Innovation in College Media

Image via WikipediaVia Will Sullivan, I find out that ESPN has finally launched their new web site and - wonder of wonders - I load the page and there is no auto-play video (see my previous rant). Thank you ESPN. I can now visit your web site again!

Here’s a more detailed description of the new ESPN.com.

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For those who have been out of the office and are just now getting back into the swing of things, here’s an announcement that may have passed under the radar: CoPress is now offering a hosting solution for college media.

They’ve already gotten several e-mails from people interested in the service. Check it out.

Image via CrunchBaseIf you picked up a copy of today’s New York Times, you’d notice a colorful box at the bottom of the front page. That’s not a story. It’s not a preview of inside content. That’s an advertisement. An advertisement for CBS. Look at it here.

I recall when I first started working in the newspaper business in 1984, front page advertisements were anathema. The front page was sacred - devoted solely to editorial content. Now, over 20 years later, the Old Gray Lady has a front page advertisement.

Personally, I always found the hysteria over front-page advertisements to be a lot of sturm und drang about nothing. If a front page ad will help pay for quality journalism, I’m all for it.

Perhaps now that the Times has gone the way of USA Today, more college papers will sell front page ads. Anyone have a guess as to how much of a premium a front-page ad will bring?

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• Viewport: A Free Wordpress Theme
  For those who are photographically inclined, a neat adaptation of the wordpress front page.
  (tags: wordpress themes photography webdesign)

• Why we need a blogging code of conduct
  "Few would contest that blogging is now mainstream. As such, aside from professional journalists, most bloggers write their own rules." … As someone says elsewhere on the Internet - "Time for another blogger's ethics convention"
  (tags: ethics blogging)
• Ten questions for journalists in the era of overload at Newsless.org
  More stuff to consider.
  (tags: onlinejournalism news information informationoverload)
• Tools for News
  Chris Amico puts together a collection of links to various online tools. Reminds me of Mindy McAdams' similar page of multimedia tools.
  (tags: onlinejournalism tools reference)

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I was going to write a post about resolutions, but cruising my RSS reader today, I’ve found a number of people who’ve done a great job of providing solid advice, so I’ll let you peruse their excellent advice:

• Mark Hamilton provides some advice for the upcoming semester
• Suzanne Yada also has a lengthy list of resolutions for journalism students
• Whitney Rhodes has some advice for those j-students who are graduating
• Shawn Smith (whose blog I only today discovered) has some advice on p0wning 2009.
• Gina Chen has some advice for some more philosophical movements that need to be made in 2009.
• (update) Emily Kostic at Journalism 3.0 also has some advice for college news media.

My advice: It’s the same advice I’ve been giving for three years - Pick one thing to innovate and master it.

I have no doubt that 2009 will see enormous changes and technological shifts that rock the college media world. If we can take it one step at a time, I think we’ll all be in a better position to deal with what comes between now and 2010.

UPDATE: And if you’re looking for more crystal ball emphasis, here’s some Society of News Design predictions for the new year. Via Newstechzilla

• FlowingData | Data Visualization and Statistics
  Visualization geekery.
  (tags: web2.0 visualization technology statistics mapping)
• vi.sualize.us
  social bookmarking for images. like delicious.
  (tags: web2.0 tagging socialnetworking socialbookmarking photog)

What has only made headlines today is the announcement of Viacom pulling over 18 channels off cable giant Time Warner if a new retransmittal fee is not agreed upon.  Shows like Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer, Colbert, The Daily Show - basically all Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central shows will no longer be seen by tons of subscribers.

Great, so what does this mean, nothing new right. Certainly not for college newspapers. What you might have missed is why this problem has come up. In a nutshell, decreasing ad revenues is forcing content providers to find other revenue streams. Turning to subscribers is one way to shore up a decline in ad sales.  Cable companies don’t want the increase because they have to pass it along to the subscriber which can cause them to lose customers.

Like an iceberg, this is just the tip. Here in the pacific northwest, satellite provider Dish Network is having a similar battle with Fisher Broadcasting.  Certain local channels have been off air now for two weeks for those Dish Network providers in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, northern Ca and parts of Nevada. Want to watch a playoff game on CBS in Boise? Too bad, KBCI is off air for Dish Network subscribers. Want to watch the BCS bowl games on Fox in northern CA? Will have to go to your local bar for those games if you use Dish. Continue reading →

• 12 Good Gadgets for Hard Times
  I didn't see a soup kettle on the list anywhere. Still, the OLPC is a pretty good idea for a laptop in hard economic times.
  (tags: technology economy survival)

Yesterday, the student technologists at CoPress (where I host the podcast) announced something that’s been several months in the making: A hosting solution with CMS for college media.

This is an effort that takes a different approach from the dominant business model in college news hosting, that of College Publisher. Whereas College Publisher hosts web sites for “free” and generates income from selling national ads for premium placement across their network, the CoPress model is paid for through an upfront monthly fee, with the college media outlet selling its own advertising stock.

And with the economy in dicey shape, college media need to get serious about generating more income from diverse sources like the web site. Some are doing more along these lines, but there’s a long way to go for most.

If nothing else, putting the hosting of the web site into a budget as an expense might give colleges some incentive to push online ads where now they are likely neglected (the Daily Eastern News has no online ads at the moment, so I’m preaching to my own paper here).

The fact that the hosting plan is offering a WordPress install means there’s a large number of people and technical support available out there to assist with problems (in addition to the CoPress team). The CoPress team can even help transition College Publisher archives into the WP format.

I doubt the CoPress effort will pose a serious threat to College Publisher’s business right now, but it’s another option for college media to consider, and that’s always a good thing.

I’ve been a proponent of this business model for a couple of years now, but it’s been a challenge putting together the pieces to offer this type of program. Now, it’s good to see this effort coming from committed journalism students.

I hope some advisers come on board and offer support where needed. Miles Skorpen at Swarthmore is heading up the hosting part of CoPress, and he definitely knows his stuff.

Others noting this announcement:

Ryan Sholin: I’ve had a chance to talk, chat, and tweet with some of the students and recent graduates behind CoPress over the last few months, and I think they’re clearly the sharpest minds in online student media right now.

Dan Riemold:  CoPress seems to be the future. It is determined to make student news sites that are student-friendly and UNIQUE to each and every outlet and campus. The results of its efforts of course are still pending but the (CoPress) team oozes passion, relevant experience, and new media sensibilities.

Greg Linch (a CoPress leader): But, whereas our situation allowed us to make the move on our own, many school papers don’t have a server or the technical know-how to make such a move. Or, if you do, you can avoid a possible headache (particularly in transfering your College Publisher archives) with a little help from your friends. That’s where CoPress comes in – we can do all that.

If you’re interested in a fuller explanation of CoPress, you can listen to this podcast interview I conducted with Kevin Koehler in October.

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