Do newspapers benefit from digital subscription services offered by Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple? Do they make any money from them? There is not enough empirical evidence to draw conclusions, but the statements from the news companies offer a mixed picture and benefits are contested and unproven. The paper about platform digital subscriptions was presented … Continue reading Benefits from platform subscriptions unproven
New Zealand print news market shrinking alarmingly
The eight JMAD New Zealand media ownership report, which I authored, published by AUT research center for Journalism, Media and Democracy (JMAD) was launched on December 6, 2018. The report raises an alarm about rapidly shrinking print newspaper market and the widening news gaps in the local/community markets. The report also finds that some of … Continue reading New Zealand print news market shrinking alarmingly
News companies revenue from Facebook underwhelming
My article, titled "An attention economy trap? An empirical investigation into four news companies' Facebook traffic and social media revenue" was published in the Journal of Media Business Studies in October. The article, which is available here, argues that news companies revenue from Facebook traffic and social shares is underwhelming, and suggests that the news companies should reconsider … Continue reading News companies revenue from Facebook underwhelming
News companies Facebook news distribution a mistake
News companies are making a mistake by continuing distribute their content on Facebook. My new report: Google, Facebook and New Zealand news media: The problem of platform dependency found that a quarter of New Zealand news companies website traffic came from Facebook, and 53% from Google and social media platforms. The report finds that news companies have trapped … Continue reading News companies Facebook news distribution a mistake
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?
