Newsonomics: The New York Times Is Opting Out Of Apple News

The New York Times has decided to opt out of Apple News. On its own, that may seem like just one more move in the chess game between major news companies and the platforms. But it could also be an indication of a more geologic movement. Will the rest of 2020 bring tectonic shifts in... Read More

Newsonomics: Bloomberg’s Justin Smith Is Investing In News When Everyone Else Is Cutting

“Bloomberg” is a Rorschach test of a word. For many, it represents the unique New York City politician whose presidential flirtations reshuffled our politics for a time. For some, it’s his immense wealth and the places — both philanthropic and political — it flows. Then there’s “the Bloomberg,” ...

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Newsonomics: In Memphis’ Unexpected News war, The Daily Memphian’s Model Demands Attention

At first blush, it looks a bit like an old-fashioned newspaper war. (For our younger readers: Long ago, some cities had two or more strong newspapers that fought each other for scoops, talent, readers, and advertisers. Really.) In Memphis, two newsrooms — each with about three dozen journalists ...

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Newsonomics: Patrick Soon-Shiong On The L.A. Times’ Transmedia Future, French-Fry Tweets, And Modernizing The “Newspaper” Business

It was a single weekend phone call three years ago that set Patrick Soon-Shiong on an unexpected path. It was Michael Ferro, whom he barely knew, calling in spring 2016, telling him he’d make the medtech billionaire a “partner” in Tribune Publishing — if he agreed to invest $70.5 million (at a ...

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Newsonomics: Inside The New L.A. Times, a 100-Year Vision That Bets On Tech And Top-Notch Journalism

  Read all of Ken Doctor’s series on the new L.A. Times:     Look past the view of the 105. Beyond it is the unfolding of the 21st century, delayed but now in full force at the Los Angeles Times. That’s my big takeaway from a visit to Patrick Soon-Shiong’s new temple to ...

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Newsonomics: Newsprint Tariffs Gone, Print’s Heavy Boot Remains

The newspaper tariffs are dead. How big a difference will that make to those whose businesses still depends on dead trees?   RELATED ARTICLE Newsonomics: Newsprint tariffs are a Black Swan event that could speed up the death of U.S. newspapers July 20, 2018     On Wednesday, the ...

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Newsonomics: 11 Questions Into The Year, on Vulture Alden, the Merc’s Decline, the Post’s Profitability and The Daily Goes All Radio

No, the saga of the Los Angeles Times isn’t the only story in the newspaper world. It’s just that in its breathtaking oddness, it consumed the beginning of our year. Let’s begin with one question about the future of the Times, but then move on to other early-in-the-year questions that may tell ...

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The Seven Percent Rule: Why A Ridiculously Small Percentage of Digital Audience Drives The Future of News

Written for Traffic, the magazine of paywall provider Piano Media, here I explore in detail how and why less than 10 percent of readers really will make or break a digital news business. Good thinking, and analysis, via Mather Economics, New York Times, Washington Post, Tronc, Star Tribune, ...

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Newsonomics: A Q & A With NYT’s Mark Thompson 2020, A Half Billion In Digital Revenue And Thinning Competition

Five years is a long time, especially in the media business. It was five years ago this week that Mark Thompson took on the top job at The New York Times Company. It was an enterprise still wobbling from the effects of the Great Recession, its new paywall only a year old. The Huffington ...

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Newsonomics: Can Jim McKelvey Do For The News Business What He Did For Mobile Payments?

Oh no, can it be another news micropayments play? With the seemingly sudden sense that there have got to be ways other than a full-bore subscription for readers to help pay the freighted costs of producing news, 2018 will bring multiple bold new efforts to revive the news business. Now you can ...

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