Sign of the times

In the news today, from the Chicago Sun Times...
Tribune to lay off 100 workers
LA Times to lay off 85
Baltimore Sun lays off 75
In other news...
Google breaks $400 per share, hits new high.

New Business Models

The American Press Institute has announced that they will be investing $2 million to test new business plans for newspapers. The project will last a year.
“Newspaper Next: The Transformation Project” will explore the trends disrupting the newspaper industry and develop practical business initiatives newspapers can adopt. API is investing $2 million into this project, which is the centerpiece of the Institute’s 60th anniversary.
more...
The project has the following goals:
Assess the threat to newspapers in the next decade, including emerging competition
Determine opportunities for newspapers, including implementation of available new technology
Suggest executable new business initiatives – products, services and strategies – with detailed rationales
Provide implementation guides for these business plans, addressing the management of change and risk.
Final task force recommendations are expected in late 2006 and will be tested in an operating daily newspaper beginning in late 2006 or early 2007.

Anyone have any suggestion? I'd love to hear them.

Rivers dry up

Oy vey! Now Microsoft? The "everything you can do, I can do better" company. Apparently that just doesn't include original thoughts.
Microsoft is developing a free online service that will allow people to list items for sale, events and other classifieds type of information that can be shared either with select groups of friends or anyone over the Internet, the company said Tuesday
No wonder why Murdoch has said print classifieds are dead.
“Perhaps rivers dry up,” he said, referring to the possibility that revenues from classified advertising could desert printed newspapers forever.

No posting

Sorry for the late notice but I've been on a break. Too much to do and too little time, something had to give and unfortunately it was this blog. I'll be back swing soon.

Filing stories for the web first

The Guardian has announced that it has begun to roll out a plan where its reporters will file stories for the web first in what is being called a "landmark" change.

Microsoft extends AdCenter

According to Mediapost, Microsoft has recently announced that they are plan to extend their online search advertising platform, AdCenter to other media. According to Joanne Bradford, Microsoft's chief media revenue officer, "Our goal with adCenter is to advertise into any medium". On the topic of IPTV technology that Microsoft has been developing for some time, Ms. Bradford said, "This marketplace is begging for some efficiency in the media buying process."