The Online Competition to Save Newspapers

TIME reports that when beleaguered executives from top newspaper companies met at a Chicago airport hotel in late May, they decided they needed a savior — that is, a tech company to help them figure out ways to make money online. Letters inviting solutions went out to 10 companies, and in July the responses discreetly rolled in. Google's proposal inadvertently showed up online Sept. 9, sparking a sea of media reports about Google's plan to save newspapers. But what of the other companies that contributed ideas, ranging from established powers in the tech world like IBM and Microsoft to such up-and-comers as YouData and Journalism Online? "There's certainly a potential for one of these companies to become the most popular and dominate the field, and that's particularly true if their technology and business model envisions some kind of a multisite pass," says Rich Gordon, director of digital innovation at the Medill School of Journalism. Google has an advantage over the other contenders since it already has the technology available. Google's latest proposal entails expanded use of its Checkout product, which currently lets users shop across the Web but sign in in one place. Its newspaper platform would include a similar single sign-on where users could peruse content from different newspapers for one price. But Google's relationship with newspapers is a bit stressed, mainly because of the way Google News currently distributes newspaper content — effectively diverting readers away from individual news sites by allowing them to scan headlines and story briefs without leaving Google. However, on Sept. 16, Google attempted to mend fences with newspapers by launching Fast Flip, a free news hub that allows readers to scan through participating newspapers, but gives those papers a share of the revenue from ads placed around the site. Another proposal comes from Journalism Online, a pay-for-news company whose founders include Steven Brill, the former editor of Content, and L. Gordon Crovitz, a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal. The company's proposal would provide an outlet for news from many providers, but would allow them to decide which parts of their content should go behind a pay wall and how much to charge. Unlike Google, however, Journalism Online's platform remains in development. Another proposal from MyWire's Global News Service, owned by Louis Borders (the founder of Borders Books), would also organize content from participating papers behind a pay wall, but it uses existing technology. Microsoft, the other big-time company that, like Google, already has the technology available to implement a pay wall, also proposes aggregating information from several news sources in one pay-to-play location. The company's proposal emphasizes user preferences and aims to make the content accessible from any device, both on- and off-line. Yahoo is said to be readying an idea as well, but has not yet given any details.So who will win? Randy Coats, vice president of interactive for Scripps Howard Newspapers, will make the decision for his 13 newspapers. He believes that tech companies that base their proposals on existing tools stand the best chance; Google is the favorite, he adds, because of its proven track record in monetizing online content. "This is way too important for us to be trusting vaporware." It is hard to tell what payoff would go to the winning technology provider, says Gordon, nor is it even known who would own the content. There is also the question of whether the various pay-for-content ideas would fly with consumers. Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently told British broadcasting executives that charging for online content won't work except for niche and specialist markets. Consumer surveys tend to support those doubts. A Belden Interactive survey released in mid-September found that computer users who said they'd pay for news online would shell out an average of only $4.64 a month, while 47% of the group surveyed said they wouldn't pay anything.

How To Use Twitter for Media Relations

With thousands of reporters on Twitter, anyone has the opportunity to play publicist, says Pete Holier, an Information Scientist. Experts are publishing their own books, and arranging their own speaking gigs, so why not add media relations to the “do it yourself” mix of marketing tricks. It is a good idea, but before businesses get ahead of themselves and fire off tweets to their favorite media outlets, they should keep a few things in mind. Content has become a commodity. Reporters are fighting for their jobs. Snagging a sexy exclusive is the most effective and expedient way for reporters to demonstrate their relevance and reach to their editors and readers. When competition for original stories is fierce, broadcasting a pitch via Twitter taints it unless the reporter publicly asked for it. But on Twitter you can’t send a reporter a private direct message (DM) unless he or she is following you back. So what do you do? Most reporters are highly selective with their follow lists. How do you get a reporter to return a follow? Be Consistently Observant If you’re really serious about using Twitter to cultivate a relationship with a reporter, you have to consistently follow his or her stream. To make sure you don’t miss an opportunity to get noticed by a reporter who you want a relationship with, set up a Tweetdeck column dedicated to his or her account. Be a Good Wingman Reporters are under pressure to drive traffic to their stories. One of the best ways to be helpful is to retweet their tweets, especially the ones that contain links to their articles. Be a Blogger Holier got John Byrne (@JohnAbyrne), former editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com, to follow him after he wrote a blog about how the magazine was an example for how other media outlets should be using Twitter. Byrne commented on the blog and promptly followed him back. Later, Holier pitched him a column idea via DM, and he published it. Be Helpful Once you really become familiar with the interests of reporters, you can become a useful tool in helping them find creative ways to cover their beats. For example, one favorite reporter to follow on Twitter is Del Jones (@jonesdel), the leadership reporter for USA Today. Jones focuses on CEOs and talks about how golf is engrained in the culture of the C-Suite. Holier happened upon a golf group on LinkedIn and suggested to him via Twitter that it might be a great way for him to find sources. He loved the idea. Starting and maintaining relationships with reporters on Twitter is one of the most fruitful and satisfying ways to use the tool, but if not done in the proper way, it becomes spamming and empty like anything else, so be careful how you do it.

