(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
As Google is the most-used search site the large volume of searches makes the low ad rates
viable (Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009b). Other online competitors involve
websites like Craigslist or Monster who make their money on classifieds which would
formerly have been published in newspapers.
In some instances individual journalists have left legacy news organisations to set up their
own news websites. They aim at extending original reporting to fill what they consider an
expanding void in the mainstream news offer. Other journalists offer their contributions as
free lancers to a variety of different online news sites, both legacy and citizen, to enhance
their coverage (Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009a&c).
Citizen news sites and blogs emerged as competitors for news provision but their number is
still relatively low. The range of topics covered is narrower and the number of sources used is
considerably smaller than that of traditional news organisations (Singer, 2008). Studies found
that in many cases the level of transparency and user contributions was lower for citizen
media than at legacy news sites. Consistency of news provision over time is not guaranteed
because sites often remain dormant for months or suddenly close down (Project of Excellence
in Journalism, 2009c). A notable exception in the blogosphere is the Huffington Post which
consists entirely of blogs, although at first sight it looks like the main page of a traditional
newspaper publication. Social networks and content sharing platforms also represent
important means to distribute news well beyond the realm of social interaction and
entertainment (Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009c; Singer, 2008). In many instances
breaking news across social networks or information sharing systems such as Twitter is faster
if a user happens to be on the site of the event.
Challenges to the Business Model of News Media
The Project of Excellence in Journalism (2009a) points out that the news media have been
lagging behind in adapting to the technological innovations and changes in user preferences
while new competitors used the opportunity to exploit the situation. Only by 2008 serious
business model changes were introduced but in some cases stalled by the economic recession.
Although it is continuously claimed in various sources that the news media overall have
suffered a serious loss in readership and audience, current studies reveal a more differentiated
picture. Readers and audience still have a preference for traditional media brands when it
comes to serious news, although individual publications and media channels have been
affected differently. While newspapers see reductions in print circulation their online editions
experienced a growing readership. Cable news has been growing considerably in their
traditional realm; network news has a slightly reduced audience. Local stations are suffering,
whereas audio platforms remain stable. Summarising it can be noted, that news organisations
have no general readership or audience problem, but a critically growing revenue problem as
they are not sufficiently able to monetise the shift towards online and mobile media (Project
of Excellence in Journalism, 2009a).
Most notable is the loss in advertising revenue, a consecutive three year decline. Reductions
result from the economic downturn resulting in lower advertising spending since the
prominent advertisers (e.g. auto industries, retail) have been hurt by the recession. It also
reflects the structural shifts caused by digital technologies allowing direct access to customers
without news media as intermediaries (Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009b). Beyond
that, large parts of advertising have been lost to search providers like Google and, especially
classifieds, to online competitors specialising in particular fields such as employment
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