The Monday post with a ton of interesting media and journalism links. Since we have so many, let is jump right to it.
‘No-hands’ ad sales challenge legacy media:
Ever since legacy publishers and broadcasters got serious about selling interactive advertising, they have struggled with how to do it.
Should veteran ad representatives be cross-trained to sell portfolios of traditional and digital advertising? This came to be known as the two-leg sales call.
Should specially trained digital ad specialists accompany legacy reps on four-leg sales calls?
Should digital marketing strategists accompany digital ad specialists and legacy reps on six-leg sales calls?
Now, some of the biggest names in digital publishing are going in a decidedly different direction than flooding the zone with sales power: They are moving to zero-leg sales calls that eliminate human beings altogether.
Under this plan that media access to networking data becomes even more important.
Here’s more on that now, The most concerning element of Facebook’s potential new power:
Much has been made of Facebook’s potential new partnership with the Times, Buzzfeed, and a handful of other news organizations, who may soon start posting stories directly on Facebook instead of having Facebook readers reach their content through a link. This move has the potential to make a lot of money for cash-strapped news organizations and produce another anchor into the news world for the cash-flush social network.
It also has the potential to rob news organizations of their soul. Felix Salmon believes this could kill the news brand (it could). Others, like Mathew Ingram, argue that it could give Facebook too much control over which news organizations thrive and which will die when the social media company decides to tweak its algorithm (it does). But the problem is much broader than that.
What this discussion has missed is perhaps the most crucial element of Facebook’s new power: the right to choose between the free expression of ideas or to instead impose censorship when it deems content unworthy. That should worry the public, because when given that power in the past, Facebook has ruled with an iron fist.
Interesting video and social media reads:
HBO gets prickly at Periscope over Game of Thrones live streams
Is Periscope a new frontier for TV piracy?
Snapchat Is No Longer Selling Its Original Ad Unit, Brand Stories
Fusion to Turn Its Snapchat Channel Into a Network With Five New Shows
Dashcam video shows Arizona officer intentionally running over suspect
That last one isn’t about social media, but look at how CNN is integrating tweets into the story. That’s a nice step in a good direction. It augments copy, demonstrates different perspectives and isn’t just reporting about stuff a “reporter” found on Twitter.
The evolving nature of things … Hey, Google! Check Out This Column on Headlines:
THE headline was perfect: “China’s Tensions with the Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife.” Engaging, informative and clever, it sat atop a story about reincarnation and the succession plan for the Tibetan Buddhist leader, accompanied by a photo of the golden-robed monk.
Then there was this headline, which also did its job, but made my head spin: “Apple Unveils iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite at Developer Conference.” Cluttered and notably lacking in grace, it was designed to be found by those searching the Internet for specific terms.
If New York Times headlines are supposed to be lyrical — or even just elegantly spare — the Apple one would seem to flunk the test. But these days, the test has changed, and so have many aspects of headline writing at The Times.
A few forward-looking think pieces:
The Boston Globe’s David Skok on pushing digital change
You Don’t Need A Digital Strategy, You Need A Digitally Transformed Company
How to Get Your Game On in the Newsroom
Sad and inevitable news from Delta State over in Mississippi:
College Board votes to cut Delta State journalism program
State press association denounces Delta State for eliminating journalism major, shuttering newspaper print product
The story goes that the president is cutting back for budget purposes. The other version of the story goes that he didn’t like some of the coverage the award-winning Delta Statement produced. Here’s the news editor of the Statement, Connor Bell: Long live print newspapers. Also, here’s the editor-in-chief, Elizabeth Zengaro: The power of the press.
The week before all they did was win three first place awards, second place in general excellence, and a dozen more honors in other categories at the 2014-15 Mississippi Press Association competition. And now they’re covering the forced shutdown of their publication. Various people fought the good fight, but, in the end, you’re reduced to watching a program shut down, students transferring, a campus go under-covered and simply quoting Don Quixote.
Finally, two great references to bookmark:
