Bernaisesource

A couple points of interest this week in the news about news that may spark the under 30 crowd to pick up a newspaper or visit an online news site.

First, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press published its biennial news consumption survey.  Second, it was announced that several newspapers including the Washington Post and The Daily Oklahoman have contracted with Inform.com, an online news aggregator to compete with news search engines and aggregators like Google and Yahoo.  Third, CNN launched  I-Report, a site that allows people to submit audio, photos, videos and other news items for possible inclusion on the web.

The Pew study revealed that traditional news outlets continued to decline as a source of frequent information for the public.  Of particular interest was the finding that the online news market is dominated by a few players including – MSNBC, Yahoo, CNN and Google.  

All of which makes the Inform.com announcement very interesting.  Bob Tedeschi in The New York Times calls it a “counterattack by publishers against Google and Yahoo who have stolen readers and advertisers in recent years.” 

So the thinking appears to be two can play at that game.  Newspapers are going to try to replicate the success of search engines and aggregators and attempt to compete head on to attract and retain readers.

I wonder if replicating a news aggregation strategy is the answer to what ails the newspaper industry.  I read newspapers in print and online regularly.  Having the ability to link to another article isn’t what keeps me coming back for more.

I think the posting, "Newspapers Adopt Blog Linking Strategy" on Blogger’s blog got it right:

“This [aggregation strategy] will be a bonus for online newspaper readers because it will allow them to easily find more news stories covering the same topic.  However, blogs go one step beyond this in that the links bloggers provide are hand-picked by people and not automatically generated from algorithms.” 

For me, the power of new media isn’t only the ability to aggregate news.  It is not about the links. (Too many links in one story can be overwhelming or distracting.)  It’s about the human touch, personalization and conversation.   The challenge is to create an open platform for sharing news along with the ability to provide editorial insight, perspective and discussion.

That’s important as newspapers face the even bigger issue of appealing to readers -- especially younger ones. 

According to the Pew study, "the growth of the online news audience has slowed considerably, particularly among the very young, who are now somewhat less likely to go online than are people in their 40s."  The study goes on to say that newspapers continue to attract "anemic numbers of young readers."

At the same time, the Pew study found that blogs that discuss news events have become a destination for a significant number of young people, especially those 18-24 -- the same group that is reading newspapers less often. 

Looking toward the future, it seems newspapers have an opportunity to reach young readers if they can determine how best to incorporate the social interactive aspects of blogging into their coverage and overall editorial content.  More than letters to the editor, social media has to be a platform for engagement and interactivity. 

Which brings me back to I-Report. CNN may be on to something as it gives an opportunity for citizens to actively participate and feel like they are part of the news process even if as reported, contributors won't get paid for their submissions.  If the success of YouTube.com is any indication, I-Report and formats like it may fuel a passion for news in a whole new generation of Americans.  

Let me get back to you.

Technorati Tags: Pew Study; Inform; I-Report;