The Ultimate PR & Publicity Secret

What's the secret to getting free publicity? It's not a fancy press kit. It's not having a superstar spokesperson. It's not hiring the world's biggest PR firm. Actually, the ultimate insider secret is quite simple: You need to think like a reporter, says Bill Stoller, publicity guru. Most of us are too tied-up in our own world to really look at our businesses objectively and come up with a newsworthy story angle that can lead to free publicity. Reporters have a special place in their circular file for puffery, fackery and hyperbole. If you want to avoid this fate, then you must learn to think like a reporter. This means: Being able to separate real news about your company from promotional puffery. Being able to deliver a sharp story angle that will be of real interest to the news reading or viewing public. Being able to deliver this angle in a professional, courteous way. You own a website. Let's say, for the sake of this report, it's theplace4vitamins.com. (It could be any sort of business or website.) Your goal -- getting your website featured in newspapers around the country. Here are some truths that you ignore only at your own risk: Reporters don't care about helping you. Reporters are hassled all day by PR people and they're pretty much sick of it. Reporters don't care about your website, your book, your products or your life story, unless.....you are providing something that helps make their job easier -- that is, a really good story. In that case: Reporters love you. Reporters are happy to take your call. Reporters are fascinated by your website, your book, your products and maybe even your life story. When you design your public relations campaign, develop your angles, develop your media materials and begin contacting the press, always think: "What can I do at this step that will make this more useful to a journalist?" That means: developing story angles from a reporter's perspective, not a business owner's; conducting yourself in a manner free of hype, clichés and puffery, and using proper etiquette when contacting a reporter or editor. Developing an Angle: What does it mean to "develop a story angle from a reporter's perspective"? Have you ever met someone who has gotten way too absorbed by his hobby? He can go on for hours about his model trains or his coin collection. He can't possibly imagine why you, or anyone else, wouldn't be riveted by his in-depth discussion of Peruvian 19th century coinage.He's far too close to his hobby to be objective. As it turns out, most business owners are the same way about their company. If you spend all day absorbed in the world of vitamins -- or golf clubs, or health insurance, or any other field -- you can lose sight of the realization that most of the rest of the world doesn't really care. So you have to think like a reporter. Step away from your business. View it as a reporter looking for an interesting story. Remember, he's looking for a story that will satisfy his editor and his readers. He's not interested in promoting you, only in crafting a story that will make readers stop and say "Hmmm, I never knew that. Now there's something I can use!." Here are some angles you can use: Low prices. Yeah, just putting out a press release saying you have low prices won't get you anywhere. But what if there was something special about those low prices? Maybe you give huge discounts to child care centers who buy kids' vitamins in quantity. Maybe you sell vitamins at cost to health clinics in poor neighborhoods. Maybe you provide a big discount on multivitamins to disabled people? These are all publicizable angles, and they take a worn out angle and make it fresh. Take advantage of programs you already have in place, or create new programs to provide publicity opportunities for a public relations campaign. Great Service. If great service means you're nice on the phone, it ain't gonna work. But perhaps you go above and beyond the call to serve your customers. Remember that Saturn commercial in which serviceman flew to a remote Alaska cabin to fix a customer's car? That was a graphic example of this sort of angle. Now, you probably don't have anything so extreme to tell, but perhaps you do something no competitor would be willing to do. Or perhaps you should. Wide Selection. Sheer quantity won't turn this into a news angle. But if you carry some products that no one else does -- and those products are in some demand -- you might be on to something. Thanks to the Internet, you can use your website to position your angles to have mass newsworthy appeal. The answer is to design parts of your website specifically to provide a newsworthy element to your story. Message boards, chat rooms, surveys, feedback pages and so on can all lead to publicity. Is