The Newsonomics of the November Shuffle, From Forbes to Freedom and Couric to Stelter

First published at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab Ah, the pre-Thanksgiving bounty. Those of us who try to chronicle the business end of the news business have seen our plates overflowing lately. Not since the Bezos blitz of August have we seen so many announcements, shuffles, offers to ...

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The newsonomics of the Orange County Register’s contrarian paywall

It's the membership program — one that's not unique in the industry — that will catch the headlines.The Register wants to go big. It approached the Angels, located 10 minutes away, with the idea of better using the empty seats the Angels couldn't sell. The Angels found themselves sitting on ...

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The Newsonomics of the Death & Life of California News

All we can say with certainty: we’re witnessing the death and life of California news. Who will own the biggest news media? Who will manage the biggest news media? How much of a life in print will be left for newspapers as they go digital? And, of course, how many journalists will be paid to ...

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The Newsonomics of U.S. Media Concentration

Is it just imported theater, though? We have to wonder how much the cries of “media monopoly” will cross the Atlantic. Is there much resonance here in the States for the outrage about media power in the U.K.? Will the sins (its newspaper unit now being called to account by a Parliamentary ...

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Nine Questions on Gannett Branding, Patch Widgeting, Stewart Becking, Bloomberg Viewing and Sunday Selling

Am I the only one who doesn't get Gannett's branding campaign? Yes, the Gannett math -- $33 million saved in furloughs, as much as $27 million potentially to be granted in exec bonuses -- seems sadly clueless, but what about the money the company has spent on its branding campaign. New logo and ...

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The Newsonomics of Roll-Up

Once you've clustered -- centralized to the max the administration, circulation, advertising, production, finance and newsroom tasks of all of your own owned properties, you look next door to other companies, for fresh cluster bait. (Wait a minute, wasn't that the plot line in Aliens or The ...

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The Demise of Lean Dean Singleton and the Rise of Private Equity

Another way to look at it, at least for a moment, is through the eyes of these new owners. The owners are looking at their properties as the only advertising-oriented media that didn't make a comeback in 2010. With ad revenues down in single digits, the companies continue to shrink in revenue, ...

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Smelling New Value in Old Philly

Key: The ability to create new value in the short term with the infusion of new leadership and new thinking. This is the key that unlocks the value Angelo Gordon believes is hidden in the encrusted legacies of these print properties. Of course, that's in its private equity DNA: bring in people ...

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