Facebook’s Instant Articles, Verizon-AOL Deal, Future Subscription Models, Impact of Declining Newspaper Profits, Media Metrics, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, InDesign CC Tip: Quick Apply
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about the first participants in Facebook’s rollout of a tool that lets publishers post directly to the platform, how the Verizon-AOL merger highlights the transformation of the content business as the march to mobile continues, next-generation subscription models, the impact of declining profits on the newspaper business, and more.
- It just may be the end of the click-through, according to Adweek‘s report on Facebook’s rollout of Instant Articles, a tool that lets publishers post stories directly to the social media platform. Facebook officially revealed that participants include The New York Times, BuzzFeed, NBC News, National Geographic, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and BBC News, among others. Although some noted that the hosting arrangement may signal a more widescale content shift to social and mobile-focused companies like Google, the article said for now, early testers see it as a way to experiment with growing and expanding choices for audiences.
- “If there is one key to our journey to building the largest digital media platform in the world, it is mobile,” wrote AOL chief Tim Armstrong in a memo to employees on the just announced purchase of the news and entertainment company by cellphone carrier Verizon. The Times looked at how the pairing further highlights mobile’s profound effect on how media is consumed today and what that means for both content and ad-tech companies struggling to figure out how to overcome technical and user-interface challenges and make money.
- A revenue model media companies industrywide are testing is the subscription program—some successfully, some not so much. What sets the two groups apart? Quite simply, the value of the content, according to a report from Editor & Publisher, which highlighted what motivates readers to subscribe and offered examples of next-generation models that could potentially work.
- Meanwhile, Ken Doctor reported in a Nieman Lab article that as newspaper profits continue their steep slide, innovation and reinvention is becoming ever more elusive. Noting that the industry has yet to fully grasp digital, with Tribune Publishing alone seeing a 75% year-over-year net profit decline in Q1 2015, he looked at what the future holds for newspaper companies and a potential business model for 2016-17.
- On the Technology for Publishing blog: Our latest Media Metrics roundup breaks down stats from Pew’s recent report on the state of the news media, video advertising on smartphones and tablets, multiscreen viewing, email fail, and more.
- Did you know the effects of hashtags vary by platform? TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week provides a hashtag how-to that highlights best practices for successful campaigns across sites.
- This week’s InDesign CC Tip from TFP’s Monica Murphy details the Quick Apply function, which lets you access and apply styles, menu commands, scripts, variables, and most other commands with just a few keystrokes!
Image: Adweek
Check out our blog for highlights of interesting and noteworthy stories from the publishing world every Friday, and sign up for TFP’s This Week in Publishing newsletter. Think we missed something great? Let us know! Leave a comment below or drop us a note.
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
