(33) US digital advertising in 2016: things will get better

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/dec/29/us-digital-advertising-2016-things-get-better

 

 

Summary:

 

As we’ve seen with the rise in the ad blocker narrative, good consumer experiences are fighting back and 2016 will see ad tech in retreat. Platforms such as Instagram and Medium allow for smart, targeted and more harmonious places for content and advertising, and new mobile standards from Google will improve how we consume information quickly and cleanly on mobile devices. Some of the key trends worth keeping an eye on for 2016 include: Adblockers are only the first salvo, the new case for media experience, death of the meddling middle, a contrarian focus on quality, podcasting continues to thrive, the great platform migration, the case for great creative.

Key data/statistical information:

• Between 20 and 50% of web users are believed to use adblockers and it’s a number that is expected to grow

What's my view?

I think its good that new and digital media have goals to make 2016 a better experience for users. Hopefully some of these things sort out the problems that people have faced in 2015.



NDM News index

September 2015 > The impact of Google
September 2015 > News Institutions

October 2015 > NDM News case study: Audience and Institution
October 2015 > Newspapers: The effect of online technology
October 2015 > NDM News: Citizen journalism
October 2015 > 10 examples of citizen journalism
October 2015 > NDM: News values

November 2015 > NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony
November 2015 > Marxism and Pluralism essay
November 2015 > Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news
November 2015 > NDM News: Globalisation

December 2015 > Globalisation and the media: wider issues
December 2015 > NDM case study: News on the Tweet
December 2015 > NDM: The key concepts of audience and institution

January 2016 > NDM institution case study: News Corporation

NDM institution case study: News Corporation

1) Research News Corporation’s response to the growth of new and digital media by listing each of the institution’s brands (Sky News, Times etc.) Have any closed, changed or been in the news in the last 10 years for any reason?

The Sun
The Times
Sunday Times
Press Association
Foxtel
Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox)
MyNetworkTV,
Fox Television Stations
BSkyB

New York Post

National Star

The sun developed a paywall which turned out to be unsuccessful so it was recently taken down.

2) Develop examples of the impact that new and digital media has had on News Corp’s brands (paywalls, readership figures, audience share etc.)

New and digital media has had many impacts on News Corp's brands. An example of this would be when the sun developed a paywall which they were hoping would be successful. However due to new and digital media, the audience was no longer interested in paying a fee to read The Sun as they are able to read free news on-line. After a period of time, the paywall was taken down and The Sun found other ways to approach the audience so that they can read their news and the corporation can make some sort of money from it. Once the paywall was taken down however, The Sun website bounced back, adding more than 180,000 daily unique browsers to take its total to 1.29 million.
However, news Corp's seem to be suffering due to new and digital media which had given the audience so much power. The development of accessible news on-line has decreased the popularity of the newspaper industry. Newspapers like The Sun and The Times now experience great losses.
Some news organisations are now using advertisement as a way to make money for example the Mail On-line US has increased its popularity with advertising growth of more than 60%.

New and digital media has also had a negative impact on News Corp's brands as hacking seems to have become a common problem. For example, The Independent’s blog-hosting site has fallen foul of hackers who are using ads to target visitors with virus software that encrypts files and demands a ransom. Also, the BBC reported that visitors to the Mail Online site were “briefly” exposed to ads that linked to malware.

3) Use what you have found out about News Corp to answer the following question:

Why and with what success are traditional media institutions adapting to the challenge posed by new/digital media?

Traditional media institutions are adapting to the challenge posed by new/digital media so that the future of News Corps' aren't doomed. Many people are now refusing to read newspapers because of new and digital media being available to them, so they can read their news on-line or use twitter as a way to receive immediate news 24/7. Also, the new generation is all about technology and less and less people find reading books, let alone newspapers, interesting. Therefore, in order to keep the tradition going, traditional media institutions are pressured and forced to adapt and find ways to interest the audience whose attention seems to be on digital technology.

As said previously, The Sun learned that no one is now willing to pay a fee to read the news considering the fact that people can go on other news corporations and read news for free. By adapting to the audience's wishes and removing the paywall, The Sun was able to successfully boost their number of browsers. Even a partial lifting of the wall in July made little difference. The Sun have also successfully adapted to the new developments by the use of their app that can be accessed on smartphones and tablets which maintains the audiences interest seeing as it is based around the new digital media platform.

Other newspaper brands such as The Daily Mail and The Guardian are maintaining their audience's attention through the use of allowing the audience to read the news on-line for free. The comments section seems to keep the audience interested and active. Instead making the audience pay for news, traditional media institutions seems to be leaning towards the idea of using ads to maintain the balance of receiving and giving which has found to be a success.

