A Silverback's Business News Weblog

Evolution of Modern News

The_Silverback — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:15:48 +0000

Without the emergence of the internet, the world as we know today would not exist. The Internet has given way to also tools that news consumers now use on a daily basis to receive their news. Without the internet, consumers of news would not have the options that they have today. In today’s world, one can have local news on the click of a button as easily as one can receive news from halfway around the world. One can also customize the news that one receives on a daily basis. Consumers have the option of filtering what news they receive and do not receive. This allows consumers to be more efficient with their time because they do not have to sit and read or look through news that they do not have any interest in. It has also given consumers power. Before consumers were given news whenever news providers decided to release the information, now consumers have almost instant access to news as soon as they are available and when they choose to look at the news. This has also given rise to consumers being their own news sources. Once consumers of news, people are now becoming the news providers to people across the world. Uploading, Google, Supply Chaining across the world, would not be possible without the initial connectivity of the internet that Netscape provided. No matter what improvements are made at latter date to an invention; it is the initial creation of the invention that is given the credit for spawning all those later improvements.

To Endorse or Not Endorse…An Ethical Issue?

The_Silverback — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:09:12 +0000

Newspapers across the countries are endorsing candidates. I normally would not pay attention to such an announcement. However as I listened to the radio this week, a DJ brought up a good point. If newspapers are endorsing certain candidates, have they been ethical in the reporting the political news of the other candidate? It is a valid question. It is only natural to assume that if someone is favored that they might be cast in a better light than their opponent. It is the job of the newspaper to present news in an unbiased and unfiltered way. Can this be possible if they have a “favorite” candidate? I have no hard evidence to prove that newspapers have acted unethically. However, it does make me think about what I read more carefully. How can I make sure that what I am reading is fair and unbiased? Does this newspaper have a hidden agenda that I do not know about? More than likely it is not the case, but it is an interesting way to look at the news.

Fun, Weird…My Kind of Story

The_Silverback — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:07:57 +0000

As the world takes in all this information about candidates, the future of the country, and a spiraling economy, I would like the time to look at a part of the media that is overlooked at that many times. The weird, quirky stories that make people say, “No way” or “That’s ridiculous.” In other words, these stories could be called news that “Don’t Matter.” However in some way, these can be best stories. These are the stories have give people some sort of hope or connection that everything in the world is not depressing. It can be anything from a special pet who does special tricks, or a drunk man showing up to the wrong house. While these stories might not have the news breaking thrill, they still provide some small insight into people or cultures that otherwise might not ever be reported on or about. These stories stand out to me because they are unique and more importantly, not depressing. They are nice break from the other everyday stories that can become boring and mundane. To me, they are what makes journalism special.

Quality Vs. Speed…

The_Silverback — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:00:03 +0000

Gone are the times when your local newspaper, CNN, or other various stations where consumers main source of news. Now with an internet connection, click, and a search on Google, Yahoo, or MSN the news come to the consumer. Because of this, media companies have been forced to evolve in the way they do news. They all have an internet website, but most of them are still tied to one of the search engines in some way. They have to do competition with search engines on the internet. This creates a problem for media companies because they have to compete on the internet with companies whose whole business is internet related. For now, none of the websites have had to adjust the way they do business because a media company. Search engines have been able to provide news to willing consumers in addition to other services they provide as a company. Media companies though have no other core competencies. Media companies provide news. What else could be expect of them? Much to the detriment to the media companies, consumers now many times value the speed of the news rather the quality of the news. Media companies many times are able to provide more in depth higher quality coverage of the news because they have people on staff to do it. However, consumers are not responding to it like they use instead focusing on the speed, which at time shows that the search engines are able to provide a bit faster than the media companies.

Obama, McCain, and a 15lb Burger

The_Silverback — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:52:51 +0000

As of 10:32 AM CST on October 19, 2008, the top news searches on Yahoo were the following:

The Local Effect

The_Silverback — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:42:11 +0000

“Globalization must be met with a counter-globalization.”~Micahel Hardt and Antonio Negri.

