Live Video App Meerkat, Economist Films, Marie Claire‘s All Native Cover, Millennials’ News Habits, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, InDesign CC Tip: Ungroup Remembers Layers
Welcome to TFP’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about the momentum behind live video streaming app Meerkat, the newly launched Economist Films group, Marie Claire‘s first fully sponsored cover, a study on how millennials find news (and whether they’re willing to pay for it), and more.
- Could Meerkat, an app that lets users easily stream live video footage from their phones, be the future of reporting? That’s the question the Guardian examined, noting that the platform has investors lining up after launching just last month and is already being used by media outlets such as the BBC and Mashable, brands like Red Bull, celebrities, and even small businesses such as real estate offices. In fact, it’s building momentum so quickly that Twitter, which just bought a competing video app, is trying to block it. Meerkat founder and CEO Ben Rubin (pictured above) said he isn’t deterred, though, calling the move a “speed bump.”
- Nicholas Minter-Green, president of The Economist Group’s new film unit, said he intends to show the world that the 172-year-old publisher “can be as brilliant in video as it is in print.” Digiday reported that the media company is making a considerable investment in Economist Films with the goal of growing its audience and sponsorship revenue with an expanded, regular offering of premium video series, features, and documentaries. Minter-Green said the division may eventually produce and license longer films but for now is focused on creating a foundation of “world-class content” on which the company can build new platform, distribution, and sponsorship models.
- Following in the footsteps of Forbes, Marie Claire has been experimenting with native advertising on its cover, this time with its first fully sponsored cover. The practice remains hotly debated, but Marie Claire‘s editor in chief told Women’s Wear Daily that the April cover is in compliance with American Society of Magazine Editors guidelines. With parent company Hearst pushing forward with native in both its print and digital publications, editorial and business teams, while remaining strictly separate, share ideas to present a unified brand, she added.
- Nieman Lab was among several sites that reported on the results of the Media Insight Project, which looked at the news consumption habits of the coveted millennial demographic. While the study found that 88% of survey respondents at least occasionally (and often “accidentally”) find news on Facebook, followed by YouTube (83%), Instagram (50%), Pinterest (36%), and other social sites, it showed that they use a variety of other news sources as well, including search and original reported sources. Of particular interest to those in the business of reporting the news, it also found that most millennials aren’t willing to pay for it. Said one 19-year-old interviewee, “I really wouldn’t pay for any type of news because as a citizen it’s my right to know the news.”
- On the Technology for Publishing blog: With nearly 2.5 million pieces of visual content shared every minute, how do you make yours stand out? Our Infographic Pick of the Week offers some helpful pointers.
- Ungroup Remembers Layers, a new feature in InDesign CC 2014, is useful but comes with a few caveats. This week’s InDesign CC Tip from TFP’s Monica Murphy explains.
Photo: Christopher Stark/Guardian
This Week in Publishing appears every Friday on the TFP blog. Every week we compile interesting and noteworthy stories from the publishing world and put together a wrap-up to help our readers stay up-to-date. Think we missed something great? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
