership.

William Dean Singleton, chairman of the Associated Press, had an optimistic view of all this that sounded like it made sense. I agreed with his analysis that banks wouldn’t want to destroy these papers that they would be looking to sell off in a few years’ time.

There was another person quoted whose opinion was that “new blood” would be good for the industry. This is a definite possibility, especially because lenders might take a more business-oriented approach.

Even if the “church” suffers in this, it might be worth it in the long run for survival as a whole. Maybe the “state” side needs to step in like it would for a nation at war – or in a recession – and expand its influence and power so as not to perish.