(32) The Daily Telegraph fined £30,000 for email instructing readers to vote Conservative

Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/the-daily-telegraph-fined-30000-for-email-instructing-readers-to-vote-conservative-a6781326.html

 

 

Summary:

 

The Daily Telegraph has been fined £30,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after it sent hundreds of thousands of emails on the day of the general election urging readers to vote Conservative. The ICO found that Telegraph Media Group broke direct marketing rules when it issued the letter from Chris Evans, Daily Telegraph editor, which was attached to the paper’s usual morning e-bulletin. Steve Eckersley, ICO head of enforcement, said the paper had been negligent when it decided to send the campaign letter as part of the legitimate daily email.

Key data/statistical information:

• Mr Evans described the May 7 general election as the “most important since 1979.” He wrote: “The Daily Telegraph urges its readers to vote Conservative.”
• These circumstances, along with the small number of complaints (17), were factors when deciding the £30,000 fine, imposed on the Telegraph’s parent company.

What's my view?

I think that newspapers do try and promote and push their views to the people especially when it comes to politics. However, I'm not sure whether this "fine" is going to affect The Daily Telegraph's future conduct. One way or another newspapers will find ways to persuade people to believe what they think is right which supports the hypodermic needle theory. The audience is usually persuaded by celebrities or what they read in the news.



(31) Facebook and Uber team up to offer Messenger users taxi trips

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/12054819/Facebook-and-Uber-team-up-to-offer-Messenger-users-taxi-trips.html

 

Summary:

 

Facebook Messenger users can now order taxis from Uber via the social network. The social network revealed on Wednesday that it has launched a Transportation option on its messaging service. This will allow people to hail a cab from Uber without them having to download and use the taxi-hailing app's own site. Uber will also provide updates on waiting times via Messenger. Facebook said its Uber service is "currently in testing" and will only be available in areas where Uber already operates in the US.

Key data/statistical information:

• With more than 1.4bn people using Facebook every month, the deal could unlock a huge revenue stream for both firms.
• Uber's last funding round valued the private company at $50bn, and linking up with the world's largest social network could also make it more socially acceptable.
• TfL is consulting on 25 proposals for private hire companies - several of which could seriously affect Uber

What's my view?

I think that this would help to make Uber more popular as Facebook is one of the popular social networking sites that people use today and would find it an easy access for them is they could call for an Uber driver through the use of this. This shows that social media is definitely making things easier for todays generation which encourages the pluralistic view.



(30) Can Donald Trump's social media genius take him all the way to the White House?

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/23/donald-trump-social-media-strategy-internet-republican-nomination-president

 

Summary:

 

Donald Trump is still riding high in the polls as part of his bid to be the next President of the United States. If there’s anything that goes some way to explaining Trump’s popularity in the midst of his quasi-fascistic views that reached a nadir with his call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, it is his social media prowess. Trump is fond of posting short clips to Instagram, as well as Vine, Twitter and Facebook. The brief videos evolved from his presence on YouTube (the Trump channel now has upwards of 1.3m views). Most of the clips consist of him yelling into a camera, flecks of spittle hitting the lens.

Key data/statistical information:

• Trump has more than 5.5 million Twitter followers and 4.5 million Facebook fans.
• Donald Trump, in many ways, is carrying the baton from Barack Obama’s successful 2008 election campaign, which some called the Facebook election.

What's my view?

I think it is funny that what used to be something controlled by the elite people is now being used by them to gain power. Social media is now a key way to get the audience's votes and attention. This shows the pluralistic view point because through social media, the audience go get a say. We can decide to follow Trump on social media and increase his chances of becoming president or decrease it by using social media to go against his views.



(29) Sun website traffic rises by a quarter – but it is eclipsed by the Mirror

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/dec/17/sun-website-traffic-mirror

 

 

 

Summary:

The Sun’s website traffic rose by more than a quarter in November – but it was not enough to close the gap with rival Trinity Mirror. Mirror.co.uk editiorial director Pete Picton said the the site’s rolling coverage of last month’s Paris terror attacks had helped it bring in a record 77.99m unique browsers over the whole month. “The Paris terror attacks was a major contributory factor, accounting for more than 14m unique browsers alone,” he said.

Key data/statistical information:

• News UK’s website, which began offering most online articles for free this summer and had completely abolished its paywall by the end of November, posted a 25.6% rise in daily unique browsers to 1.6 million.
• Trinity’s national newspaper sites, which include mirror.co.uk, enjoyed a 28.1% rise in average daily unique browsers to 4.7 million last month compared with October, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
• The Independent was up 24.4% compared with October to 3.27 million daily unique browsers, Telegraph.co.uk jumped 17.2% to just over 5 million, theguardian.com rose 13.7% to 9.27 million and MailOnline added 10.5% to 14.6 million.
• The Evening Standard posted the biggest rise of 29.2% to almost 520,000 daily unique browsers.

What's my view?

I think it is normal that website traffic has increased during the period of the Paris terror attacks due to the fact that people want to find out what has happened and get the inside story- even the younger ones. Therefore most would turn to on-line newspapers to get their information.