Observer: Politico isn’t a newspaper. But it might be the future of print
Monday, 8 November 2010, 11:28
Peter Preston: "[Politico] is "niche journalism". It employs around 175 people now. It is in profit already. More than that, it seems on the point of launching specialist areas of coverage – niches within the niche – and stowing them away behind a paywall. … Find the right niche – say one that everyone who makes a living out of US government has to be aware of – and you have an audience worth chasing. Most of Politico's cash comes from the Capitol Hill paper it puts out one to five times a week. Print ads have a value the web can't reach yet. But the operation – a brand-new source of multimedia journalism, not a conventional newspaper – has few of print's hang-ups."
Press Gazette: Google boss: Paid-for online news won’t work Rupert
Friday, 18 September 2009, 09:51
"[Eric Schmidt] said he expected that paywalls could work in niche and specialist markets as the alternative sources were not so readily available and that Google would try to make their content searchable."
The Observer: Are newspapers trapped in a web time warp?
Sunday, 6 September 2009, 13:40
Peter Preston: "[Y]ou, the reader or non-reader, in America or probably the UK, tell journalists as you use the web … that papers online are not a majority port of call. Your real enthusiasm is for sites that do specific things – like PerezHilton.com for gossip or, perhaps, nearer home, the Mirror's new football site for soccer's statistical nerds. Indeed, you might welcome, and pay for, more specific wheezes like this that newspapers can spin off along the way."
One Man and His Blog: Should Hyperlocal be Hyperniche?
Sunday, 30 August 2009, 07:56
Adam Tinworth: "We keep talking about hyperlocal, and that's a thought process that's rooted in the geographic nature of most newspaper circulations, particularly in the US. What our experience in RBI is teaching us is that hyperlocal is just a subset of hyperniche – and that there are many niches calling our for good, community-focused journalism."
paidContent:UK: Viewpoint: The Future Of News Is Scarcity
Thursday, 27 August 2009, 17:03
Nic Brisbourne: "In the news industry, it is the news itself that has become abundant. … The good news is that every abundance creates new scarcities and this is where the news industry must go to make money in the 21st century. The scarcities created (and enabled) by abundant news are interesting stories, thought provoking analysis, conversation and community, and trust/verification."
Independent: Nice try – but you’re wrong, Mr Murdoch
Sunday, 9 August 2009, 11:09
Stephen Foley: "[If] newspaper executives on both sides of the Atlantic follow Mr Murdoch's apparent lead, I predict we will witness the collective suicide of scores of news organisations in the US and elsewhere. Some viable players will squander the chance to find a place in a new landscape of the news business, which is only just starting to be mapped out. … I think it is probably suicidal even for Mr Murdoch's titles. The Sun and the New York Post get an "astronomical" number of hits when they have a celebrity scoop, he pleads, but he's talking about a few stories a week at best, and a scoop is only a scoop for a fraction of a second on the web. News Corp has copyright on the words its journalists write, but no patent on the facts they discover."
Nieman Journalism Lab: Niche outlets replace newspapers in Washington
Sunday, 19 July 2009, 21:00
"Washington is still teeming with hacks. They’re just working for new types of organizations. American newspaper reporters accredited to the Senate Press Gallery have declined 30 percent since the 1997-98 session, but the total number of U.S.-based reporters has remained steady (from 1,362 to 1,319). That’s because reporters from niche news outlets — think Politico, Roll Call, political magazines, and endless industry newsletters — have increased a stunning 49 percent (from 335 to 500)."
Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 00:19
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"My proposal: Break up newspapers into their related sections. Make the traditional paper into a strictly local front section, largely cutting down on wire copy, and then put out multiple niche publications for the different sections."
Friday, 7 March 2008, 18:30
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"Newspapers and staffs should get physically smaller and only cover what is in their niches. Some papers have technology sections, movie review sections, health sections, etc. Those are all non-local niches."
