Metaprinter - Newspaper Printing and Online Media Marketing

A question I put forth on Linked In and some responses below.

View LinkedIN Q&A Thread The Top 3 Reasons People Still Read A Printed Newspaper (versus online):

1. i read it on mass transit ny/nj2. i subscribe to the wall street journal because trying to read their content online would melt my eyes3. after looking at a computer all day, my eyes need a rest.

1. Online you can then switch to other work activities easily, in print, you stay reading the newspaper2. I identify the print with weekends and reading the non “latest news” sections - it is relaxing3. You can rip out good cartoons and put them on the fridge or notice board for others to see

1. In print the ads are not flashing or waving at me.2. When I disagree with a position article I can tear up the newspaper.3. There is no comfortable way to lean back, cross one leg over the other and look sophisticated while squinting at a monitor.

There are only two reason anyone would want to read the local paper (San Francisco Chronicle) and thats the local news and the obituaries. Having grown up in San Francisco both are important, but other then that it is a very poor source of news at best.

1) Computer keyboard gets sticky if I spill orange juice on it while eating breakfast.2) Hard to keep computer screen steady while jogging on treadmill3) Computer screen is ruined when I fill out crossword puzzle in ink

CLICK this link to participate and see more answers… 

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer predicts that printed newspapers and magazines will not exist in the year 2018. Yeah… and it just so happens that he works for a software company. Prescient! Nothing is all things to all people Mr. Ballmer.

Watch this video entitled, “Ballmer on The Future of Advertising”.  Beginning at 29 seconds he specifically states, “there will be no media consumption in ten years that is not delivered over an IP network, there will be no printed newspapers, no printed magazines…). 

I really hope everyone who listens to this guy understands that his prognostications are designed to keep his customers living in a state of fear. A fear of the future where only super rich multinational software corporations can lead us simpletons from the darkness that is the world wide web. What was this guy watching the Jetsons before this interview?

Somebody get this guy a copy of The World Is Flat or maybe even Groundswell. People will consume media in any format they want, on any device they want, when they want, how they want. In 2018 you will see people consuming media in more ways than you ever thought possible, NOT LESS, NOT THROUGH ONLY AN IP CONNECTION.  

The following link has WAY more analog deliverables than this guy can imagine.   How oh How can I advertise? Let me count the ways….

As you all know I took a trip to the Newseum in DC recently.  In what I think is their new media section I came across the infamous “tweet heard round the world”.   I contacted Twitter to get more info and they responded quite quickly.  Thank you Mr. Stone!

My email to Twitter:

I couldn’t help but notice your appearance in the Newseum in Washington DC.  There is a mention of how Twitter beat out the Bloomberg News Service by 22 seconds in reporting the May 12th earthquake in China this year.
1.    Introduce yourself
2.    How do you feel about being immortalized in this nation’s news museum?
3.    What was that experience like?  Did they call you? Write you? Send a Tweet?
4.    Was the China incident a one-time thing or will Twitter continue to influence the future of news reporting?

Their response:

Hi Robert,

My name is Biz Stone and I’m the co-founder of Twitter. Yes, the Newseum folks emailed with a few questions about how Twitter works and I answered them. We’re happy to be included in the collection. The China incident is by no means isolated on Twitter.

Two weeks ago there was an earthquake in Southern California and Twitter started collecting first-hand reports the same minute the quake struck—11:42am. Nine minutes later, the AP send out a wire. During those nine minutes, Twitter collected 3,436 updates from people on their way to work, school, the doctor, etc containing the word “quake.”

Later that week another quake struck China. There’s also floods, windstorms, Olympics, and any massively shared event you can imagine surfacing on Twitter in real time. Have a look at the trending topics at search.twitter.com to get an idea of how it works.

Because Twitter has a massive real-time feed of what people all over the planet are seeing, feeling, thinking, and doing we believe there are some interesting compliments to existing news services. We’re just now beginning to explore these opportunities.

Thanks,
Biz Stone, Co-founder
Twitter, Inc.

I was probably the only a@@hole in the place without a camera so here are a few pics from flickr. Let me start off by saying I had low expectations of the newseum, but that I was wonderfully surprised by some of the displays.

I took the worlds largest hydraulically operated glass elevator to the 6th level terrace, got the best view of DC and then worked my way down the floors.

The 5th level has my favorite exhibit, the News History Gallery. They have newspapers going back 500 years on display in glass drawers. You can pull the drawers out as you go to closely inspect the newspapers. I’m a hands on kind of guy and this was right up my alley.

You can really see the printing technology change over time as the papers start out as hand pressed booklets, then get bigger, then add spot color, then add full color, then get smaller again. One trained in the art of printing can spot the different printing methods as well.

There are 8 sections of the Berlin Wall on display on the lower level. A sign clearly tells everyone to not touch it, but of course everyone touches it. How can you not? In some small way we share the struggles of mankind and connect with the past by touching that wall.

My other favorite part was the Pulitzer Prize Photographs on the 1st level. The images were moving. Give yourself at least 4 hours to tour this museum. You will not regret it.

I did a little digging to see how much one would have to pony up for buying The Star-Ledger should they decide to go ahead with their plan on October 1st. I have come to the conclusion that the paper is unsellable in its current business format, just look at the links below.

So why would anyone buy this failing newspaper? I suspect anyone willing to buy this newspaper would only be looking to absorb the intellectual property into their own organization. Everything else, the capital equipment, the people, the business contracts,.. all down the tubes.

 I’ve said it once, and i’ll say it again, “if all the Star Ledger does is lay off 200 workers, the paper will fail”.  The company needs a major replacement of leadership.  How in gods name does the biggest and most powerful newspaper in the state of New Jersey go bankrupt?  I’ll tell you how, failure of planning, severe lack of innovation, and a total disregard for the customer’s needs.   

Having said that,

• Gannett owns a few papers in the state and prints in NJ and upstate NY. I suppose they would be the top contender. I don’t think shareholders would be pleased with a newspaper company purchase right now though.
• Followed by the New York Daily News with operations in Jersey City.
• Followed by Sam Zell, because he is pretty unpredictable (which is probably a good thing right now). Hey Sam if you are reading this, email me. I have a really great newspaper business model idea and I think you are just the guy to try it out.

• Then there is the outside chance Mr. Newhouse sells it to himself, gets rid of all his union problems and does something truly innovative. Be the first Major newspaper to go completely online.
  • If Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. figures the company is a complete wash anyway, why not turn it into a grand experiment?
  • It could be a litmus test for the 27 other newspapers he owns through Advance Publications

NEW YORK TIMES :WANT to buy a newspaper company? No? You’re in good companyREAD MORE

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• Observer.com: 2008 worst year in newspaper history ever
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