:: Future of Journalism

Chicago Tribune eyes price tag for online news

Crain's Chicago Business :: The Chicago Tribune will begin charging online readers for access to content and is considering a “creative way” to do that, said Gerould Kern, the paper's editor. “I think we will begin to charge in a selective way,” Mr. Kern told a group gathered to hear him speak at the Niagara Foundation in Chicago. “That's coming.”

Continue to read Lynne Marek, www.chicagobusiness.com

AOL beats low Wall Street expectations, increasing ad revenue in Q4

AllThingsD :: AOL said it earned 23 cents a share for the fourth quarter on revenue of $576.8 million, compared to 65 cents per share on $596 million in the same quarter a year ago. Wall Street analysts had expected the New York-based Internet company to earn 16 to 17 cents on revenue of $572 million. While the results are still down significantly from a year ago, AOL’s stock has been rising in the quarter

Continue to read Kara Swisher, allthingsd.com

Inquirer, Daily News could be headed for sale

Philadelphia Inquirer :: Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that holds interests in several newspapers, was one of 32 investors that acquired the two daily newspapers and Philly.com for $139 million in October 2010. Now the owners of Philadelphia Media Network Inc. are "in the middle of an auction" to sell the company for roughly $100 million, according to the Post story, which cited a source close to the situation.

Continue to read Mike Armstrong, www.philly.com

A citizen journalists - professional mix: Bleacher Report to hire 20 bona fide writers to raise quality

paidContent :: Bleacher Report is using part of the $22 million cash infusion it received last summer to hire twenty bona fide writers. The move will likely improve the quality of the popular site which now relies almost exclusively on rabid fans to churn out buckets of barstool-style sports chatter. Since its launch in 2008, Bleacher Report has been a disruptive presence in sports reporting. Its army of amateurs has led it to acquire over 20 million unique visitors a month and placed it in the top ranks of sports sites.

Continue to read Jeff Roberts, paidcontent.org

MagnaGlobal: print, radio advertising revenues braced for 2012 declines

Mediapost :: 2012 doesn’t hold much hope for some of the main traditional media categories, including newspapers, magazines and radio, judging by the latest advertising forecast from MagnaGlobal, which sees revenue losses for all three media. The declines come amid growing competition from online advertising, as well as continuing economic uncertainty.

Figures - Continue to read Erik Sass, www.mediapost.com

Money flow: Marketers follow users to more social sites

emarketer :: Social media sites beyond Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are seeing significant boosts in usage, both in the US and elsewhere in the world. And where users go, marketers will follow. Research from social marketing software firm Awareness Inc. indicates US marketers plan to do just that this year. The December 2011 survey found that the leading area for new social media marketing investments in 2012 would be increasing marketer presence across platforms, cited by 70% of respondents.

Continue to read www.emarketer.com

Polar Mobile raises $6m for magazine apps, cross-platform services

paidContent :: Polar Mobile—the Canadian startup that develops apps for big-name publishers like CBS Interactive, Conde Nast, Sports Illustrated, Shanghai Daily, Future Publishing and the WSJ—today announced two steps up in its growth: it has picked up an additional $6 million in funding and has launched a new cross-platform product, capitalizing on the interest in developing not only for web and native platforms, but also the growing scrutiny of how much it costs to execute on that strategy.

Continue to read Ingrid Lunden, paidcontent.org

Back to the drawing board: Lord Patten, BBC Trust, opposes local radio cut

Guardian :: It provoked the ire of listeners, MPs and senior church leaders. Now the BBC's controversial proposed cuts to local radio stations across England have met opposition from the corporation's governing body, the BBC Trust. Trust chairman Lord Patten is expected to ask management to go back to the drawing board with its plans to cut £15m from the budget of the BBC's 40 local radio stations, which if implemented would lead to the loss of 280 jobs.

Continue to read John Plunkett, www.guardian.co.uk

Do serial entrepreneurs have a leg up on first time entrepreneurs? - Successful startup secrets

Business Insider :: Do serial entrepreneurs have a leg up on first time entrepreneurs? - Answer: Yup. Serial entrepreneurs are more likely to build successful startups. According to the Harvard researchers, there is performance persistence in entrepreneurship.

"Why Some Startups Succeed And Others Fail: 10 Fascinating Harvard Findings," presents the research findings of Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner, Josh Lerner and David Scharfstein, who put together a Harvard Business School working paper to answer that question.

10 Harvard findings - Continue to read www.businessinsider.com

US online ad spend to close in on $40b (newspapers: $18.4b, magazines $15.3b)

emarketer :: US online ad spending will post growth well above 20% again this year to reach nearly $40 billion, eMarketer estimates, as the internet continues to prove its worth to advertisers in a tough economic climate. Double-digit growth is expected through 2014, when US online ad spending will reach $52.8 billion. In 2016, eMarketer expects advertisers to spend $62 billion online.

Continue to read www.emarketer.com