(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
uses new media technologies but also expects business models emphasising a more personal
two-way relationship between themselves and companies. Furthermore, this generation
exercises a vast influence on their parents and grandparents assisting them in their efforts to
use the new media and communication platforms. This influence increases also because the
older generations have become more value conscious with the difficulties of the economic
downturn (PwC, 2009).
Consumers wish to decide for themselves, what content they want to consume, how and when
they consume it. This includes the ability to “side-load”, i.e. consuming the same digital
content on several different platforms. However, consumers do not just want greater control
but they expect a value from the use of media products and services (Aris & Bughin, 2005).
Increasingly, cost-benefit judgements drive the decision between alternative ways to consume
media where users opt for low-cost or free alternatives, often in return for accepting
advertising, or choose paying premium fees for high-quality content. The key issue in these
decisions is the availability of substitutes of comparable quality (PwC, 2009).
Strategy Development
In the past strategy development of news organisations was merely reactive to alterations in
the media ecosystem rather than driving changes as innovative forerunners drawing on clearly
defined core competencies. News media are finally on their way, although yet at the
beginning, to transform themselves into diversified publishing ventures on multiple platforms,
trying to establish sustainable competitive advantages (Küng, 2009). The realisation takes
hold that they have to sell personalised multi-platform services and not basically unrelated
products. The previous mass approach is a dying model no longer acceptable for consumers
and advertisers. Products and services must generate enough differentiation from free or lowcost
substitutes for consumers to select these options (PwC, 2009), in order to provide a
sustainable value proposition.
News organisations are revising their audience strategies in order to broaden their audience
base on the one hand, but on the other to identify groups of audiences to be served specifically
within their markets. Specialty products and services distributed to identifiable customers are
of major interest to advertisers (Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009b) both in traditional
channels as well as online. However, at the moment the right metrics are not yet in place to
fully exploit the potential (PwC, 2009).
Another strategic approach lies in getting more financial support from the audience or patrons
who value the importance of news media for society. In this context the potentials of whether
a non-profit ownership model or community investment groups could provide alternatives to
ensure long-term survival are being discussed controversially. As yet the sustainability of
these models still needs to be proven and the possible road to transition is less than clear.
(Chase, 2009; Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009b; Russ-Mohl, 2009).
Cooperation with citizen news media is another strategic option provided participating
citizens can produce content complying with professional journalistic standards. There are
limitations to this strategy as non-professional citizen contributors often only want to follow
their particular interests at a time that is convenient to them. The Project of Excellence in
Journalism (2009c) points out that in many cases considerable investment by newsroom staff
is required to train, coach, educate, confirm and edit citizen journalists to achieve publishable
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