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The Web Made Me Do It – and Other Fables of the Internet Age and Journalism. Steven S. Ross [email protected]. We will cover. The interaction of the Internet with “main-stream media” – MSM Economics Ethics Prospects for careers in journalism Discuss ALL MSM, but focus on newspapers - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The Web Made Me Do It – and Other Fables of the Internet Age and Journalism
Steven S. [email protected]
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We will cover
The interaction of the Internet with “main-stream media” – MSM• Economics• Ethics• Prospects for careers in journalism
Discuss ALL MSM, but focus on newspapers• There are no obvious replacements for
newspapers’ ability to cover local issues in depth. Local issues are the MOST important for society.
We’ll end with blogging
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I will try to prove these points:
The Internet is not killing MSM. Bad MSM decisions are killing MSM.
Some MSM (weekly newspapers, and yes, alternative press) are doing well.
Journalism ethics traditions, which actually don’t go back very far anyway, are under enormous pressure.
Wall Street investors are not killing MSM either.
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Context
Internet homes now 72% of all homes; two-thirds of that is broadband. 100 Mbps to homes by 2012.
TV and Online are merging… newspapers slow to jump in.
Erosion of editorial quality almost everywhere. JonBenet, not Iraq!
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No question, online is gaining
Audience changes, major media
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Mil
lio
ns
of
read
ers/
view
ers
Daily NewspapersNewsmagazinesRadioNPROnline News
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Metro focus waning…
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…Web use for news rising
Percent of Internet Users Who Access News OnlineSource: Various PEW surveys
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Ever Get News Online
Got News Online Yesterday
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To belabor the point:
At many old-media companies, though not all, the decades-long battle at the top between idealists and accountants is now over. The idealists have lost. The troubles of 2005, especially in print, dealt a further blow to the fight for journalism in the public interest. “If you argue about public trust today, you will be dismissed as an obstructionist and a romantic,” the editor of one of the country’s major papers told us privately – Pew, State of the Media, 2006.
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Class discussion
Where do you get your news?
What kinds of news do you care about?
What is news anyway?
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Bias? Cable TV worse!
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Where MSM is now
TV audiences for network TV news have been falling, both for broadcast and cable (as viewed on a TV).
RADIO audiences are rising, but locally owned stations are rare.
MAGAZINE readership rises and falls with the economy and amount of free time. Lately, it has been falling.
WEEKLY NEWSPAPER circulation is rising.
DAILY NEWSPAPER circulation is falling.
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Network TV: Revenue has fallen
Evening News Revenue Steady
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Mill
ion
s o
f U
S$
ABC WORLD NEWSTONIGHT
CBS EVENING NEWS
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
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Network TV: Audiences down… and trend predates the Web!!!
Audiences, Network Nightly NewsSource: Nielson Media research
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
Ra
tin
gs
, as
Mill
ion
s o
f H
ou
se
ho
lds
Wa
tch
ing
ABC World News Tonight
CBS Evening News
NBC Nightly NewsTotal
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Cable news (from Pew)
The audience for cable news was still growing in 2005, but not by much and not across the board.
One channel, Fox News, continued to drive the growth, while its principal rivals, MSNBC and CNN, continued to suffer RATINGS declines.
CNN still leads in the number of different people who watch it over the course of the month (CUME), allowing it to maintain its claim to be a rival to Fox News.
CNN’s Headline News emerged as a new contender in the cable news landscape. It managed to surpass MSNBC to
become the third most watched channel in 2005. Online audiences are higher, and CNN leads
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Cable TV news ratings
Ratings, Prime Time Cable News
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Th
ou
san
ds
of
Ho
use
ho
lds CNN
MSNBC
Fox News
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CUME – total viewers/month
Cable news CUME, 2005
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Jan.2005
Feb.2005
Mar.2005
Apr.2005
May-05
Jun.2005
Jul.2005
Aug.2005
Sep.2005
Oct.2005
Nov.2005
Dec.2005
Mill
ion
s o
f u
niq
ue
view
ers/
mo
nth CNN
Fox News
MSNBC
CNN-HL
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Spending on newsgathering has been rising, except at MSNBC
What cable news spends; Pew data, 2005 is an estimate
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
Mil
lio
ns
US
$
CNN
Fox
MSNBC
Total
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Class discussion
What’s going on here?
How do you think C-SPAN is doing?
Daily Show?
Colbert Report?
