Why Are News Aggregators Still a Thing?

Nearly five months after News Corp announced it was launching a product billed as a “generous aggregation” of news and the antidote to Google News' monopolistic position, the company debuted Knewz.com on January 29. Its launch didn’t generate much consumer-side buzz, despite it having an ad-free model that includes 400 national and local publications. It did, however, get the attention of people like myself whose job it is to pay attention to stuff like this. And rather than savage the branding and the site design, which is frankly too easy, instead I think it’s important to talk about the very nature of these news aggregators and what they actually offer the publishing community. Digital media has commoditized news to a point where local outlets are in grave danger to stay alive as advertising and subscriptions dwindle, and mass-media companies require insane volumes of daily inventory and pageviews to generate modest returns. Compounding this for publishers seeking lots of pageviews is the tech duopoly. I know most of us are all sick of talking about “them,” but the reality for most is that Facebook and Google are still driving the bulk of the traffic to news sites. So those digital dimes many have been complaining about for years have actually become pennies after everyone gets their cut. So this brings me back to aggregators—these great democratizing saviors that will save hyperlocal news and put the consumers first by forging symbiotic partnerships with a large... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-02-13 17:20:50 UTC ]
News tagged with: #exclusive content #publisher partnerships #distribution channel #select number #news corp

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Why Are News Aggregators Still a Thing?'


Making News More LIke "Grand Theft Auto"

As a tech reporter at the Los Angeles Times David Sarno found himself frustrated that newspaper stories only engage "one lousy sense," as he puts it. That would be sight. Why couldn't they be as interactive and entertaining as a video game like Grand Theft Auto, where a player can walk around a... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #newspaper stories #video game #news organizations #print version


News Corp. takes new tack on digital advertising

News Corp.—which now includes The Wall Street Journal but not 20th Century Fox—is adopting a new strategy for making money from digital advertising: It will no longer sell inventory through outside ad networks but will handle those automated sales itself.The news and information company, which... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #york post #digital properties #50% higher #premium space


News Corp Launches Global Private Ad Exchange

News Corp today announced plans to launch a global programmatic ad exchange that will let advertisers buy across its more than 50 online and mobile products including WSJ.com, Times.co.uk and NYPost.com. News Corp is far from the first to jump on the automated selling trend; other premium... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing arm #rupert murdoch #rubicon project #trading desks #business units


Meet the Man Who is Building a Hyperlocal Aggregation Platform for the Chicago Sun-Times

Newspaper publishers everywhere are trying to do more with less, and the battle for local readers is a big part of their struggle, since it is one area where larger players aren’t as competitive and so theoretically there is a lot of opport ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chicago sun-times #newspaper publishers #local readers #big part


More Print News Subscribers Plan To Cancel Subs, Uptick In Mobile Consumption

It’s no secret that newspapers and magazine publishers have suffered steep declines in print circulation over the last decade, and that trend is just going to continue, according to a survey of 1,134 U.S. adults conducted by the Donald W. R ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mobile consumption #magazine publishers #print circulation


AMA Shuts Down News Magazine

Citing a spiral of declining ad revenues, the American Medical Association (AMA) will stop publishing the print edition and website of American Medical News next month. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news magazine #stop publishing


Newsweek sold to digital news firm

The former US current affairs magazine Newsweek, which published its last print edition in December, is sold to digital news company IBT Media. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #newsweek sold


HIMSS Media Launches News Site In Connection With Event

More and more association and b-to-b publishers are trying to link their digital content with events. It's a way to connect with an audience after they leave the showfloor, while providing one-stop, multichannel sponsorships for advertisers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital content


The Stupidest Thing Apple Ever Did

On Wednesday, a federal judge issued a damning finding that Apple conspired with five major book publishers to fix the price of ebooks. The ruling is a chronicle of these firms’ incredible stupidity. In 2009 and 2010, the judge says, Apple and the publishers conspired more or less in the open,... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2013-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers conspired


Leaders in Mobile News Publishing Share 8 Keys to Success

If the last decade in news was defined by the migration of audience to the web, the next will be defined by the shift to smartphones and tablets. About 56 percent of Americans now own smartphones, according to the Pew Internet and American Life P ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pew internet #american life


Fox stock up 2%; News Corp. holds its own in first day of trading

On the first day of trading as separate companies, Rupert Murdoch's television and movie empire, 21st Century Fox, gained nearly 2% while the publishing company ended the day down 5%.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #separate companies #rupert murdoch


Trade reacts to Penguin Random news

Industry members have welcomed the confirmation this morning (1st July) of the Penguin Random... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade reacts #industry members #penguin random


News Corp. Split Official

News Corp.’s long-awaited split is official. Rupert Murdoch’s media behemoth Friday completed the separation of its entertainment from its news and information businesses into two publicly traded companies. The new News Corp (spelled with no period, differentiating it from the previous... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #york post #book publishing #robert thomson #cost cutting #widely expected #cost cuts #product development


News Corp officially splits in two

Rupert Murdoch's media empire, News Corporation, officially separates into two companies, splitting its publishing arm from its entertainment division. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rupert murdoch #media empire #news corporation #publishing arm


VIDEO: News Corp splitting into two

Rupert Murdoch's media empire News Corp is in the process of being split into separate publishing and entertainment companies. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rupert murdoch #entertainment companies


News Corp. Spinoff Forces Publishing Arm to Prove Growth

Rupert Murdoch bowed to investor pressure to split his six-decade-old publishing business from the rest of News Corp. (NWSA)’s media empire. Now it’s time for the newspaper unit to prove it can make it on its own. The publishing ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing business #media empire #newspaper unit


Google News opt-in is not good enough, German publishers say

German publishers will disappear from Google News on Aug. 1 unless they opt in to the service as Google seeks to comply with a new German law. But the publishers said on Monday that this is not good enough, they want a share in Google's revenue.The law will come into effect on Aug. 1 and gives... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #german publishers #parts thereof #single words #news aggregators


Google News Becomes Opt-In For German Publishers After Copyright Law Change

Since Google News began, publishers have complained that it scrapes their content and offers little in return, letting readers get vital parts of stories as short snippets. In late 2012, the site settled with Belgian publishers after a six-year-long ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #german publishers #google news


Facebook, With a Focus on Mobile, Works on Project for News Via Users

Facebook Inc. FB -3.51% is aiming to become a newspaper for mobile devices. The social network has been quietly working on a service, internally called Reader, that displays content from Facebook users and publishers in a new visual format tail ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mobile devices


Google News in Germany asks publishers to opt-in for indexing, sidesteps copyright fees

Despite its "Defend Your Net" campaign last year, Google was unable to fully put the brakes on changes to German copyright law that may mean it has to pay up for news excerpts it indexes. As a result, the company announced that unlike the other 60 countries where Google News operates by relying... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #company announced #txt file #publishers worldwide #free service #german law #search engines