Digital Media Investments, Newsrooom Unionization, Engagement Editors, Facebook Video Aggregators, Idealliance “Going Mobile” Briefing, Women in Media, TFP’s August Book Picks: Digital Design, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, InDesign CC Tip: InDesign CC 2015.1 Release Notes, TFP’s Adobe Digital Publishing Solution Infographic
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about what’s behind NBCUniversal’s big investment in digital news companies Vox and BuzzFeed, the potential effect of unionization on young media outlets, the emerging role of engagement editor, the growing problem with Facebook video “aggregators,” and more.
- In an effort to “get younger faster,” NBCUniversal and its peers—a group of global media companies columnist Ken Doctor calls the Dirty Dozen—are plunking down some big bucks on digital media businesses like Vox and BuzzFeed, recently investing $200 million in each. What’s behind the push? Fear, says Doctor in an article for Politico, with the idea being that “unless you buy into the future from those who are creating it, you won’t be part of it.” A Fortune report pretty much says the same: With dwindling audiences and declining revenues, old-school news, TV, movie, and video companies are looking to connect with the next generation of media consumers to avoid being left behind. With this latest round of funding, the article says, Vox Media’s market value stands at $1 billion while BuzzFeed’s is now $1.5 billion.
- While a number of once fledgling digital news sites are well on their way to becoming media powerhouses—with big boosts in revenue and huge infusions of investment capital—recent unionization efforts could put a damper on that growth, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Vice, Gawker, and Salon.com are among those companies where employees seeking better compensation are voting to unionize, but industry observers are concerned that such moves could hurt these relatively new media outlets by compromising what has made them successful: their agility. “It raises questions about the extent to which a union contract might encumber a company from being able to make rapid decisions,” Iliya Rybchin, a director at VC firm Highnote Foundry, says in the report. “With unions, you also often have strong delineations about roles, and in young companies, you usually want a lot of fluidity.” Though the report concludes that unionization isn’t likely to put the brakes on investments in digital media businesses, it isn’t a “selling point.”
- Things are quickly changing in newsrooms for sure, including editorial roles. One emerging job is “engagement editor,” which MediaShift explains is someone who’s charged with getting readers involved with their publication’s coverage and community—essentially, as the title suggests, engaging them across platforms. “It’s definitely a new position,” says Steve Buttry, director of student media at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, one that’s becoming a high priority industrywide. The report profiles five journalist who’ve taken on the role and examines the diverse skills they’ve had to develop, including the ability to wear multiple hats, social media savvy, and analytics know-how.
- When it comes to video, producing original content costs money, giving rise to video “aggregators” who use other people’s videos to grow their audiences across social sites like Facebook. As we covered earlier, however, this often involves “freebooting,” whereby channels upload clips they don’t own—an issue that remains a sticking point in Facebook’s phenomenal video growth, Digiday reports. According to new research from Tubular Labs, Facebook’s top 10 aggregator channels, featuring a mix of original videos and other people’s content, generated a whopping 7.1 billion views last month. In contrast, the top 10 creator channels, offering just original content, got only 2.6 billion views in the same period. The upshot? The report says with the scale it’s achieving, Facebook needs to find a solution to the piracy problem—and real quick if it’s looking to monetize its traffic.
Join us at the Idealliance Tech & Trends “Going Mobile” industry briefing on Sept. 10 in New York to learn about new technologies and best practices for developing digital content for mobile platforms. TFP is proud to be the media sponsor of the event—and we’re looking forward to seeing you there!
Check out our blog to get more details and reserve your spot.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- In our latest Women in Media roundup, we look at the reinvention of The Hollywood Reporter under Janice Min, how even the earliest women’s magazines mixed personal and politics, Harvard Business Review editor Amy Bernstein’s plan to stay true to mission, and publishing veteran Martha Nelson’s new role at Yahoo Media, among other industry news.
- If you’re a designer in need of some digital direction, or someone in digital that needs to understand more about design, check out our August Book Picks, highlighting big-picture ideas, real-world strategies, case studies, tips, and more.
- Are you all over the place with your social media activities? Get a handle on things: Our Infographic Pick of the Week shows you how to create an effective social media calendar.
- This week’s InDesign Tip from Monica Murphy details all the updates in InDesign CC 2015.1, Adobe’s latest release.
- Also, to help you get started with Adobe Digital Publishing Solution, we put together an overview of how the new tool works in an infographic you can now download from our site. We’d love to hear what you think—send us some feedback!
Image: Fortune, by Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