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Radio – more funds, less staff
Radio News Staff, Budget, and Time, 2003 (number of stations reporting)
0 20 40 60 80
Total Staff
Amount of News
Change in News Budget
Change Amount of News in NextYear
Decrease
Same
Increase
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Radio – recent revenue weakness
Reveues from News Stations, Top Radio Broadcasters
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003
Mill
ion
s U
S$
Clear ChannelCumulus BroadcastingCitadel CommunicationInfinity BroadcastingEntercom
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Talk-radio audiences are aging
Radio talk show audiences skew older
18-243%
25-3411%
35-4417%
45-4910%50-54
11%
55-6419%
65+29%
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Newsmagazine topics
Newsmagazine pages by topic
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Per
cen
t o
f al
l new
smag
pag
es
National AffairsGlobal/ InternationalEntertainment/ CelebrityBusinessHealth/ Medical SciencePersonal Finance
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Newsmagazine circulation
Circulation, big three newsmagazines
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
Newsweek
Time
U.S. News
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Daily newspapers in 2005
Lost 600 employees, on base of about 50,000 (ASNE)
A few were hiring
Circulation down about 3% (ABC)
Ad revenue down 1-2% (Pew; hard to calculate); on-line revenue grew 30% from small base (will take 10 years to make up)
Move to sell out to local owners
Share prices cratered, especially at giants (NYT, Tribune), but this was not uniform.
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Stock prices: Four major chains, 1/1/2000 - 1
Four Major Newspaper Companies, Weekly Closing Stock Price, 2000 - Oct 2006
-
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2.00
Jan-00 May-01 Sep-02 Feb-04 Jun-05 Nov-06
Ja
n 1
, 2
00
0 =
1
NYT
Tribune
Washington Post
McClatchy
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Weekly newspapers doing well
Weekly Newspapers Fight Back (NAA data)
5,800
6,000
6,200
6,400
6,600
6,800
7,000
7,200
7,400
7,600
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
43,000,000
44,000,000
45,000,000
46,000,000
47,000,000
48,000,000
49,000,000
50,000,000
51,000,000
Cir
cu
lati
on
Total Weekly NewspapersAverage Circulation
Total Circulation
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A Little History
Internet was officially opened to commercial (versus educational) use in October 1992. Senators Al Gore and Orin Hatch played big roles in passing the legislation.
First graphical Web browser, Mosaic 0.9, was freely distributed by the University of Illinois in early 1993.
First journalism “new media” courses were being taught by that summer.
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I was particularly optimistic about newspapers’ prospects
Less than a third (and usually less than 20%) of newspaper budgets is spent on editorial content.
Readers might pay $200 for daily newspaper subscription, but it costs $600-$1000 to print & deliver the paper! Advertising pays for that.
Web offers many new storytelling tools – video, audio, interactivity, vastly more room to deliver news.
Cutting circulation costs would leave more money for newsgathering and storytelling.
Advertising would be more immediate, more useful to readers and advertisers.
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What happened:
Newspapers did not join the rush to the Internet. • Ran Websites as separate businesses.• Generally refused to hire high-priced
talent.• Generally refused to spend on R&D.
But they overpaid for media expansion!
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Half-hearted exceptions
Knight Ridder explored “news slate” idea and (earlier) an on-line service with AT&T called Viewtron, but did not cash in on its R&D lead – it was overwhelmed by Web-only media.
McClatchy developed good Web operation early, and bought Raleigh News & Observer.
Gannett recognized that its papers – generally small and ringing metro areas – could grab ad revenue from metros. Turned USA Today into major Web portal.
A.H. Belo hired Chris Feola in 1998, started big Web development program.
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While back at the Web
Portals
Interactive ads
Entirely new ways to self-publish• IPTV• YouTube• Per-Inquiry ad payments• On-line auctions• Blogs
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A word about classified ads
Straight-line decline in ad lineage has been constant since late 1980s – before Web existed
Due to rise in ad rates.
Google, eBay, Craig’s List do NOT take ad revenue from newspapers. These are NEW sources of ad revenue; more businesses can advertise!
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Local ads in general
Local large retailers disappearing
Metro newspapers ignore new local businesses
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Rush to the bottom (Pew, 2006)
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Rush to the Bottom, II
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Rush to the bottom, III
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Race to the bottom IV
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Race to the bottom V
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Ethics issues
Is it the Web that forces bad ethical choices?
My annual survey on media and cyberspace
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Methodology
11th Annual Survey of Media; fielded between April 28 and May 11, 2005 among journalists and editors registered with
Bacon’s Media Map. Total respondents: 1,202
Print 72%
Broadcast13%
Online8%
Wire Service5%
Other
1%
Media Type
North America87%
EMEA9%
APAC1%
South America<1%
Other3%
Geographical Location
Business/Financial
22%
No specificbeat22%
Other34%
Technology10%
Healthcare6%Consumer
6%
Beat
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Key ThemesRecent media scandals have challenged media trust New
wave of high-profile journalist misdeeds are expected to take a heavy toll on the newsroom
Corporate scandals continue to thwart corporate credibility
Journalists point to the lack of transparency for their loss in trust in corporations over the past year
Media appear mixed about blogs’ role in journalism Blogs have become a source of information
CEOs may be regaining some stature with the media Business journalists are more likely to turn to CEOs and consider their performance in their reporting than in 2003
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Journalist trust in colleagues has decreased while care in fact checking has increased
I am excruciatingly careful about fact checking my stories
I am less trusting of the professional behavior of my colleagues.