The world is going/ has gone global. There is nothing that anyone can to stop it. I can have immediate news from half way around the world as easily as I can find news from my own city. As Thomas Friedman has said, the world is flat. At the same time as this happens, the newspapers have something that the internet would be hard press to provide. It is the local effect. Over the past 2 weeks, the Wichita Eagle and other local news sources have followed the local tragic story of a mom and 4 year old girl who were killed by a drunk driver. While stories like this happen across the world on a daily basis, they never have the same impact as when it happens so close. By streets you know or maybe to people you know. In some way, there is a closer connection than when it happens across the country or even around the world. The aftermath affects you because people make a push to change laws to protect people in your community. In many cases, it brings people together. This is what local news provides. They give those stories and information that are not going to be headlines news across the world. They have that local effect that the internet or other electronic media are not able to provide. They are able to find those people close to the victims and the place of the tragedy that gives the story that extra sense of sadness that the internet cannot provide. So while the world becomes more globalized, more interconnected, or “flat”, I am glad that there are still local news sources to give those stories that the internet will never be able provide. They still give voices to local tragedies that we can all wish had never happened in the first place.

“Newspapers are alive, well and adjusting”…I guess….Maybe?

The_Silverback — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:51:53 +0000

“Newspapers are alive, well and adjusting” is that title of an article which I tried to read. It was from a newspaper called Pacific Business News. The keyword there is tried. As I looked at different media related news, that title caught my eye. However when I tried to read it, I crashed into a dead end called “only for paid print subscribers“ Somehow that phrase, PRINT SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, leads me to believe that newspapers are quite the opposite of alive, well and adjusting.I understand the concept of giving paid subscribers more. They are the loyal paying customers. Customer loyalty is essential to survival in business. However, I do not see how giving them access to the same articles on the Internet adds value to their service. If they have a print subscription, why are they going to care if they are the only ones who have access to the same articles on the Internet? This type of thinking is what has newspapers in trouble. Many of them have failed to adjust to the news on demand aspect of the Internet. Others like Pacific Business News have taken a route that does not make much sense. Denying access to articles unless you are a paid subscriber. To me, it makes more sense that to use the internet to drive more people to your print subscriptions instead of using your existing print subscribers to drive up Internet traffic. The general consensus seems to be that newspapers are in trouble. Pacific Business News seems to have some information indicating otherwise. If this is the case, Pacific Business News should share this news with the rest of the world not only their paid subscribers.

The New Facebook

The_Silverback — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:34:33 +0000

“It can change as much as it likes. As long is it stays in the same”~Adrian Murphy

This quote by Adrian Murphy reminds me of the recent change of the social networking site Facebook. Like many other things in life, Facebook has changed. It is a company driven change. With a reported over 100 million users, Facebook has no shortage of fans. None the less, the company decided that it needed a change. Like most changes, it has been met with some resistance. Facebook groups have been petitioning against the change; others have been quoted as “why fix something that isn’t broken?”, and still others like the new functionality and will soon adjust to it. It was bound to happen. Every website has gone through some upgrade or change at some time or another. However, I do not believe that people take it as personally as when something like Facebook changes. Changing a website like Facebook is changing the connection that millions of people use on a daily basis to stay connected to friend and at times the world. The telephone became a cell phone, the computer became a laptop, Facebook became a new Facebook. The former are optional changes that did increase quality of life. The Facebook change seems like a change for change’s sake, and it seems like it’s personal. This is the position that all companies find themselves in. Do they sit ideally until a change is requested by their customers/users while their competitors innovate? If they want to have a successful company, the answer is obviously no. Innovation is key to success in a global market. After all, Henry Ford said that if he had asked his customers what improvement that they wanted they would have said “A Faster Horse.”

Marketing: More Complicated Than It Seems

The_Silverback — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:52:53 +0000

Marketing seems easy. Know your customers, find out what they need, give it to them, and watch the profits roll in . How much harder than that can it be? Such a simple and straight definition of marketing seems worthy of a nomination of some sort of award. However as life has thought us, things are not always what they seem. Marketing is not that easy, and it seems that newspapers are out there trying to prove it. Now, it is no secret that many newspapers are struggling to stay afloat, but what can they do to stay in business? I recently heard an older gentleman complain that that Wichita Eagle had cut out their stock section of the newspaper. The paper itself had multiple complaints in it about the action. More than likely, this was done to reduce costs. Fair enough, most people can easily look up any stock online at any time. It makes sense. However, this is where the marketing aspect comes in, and it becomes complicated. Who exactly is reading the newspaper nowadays? Is it older people who yearn for a paper like the olden days, it it middle aged people with nothing better to do, is it young people taking a break from the internet to pick up a paper? It could wealthy people, poor people, educated people: WHO is the million dollar question. Unless that question can be answered, newspapers are bound to fail. They are ailianting older people with their attempts at cost cutting with nothing new to attract new readers who do not care about newspapers. Know your audience. I learned that in public speak in high school. It is a lesson that newspapers might need to heed if they want to be around for the future.