Comments on: J.P. Morgan: “Significant headwinds” for newspapers http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/01/jp-morgan-significant-headwinds/ A collaborative effort to figure out the future of journalism. A project of Harvard University. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:39:00 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: robert ivan http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/01/jp-morgan-significant-headwinds/comment-page-1/#comment-5703 robert ivan Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:16:19 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1490#comment-5703 I'm completely baffled by this line, "we think newspapers need to allocate more resources to investigative journalism". Really? How the hell are news sites supposed to become economically sustainable by producing such content? They can't. It's impossible. The monopoly is over. Profitable content now is videogame reviews and DVD player reviews and top ten lists and fashion posts... If you can kick ass doing these things, then yeah, maybe you can afford to do investigative journalism. Investigative journalism is expensive and does not lend itself to easy monetization... can a site effectively sell mattresses better next to a site post on mattress ratings or a ten page piece on Ron Blogoyovich, Blogjogohvich, Bloyjovovich... you get the point. Newspapers today are a massive rudderless ship. If NYT and WPO can't make money doing investigative journalism, how can anyone? What an awful statement from JP Morgan. Figuring out sustainable revenue streams needs to be priority number one. What is the need you are fulfilling and what is the value of that need? End of story. I’m completely baffled by this line, “we think newspapers need to allocate more resources to investigative journalism”.

Really? How the hell are news sites supposed to become economically sustainable by producing such content? They can’t. It’s impossible. The monopoly is over.

Profitable content now is videogame reviews and DVD player reviews and top ten lists and fashion posts… If you can kick ass doing these things, then yeah, maybe you can afford to do investigative journalism.

Investigative journalism is expensive and does not lend itself to easy monetization… can a site effectively sell mattresses better next to a site post on mattress ratings or a ten page piece on Ron Blogoyovich, Blogjogohvich, Bloyjovovich… you get the point.

Newspapers today are a massive rudderless ship. If NYT and WPO can’t make money doing investigative journalism, how can anyone? What an awful statement from JP Morgan. Figuring out sustainable revenue streams needs to be priority number one. What is the need you are fulfilling and what is the value of that need? End of story.

]]> By: Mathew Ingram http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/01/jp-morgan-significant-headwinds/comment-page-1/#comment-5633 Mathew Ingram Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:58:38 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1490#comment-5633 Definitely some simplification there, Martin -- that's what brokerage firms do :-) And I guess as far as the investigative suggestion goes, the theory is that if news and even opinion are commodities that any blog can replicate, then what's left? Long-form investigative stories, presumably. Whether people will pay anything for them or not remains to be seen, however. Definitely some simplification there, Martin — that’s what brokerage firms do :-) And I guess as far as the investigative suggestion goes, the theory is that if news and even opinion are commodities that any blog can replicate, then what’s left? Long-form investigative stories, presumably. Whether people will pay anything for them or not remains to be seen, however.

]]> By: Martin Langeveld http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/01/jp-morgan-significant-headwinds/comment-page-1/#comment-5593 Martin Langeveld Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:52:55 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1490#comment-5593 There's some simplification there, I think. The unsustainability they mention really derives from the big demographic shift -- not all consumers are becoming dependent on the Internet for news, that's heavily skewed toward the younger side; only older folks are reading news on newsprint; the average age of a newspaper reader is 60 and growing. That's what makes it unsustainable. Also, I'm not sure I agree with their suggestion that more resources devoted to investigative journalism would fix things. Why would that attract any more paying subscribers or advertisers? There’s some simplification there, I think. The unsustainability they mention really derives from the big demographic shift — not all consumers are becoming dependent on the Internet for news, that’s heavily skewed toward the younger side; only older folks are reading news on newsprint; the average age of a newspaper reader is 60 and growing. That’s what makes it unsustainable.

Also, I’m not sure I agree with their suggestion that more resources devoted to investigative journalism would fix things. Why would that attract any more paying subscribers or advertisers?

]]> By: Mathew Ingram http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/01/jp-morgan-significant-headwinds/comment-page-1/#comment-5504 Mathew Ingram Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:40:59 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1490#comment-5504 Agreed, Jeff -- that's why I noted that it isn't exactly news. I think it's still useful to hear it stated so baldly, however. Agreed, Jeff — that’s why I noted that it isn’t exactly news. I think it’s still useful to hear it stated so baldly, however.

]]> By: Jeffrey McManus http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/01/jp-morgan-significant-headwinds/comment-page-1/#comment-5494 Jeffrey McManus Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:16:17 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1490#comment-5494 Seems kind of...obvious? I mean, this report could have been written a few years ago. Seems kind of…obvious? I mean, this report could have been written a few years ago.

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