Value of Print Media, Hearst-Verizon Video Partnership, Vertical Video, Brand Newsrooms, TruEdit 2.0, InDesign CC Tip: Easily Replace a Character with an Alternate Glyph
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about print media’s long-term value, a mobile video partnership between Hearst and Verizon, vertical video at The Washington Post, how to launch a “brand newsroom,” and more.
- While print magazines are no longer the “hub” of the magazine industry, they remain a key point of audience engagement and ad revenue source, according to an article titled, “The Untold Story of How Magazine Media Is Winning,” posted by Folio VP Tony Silber. In today’s magazine media model, he explains, consumers are the hub and the various platforms, including print, are the “spokes.” And although print media isn’t considered an area of growth for most publishers now, the wheel is incomplete without it, he argues. The article goes on to provide an in-depth look at where magazine publishing is at, including interviews with top executives and the latest industry data. The takeaway? Despite shifts, publishers expect that print media—the “springboard” for innovation—will continue to bring value for the forseeable future.
- Meanwhile, Hearst is boosting its investment in another spoke on the media industry wheel: video. Under a new partnership with Verizon, it will create, develop, and distribute mobile content geared toward millennials, according to The New York Times. This spring the joint venture will launch two channels, one called RatedRed.com, focused on music, food, outdoors, politics, military, and faith, and the other called Seriously.TV, which will offer comedy programs based on current events. Other channels are in the works, the report said, adding that the programming will be available on viewers’ mobile devices, via Verizon’s Go90 streaming service, and on computers and TV. “The new generation wants new brands that reflect their views, their lens on the world,” Hearst’s Neeraj Khemlani said. “This is a forward investment into a new generation.”
- The Washington Post has its sights set on video, too—and increasingly, it’s vertical, according to a Digiday article. “We’re trying to tell stories that are platform specific rather than creating one video and expecting it to work everywhere,” explained the Post’s Micah Gelman. “User behavior has changed, so we have to be more adaptable to that.” As part of its shift away from long-form video, the publisher sees mobile as the future, with a strategy focused on short news explainers, news aggregation, and live coverage, the report noted. The question remains, though: If they build it, will advertisers come? While there hasn’t been much interest yet, Gelman believes brands will catch on in no time. “Us old guys lost the ability to get people to turn their phones sideways to watch videos,” he said. “That’s too hard. Why fight it?”
- Everyone’s a publisher these days: As an article by NewsWhip’s Gabriele Boland points out, many brands now see themselves as publishers who just happen to sell products. “No longer are brands some faceless entity—they are now expected to have a distinct personality, participate in social media, and even create their own content to bring value to the social sphere,” she says. So how does one successfully set up a “brand newsroom”? Boland breaks down the steps: create engaging content, determine what works and what doesn’t, and “repurpose and revitalize” your content to extend engagement. Sounds easy, but as she explains, a lot goes into that, from identifying your core content themes to building them out to establishing a physical workspace. While the post promotes NewsWhip’s Spike social media tool, it does offer some good ideas and starting places for organizations looking to launch publishing operations.
- Also of interest, Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), a provider of digital and print publishing and workflow solutions, has just released TruEdit 2.0, the latest update to its content management solution. The new version of TruEdit, a cloud-based, flexible workflow platform that helps publishing teams and designers manage the life cycle of multichannel content, adds HTML 5 authoring and InCopy integration. To learn more, check out MEI’s TruEdit site and sign up for its webinar.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- InDesign CC Tip: Monica Murphy explains how to easily replace a character with an alternate glyph in InDesign CC.
- Our latest infographic pick highlights the challenge of ad blocking technology and how publishers are approaching it.
- ICYMI: Read how TFP helped America’s Test Kitchen cook up content in new ways, and check out our updated DPSApply app and handbook to learn how to build Adobe Experience Manager Mobile apps effectively.
Image: Folio
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
