(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
remaining (Project of Excellence in Journalism, 2009b). Many news organisations discuss the
requirement to own and run platforms or distribution networks or whether these can be spunoff.
Sometimes transactions that have not been successful need to be reversed by divesting the
units concerned (Alexander & Owers, 2009).
Conclusion
A vast number of proposals are being discussed as potential options for the news media to
develop strategies and adapt their business models to current and future challenges imposed
by new competitors. A closer investigation has shown that most challenges are the result of a
general shift in customer behaviour and business opportunities created by new technologies.
The structural changes have been made worse by the financial crisis but would have been
unavoidable. Citizen media, among others, have used the opportunity to exploit technology
and customer preferences, in fact proving the potential feasibility of some new business
models. So far, none of the proposed strategic alternatives has been identified as a clearly
defined road to success (Shirky, 2009). News organisations need to experiment with new
business models moving from the generic models of the past to a multitude of models that are
more diverse, more tailored and developed for the specific purpose and circumstances. This
also involves the acceptance of failure, bringing news media closer to the hit-driven
approaches persistent in entertainment media. Cooperation among legacy news organisations
and with citizen media is an approach to share the risk of new ventures.
Overall, the competitive landscape will become much more fragmented regardless of which
models prove to be successful. A major challenge for news companies is to manage the
transition costs effectively and efficiently. Citizen media and other competitors can be viable
partners, albeit in limited areas, helping to release synergies and cost reductions. As there
evidently is no escape from the new dynamics, news media are well advised to embrace the
digital future leveraging their brands on multi-media platforms. The winners of the process
will be those organisations driving the change and delivering real customer value for both
consumers and advertisers.
References
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