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Around the Web links about Nieman Lab

  • WaPo decides to speak English when it comes to understanding Web traffic
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 43 weeks 20 hours ago

    Aren’t you tired of webspeak?  Can you remember the days when we talked about readers, not uniques or pageviews?  The Washington Post has decided to try a new language in its reports to the staff on readership of the washingtonpost.com:  English.  Pageviews have become “pages read”; unique visitors have become (drumroll here….) “readers.” As Ken Doctor, the newsonomics guru, notes in this post:  “The idea: demystify foreign terms and turn them into what they are — stats any self-respecting journalist has to care about.” And results of these analytics are that the Post knows more about its readers – for instance, that 10 percent of its audience accounts for more than a third of its traffic, and that Facebook referrals are up 238 percent. If you want to read more about measuring traffic to your site, read this blog from Associate Director Andrew Chavez.
  • What would it cost my Internet competitor?
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 1 year 17 weeks ago

    So let’s assume somebody wants to set up an Internet-only competitor for your newspaper. Something that could deliver the same types of news you do, just online. A competitor for advertising dollars. Someone who would offer the news and photos and videos of your community, and probably at no cost to readers. You know how much it might cost another newspaper to come into town and set up a duplicate version of your operation – but how much would it cost an Internet start-up to come in and do exactly what you do, but do it online? Warren Webster, president of AOL’s Patch, which is doing just that, has a figure: 4.1 percent of what you are spending now, to duplicate everything you’re doing on the Web. Aaaarrrrgh! Check out this article. (And by the way: I talked with an editor at Patch last month, and she said they are already in the initial stages of getting ready to enter the Texas market.)
  • Check out this new model for community journalism
    Shared by Andrew Chavez 2 years 26 weeks ago

    Shortly after the Ann Arbor News closed, AnnArbor.com went live. The site has an interesting format -- it's rather blog-like -- and it screams hyperlocal. It's definitely worth looking at if you're a community journalist. And on top of the interesting format for news, they've also rethought advertising in a unique way. Check out the articles for more information. The first link, from the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard, covers the reasoning behind the sites layout and delves into the ad issue as well. See the other two links for some commentary on the site from Steve Buttry and Jeff Jarvis.
  • Ad experiment targets local, low-budget advertisers
    Shared by Andrew Chavez 2 years 31 weeks ago

    This is definitely an advertising concept that I can see working for community newspapers. The Nieman Lab has a story op about MinnPost's experiment with "real-time advertising." They're sort of a technologically-updated version of classified ads that are powered by micro-updates from businesses.
  • API report offers ideas on generating online revenue
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 2 years 34 weeks ago

    There was a meeting in Chicago last week of top newspaper executives to talk about paid content. They heard a number of pitches from entrepreneurs who suggested new ways to generate online revenues. The link above will take you to a Newspaper Economic Action Plan prepared for the meeting by the American Press Institute, offering recommendations on charging for online content. There are all kinds of ideas here, some you may like better than others, but definitely worth your time to check them out.
  • New Jersey newspaper experiments with (expensive) paid content
    Shared by Andrew Chavez 2 years 34 weeks ago

    The Newport Daily News is trying an interesting experiment in online news. They're using a tiered subscription model, with the most expensive tier being a $345-a-year electronic edition.