The future of news is entrepreneurial. The future of news is entrepreneurial.
There’s a lot in that statement. It says: The future of news is not institutional… The news of tomorrow has yet to be built…. The structure – the ecosystem – of news will not be dominated by a few corporations but likely will be made up of networks of many startups performing specialized functions based on the opportunities they see in the market…. Who does journalism, why and how will change…. The skills of journalists will change (to include business)…. That statement also holds many implications for sectors of the economy and society: investment (put money into the new, not the old)… public policy (don’t protect and preserve the incumbents but nurture the startups by creating a fertile and level playing field)… education (how do we train journalists when everyone can do journalism?
Finally, that statement does not say some things. One more point: The statement is essentially optimistic. And what of these journalists? Knight Foundation. The future of business is in ecosystems. Last week, I said that the future of news is entrepreneurial (not institutional).
Today, a sequel: The future of business is in ecosystems (not conglomerates or industries). At the Foursquare conference last week, I was struck by the miss-by-a-mile worldviews held by the chiefs of big, old conglomerates and the entrepreneurs starting new, nimble companies. The conference is off the record, so I won’t quote anyone by name. And in truth, these are the same conversations I hear often elsewhere. Having these different tribes conveniently in the same room merely focused the contrast for me. In one moment, a very successful mogully man was slack-jawed in amazement at how little money – “$50,000!” No, they don’t. This week, we see this contrast, too, in Rupert Murdoch’s threat – he thinks it’s a threat – to cut off Google.
And there, I believe, is the structure of the future of business in the new, post-industrial, decentralized, opened economy. 1. 3. New Business Models. The ongoing goal of the New Business Models for News project is to inform the discussion about the future of news with business specifics — experience, facts and figures.
After months of research and analysis, we have created business models that we believe demonstrate there is a sustainable future for local news. For the purpose of our models we utilized data from a top-25 metro market and hypothesized that the sole daily newspaper had ceased publication. We began with the assumption that there will continue to be a market demand for quality journalism and that the market will find a way to meet that demand. So, what will fill the void? We posit that no single company or product will replace the metro daily newspaper. Although these genericized models are backed up by extensive, well-documented research, they are but one possible view of the future.
Hyperlocal and Ecosystem Framework Models Hyperlocal sites are the building blocks of the new news ecosystem.
Shared Services. Pricing.