a leading health guru willing to be a guest at a chat sessions for teenagers? Did an online survey you conducted about kids' favorite foods offer some interesting revelations? These, and other offshoots of adding newsworthy elements to your site, can all provide the basis for outstanding publicity opportunities. A story about helping overweight kids cope with ridicule, based on discussions that have taken place in your forums, is a natural for a "lifestyle" section of a newspaper. So, you want to get an article about it in a major paper (let's say The Denver Post). First, you've got to find out who the appropriate editor or writer is at the Post. If you live in Denver, just read the paper on a regular basis and clip out the columns that deal with parenting, health or kids' issues. But if you live in Rhode Island, it's more difficult. Go to your local library and take a look at Bacon's Newspaper Directory in the reference section. Under The Denver Post listing, Bacon's should provide a name for the Features or Lifestyle editor. It might be outdated, so call the Post's main number and ask the receptionist "Is Joan Smith still the Features Editor?" The receptionist will then confirm that Joan is still in her position, tell you the name of the new person in this role, or transfer you to the newsroom to ask someone else. With the editor's name in hand, you're now ready to make your call. (It's also worthy trying the newspaper's web site. Increasingly, full editorial staff listings can be found online.) Here are some "etiquette" secrets that can help you effectively work with journalists in generating bushels of free press..... 1. Don't call to "see if they got your release." Journalists hate this. Folks send out mass mailings and then call to see if the release made it there. If you really want to get a story in the Post, call first to pitch your story and then follow up with your release, photos, etc. 2. Plan your call around their deadlines. Most papers are morning editions. Thus, journalists' deadlines range from 2 p.m. local time and on. Don't call during this time! The best time to reach a newspaper journalist: 10 a.m. to noon local time. 3. Don't start pitching right away! If you get Joan Smith on the phone, don't just dive into your pitch. This is rude, as Joan may be on the other line, working on a story, entertaining guests or who knows what else. Start by saying something like, "Hi Ms. Smith, my name's Bill Jones and I have a story suggestion you might find interesting. Is this a good time for you?" Joan will reply "yes"--which is a green light to start your pitch, or "no"-- to which you reply, "When would be a good time to call you back?" Your courtesy will be greatly appreciated by the journalist...which can only help your chances. 4. Pitch to the voice mail. It's fine to pitch your story to the reporter's voice mail. Keep it very short and end the message with your phone number. If you don't hear back, try again until you get the actual reporter or editor on the phone. 5. Don't read from a script! The bane of many journalists' existences are 22-year-olds sitting in cubicles in big PR firms reading pitches off a sheet of paper. If you've ever been called by a telemarketer doing the same thing, you know how annoying it can be. Practice your pitch so that it seems natural and spontaneous. 6. Give them a story, not an advertisement. Newspapers do not exist to give you publicity. They exist to provide readers with interesting stories. Your job is to give the journalist what he or she wants, while getting the free exposure. Make your pitch newsy, exciting and relevant. How about: "Ms. Smith, as you probably know, obesity among children is growing at an alarming rate. Because of the ridicule they face from other children, millions of overweight young people are being marked with lifetime scars that can seriously damage their self-esteem. I host a unique website, were overweight kids can anonymously express their feelings and discuss this issue. I think I've learned some important things about a very serious subject." That's a whole lot more interesting to an editor than: "Ms. Smith, I have a website where overweight kids post messages. Would you like to do a story about me?" 7. Follow up immediately. If she's interested, Joan Smith will ask for more information. Be sure you have a press kit (including news release and photo) ready to send . Send it out via priority mail, and write "Requested Information" below the address. 8. Call again. Now it's appropriate to call to see if Joan's received your stuff...after all, unlike a mass-mailed release, she asked for it! Ask if she's had a chance to look through it, and what she thinks. If she likes what she sees, you're about to get some very valuable free publicity!