Agree93%
Neither agree nor disagree
5%
Disagree2%
Agree59%
Neither agree nor disagree
27%
Disagree14%
April 2005 November
2003
Agree45%
Neither agree nor disagree
24%
Disagree31%
Agree34%
Disagree35%
Neither agree nor disagree
31%
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…but has it? Pew (2006) says about sourcing:
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…and about anonymous sources
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High-profile ethical infractions made big impressions in US newsrooms
What effects do you think the following developments will have on the credibility of the media in the coming year (including on-line, print and broadcast media)? (*) Very strong/strong effect
78%
60%
41%
13%
15%
23%
28% 30%
79%
7%
8%
17%
Disclosures of government payments to journalists
Scandals and disclosures involving forged documents
Disclosures of non-government or corporate payments to
independent bloggers
Recent controversy surrounding anonymous sources (“Rathergate”)
Very Strong/Strong Effect Neutral Weak/No effect at all
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Class Questions:
Question #1
By now, we’re all familiar with the stories of journalists being paid to essentially act as spokespeople for a governmental policy – Armstrong Williams, Michael McManus, Maggie Gallagher, and so forth. What are your thoughts on the effects of these stories on media credibility? Would you say that journalists are more vigilant now than before about disclosing their personal, political, or financial affiliations?
Question #2
We’ve talked a great deal about the challenges facing the media today in terms of maintaining – and even regaining – credibility among readers, viewers, and each other. What would you say are the main steps that journalists are taking to preserve their credibility and integrity? Are they taking any steps at all? Or is this not even really a major worry among journalists and the media as a whole?
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Media are divided on trust in corporations - corporate trust has been on a downward spiral
How much trust do you have in corporations today?
How has your trust in corporations changed over the past year?
A lot3%
Some47%
Not so much43%
None8%
I have less trust49%
Unchanged49%
I have more trust2%
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Media are not impressed with corporate honesty and transparency in communications
How do you see corporations performing in the following communications areas? (*) Bottom 2 summary
18%
26%
29%
44%
50%
56%
57%
66%
76%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Philanthropy
Community relations
Advertising and marketing practices
Financial reporting practices
Environmental practices
Honesty with the media
Honesty with customers
Transparency during a company crisis
Being candid about tough issues
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Question for class - Corporate Credibility
One thing our study found was that journalists and editors believe that corporate transparency and honesty with regards to tough issues leave a lot to be desired. And recently, two Fortune 500 companies – Morgan Stanley and BP – issue statements that they would pull all advertising from news publications which published any “objectionable” stories about them. BP even went so far as to say that ad-accepting publications inform BP in advance of any news text or visuals they plan to publish that directly mention the company, a competitor or the oil-and-energy industry. In light of this, where do you see corporate transparency and honesty going within the next few years? And what effect do you think these corporate policies will have on news publications’ content? What do you think will happen to Hewlett-Packard product coverage?
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Media are browsing but still not fully engaging with blogs
How do you use Weblogs?
Yes
51%
No
49%
70%66%
14% 12%10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
For work-relatedtasks
For entertainment
Post to
Weblogs
Publish own
Weblog
Company has
a Weblog
Do you use Weblogs?
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Blogs are most likely to impact story generation – media hesitant to acknowledge their impact
9%
33%
36%
42%
53%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Fact checking
Uncovering breaking
news/scandals
Finding storysources
Research andreference
Finding story ideas
How often do you use Weblogs for the following? (*) Often/Sometimes
Only 22% of media respondents say they
believe blogs will become valuable journalistic tools
– but far more already use them!
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Bloggers talk a lot to each other
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…and use a lot of press releases
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Question for Class: Blogging
In our study, we found a few interesting contradictions – half of journalists use blogs, and 70% of those who use blogs use them for work-related issues such as finding story ideas, research and reference, and finding sources to interview. And 28% of respondents say that they often rely on Weblogs in their day-to-day reporting.
Yet only 1% consider Weblogs to be credible.
What are your thoughts on this seemingly love-hate relationship between journalists and bloggers? Do you think journalists are reluctant to admit that bloggers might be credible sources of information – even though so many journalists turn to blogs for information and story ideas? Why?
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Implications for Journalists
Newsrooms need to respond quickly and intensely when ethical policies and standards are broken – in the newsroom or the boardroom. Media have not demonstrated backbone in the face of recent ethical infractions nor corporate policies that could impact editorial freedom – this does not help the cause for improving media credibility
Consumers have redefined the future of journalismMedia need to reconsider their relationship with blogs which can provide a pulse point for consumer sentiment and help media engage more with their readers
Known sources may get lost in the focus on unknown sources. Lost in the recent spotlight on anonymous sources has been the need to examine ALL sources based on credibility, motivations and accuracy
