My new report: Google, Facebook and New Zealand news media: The problem of platform dependency was launched on September 6, in Auckland, New Zealand, in collaboration with AUT's research center for Journalism, Media and Democracy (JMAD) and The Policy Observatory. In the wake of claims about the power of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook, and … Continue reading The problem with news companies platform dependency
An analysis of paywalls and pay systems
My chapter Paywalls and Pay systems, has been published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Here is the summary: "Funding of journalism has become a critical part of journalism and digital journalism studies because no single business model has emerged to solve revenue problems for print and digital news outlets. Despite newspapers’ efforts to … Continue reading An analysis of paywalls and pay systems
New chapter published in the Routledge handbook
The Routledge Handbook of Developments in Digital Journalism Studies is now available online, and my chapter co-written with Neil Thurman, Robert G. Picard and Arne H. Krumsvik is in this volume. The title of the chapter is "On digital distribution's failure to solve newspaper's existential crisis: Symptoms, causes, consequences and remedies." C.W. Anderson, Professor of Media … Continue reading New chapter published in the Routledge handbook
Why are news companies on Facebook?
On June 22, I presented an empirical paper at the IAMCR conference in Eugene, Oregon (US). The paper is about news companies Facebook dependency, and it is available here. The study is based on examination of news companies social shares, social media traffic sources and revenue. Some of the key findings include: Facebook offers very … Continue reading Why are news companies on Facebook?
Newspapers traffic bounces back
Some newspapers traffic has bounced back since Facebook changed its algorithm in January. That change meant that Facebook users news feeds favored content from their friends and family rather than from news organisations. From January to March 2018, The Washington Post's traffic increased slightly, and The Guardian's traffic increased 3.5%. My latest blog post for … Continue reading Newspapers traffic bounces back
Update and evaluation of news payment systems
My chapter evaluating academic research about paywalls and news payment systems will be published in Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies later on this year. The chapter also updates payment systems related to Facebook, and investigates micro payments and membership and donor models. The book is published by Oxford University Press, and it is edited by Henrik Örnebring. … Continue reading Update and evaluation of news payment systems
Are publishers handing more power to Google?
I wrote in The Conversation about Google's new subscription tool which supposedly helps news publishers to sell digital subscriptions. It is impossible to say yet, if it works. Couple of thoughts from my article: "It’s surprising that news publishers seem to hand more power to Google because now more than ever there’s an urgency to have … Continue reading Are publishers handing more power to Google?
Advisory Board member in digital journalism
I have joined the Advisory Board of Cambridge Scholars Publishing, advising in the issues related to digital journalism. The publishing company is an independent academic publisher, and its publications are marketed and sold worldwide through international booksellers including Amazon. In 2017, my book chapter "We need to talk about metrics" was published in the publishers’ … Continue reading Advisory Board member in digital journalism
A good week for a researcher
Some weeks in the world of research are better than others, and this has most definitely been a good week. My paper investigating news companies dependency on Facebook has been accepted to a conference organised by the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The conference takes place in Eugene, Oregon, in the United … Continue reading A good week for a researcher
Are memberships a viable business model?
"It is tempting to play with the idea of the news media industry being 100% funded by the public. I know journalism has never been funded by subscriptions, but what if … ?" This is from my first blog to INMA, the International News Media Association, which has executive members in 60+ countries. My first blog … Continue reading Are memberships a viable business model?
