2017 Predictions, Bloomberg’s Vision for Apps, Facebook’s Video Talks and Fake News, Bad Innovation, New TFP InCopy CC Handbook, TFP’s December Book Picks, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news, stories of interest, and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing posts about what’s ahead in 2017, Bloomberg’s plan to make apps the new magazines, Facebook’s video talks and partnership to address the fake news problem, media experiments gone bad, and more.
As 2017 approaches, the media industry is busy taking stock of the challenges it faced in the past year and the prospects ahead. A good resource to check out is Nieman Lab’s annual Predictions series, which offers a wide range of views from “some of the smartest people in journalism and digital media.” Articles in the series examine everything from new content strategies and delivery models to innovative forms of journalism and issues like diversity and media responsibility. Among others, Forbes ran a post on Forrester predictions (with the apt headline “No Rest for the Weary in the Media Industry”), Recode looked at how “smart pipes” will forge more changes in how consumers access and engage with content, and Inc. explored the 2017 social media landscape. Stay tuned as we continue to highlight emerging trends in the new year.- Bloomberg Media is looking out to the future as well and here’s its take: “Apps are the new magazines and newspapers.” That comes from Scott Havens, global head of digital media at Bloomberg, which announced it will launch its redesigned mobile app in the coming year, along with a number of new apps that will offer users customized content in a “more seamless and controllable fashion than what’s currently available on the mobile web and inside social platforms,” a Digiday report said. The goal is to form a “direct relationship” with users, Havens said: “I know if I have brand affinity [for a publisher], it’s because I get what I need and I find it a useful part of my daily media diet—that’s the underlying philosophy for the app.”
- While media companies continue to wrestle with platform content strategies, social media giant Facebook announced that when it comes to video, it’s going to start paying for its own content. According to Recode, Facebook is currently in talks with TV studios and producers to license TV programs, including scripted shows, game shows, and sports, the report said. Though initially it isn’t expected to make the kind of investments Netflix and Amazon have made on original programming, the move is “a significant step for Facebook, which has insisted, over and over, that it is a tech company, not a media company,” it said. The company also detailed new tools and a fact-checking partnership to address the ongoing fake news problem.
- And the Columbia Journalism Review posted a public service message on how not to innovate in the new year. Starting with Tribune Publishing’s rebranding as Tronc, its cautionary tales of “the best of the worst ideas in media experimentation” show how innovation can take a wrong turn. Among the examples: The Washington Post deciding to physically divide its print and digital operations (a move it quickly reversed), The Huffington Post thinking it could do cable news better than cable news (it bailed on that in January), and Politico’s Capital Media Pro moving content and newsletters behind a paywall in efforts to get “media elites” to pay thousands of dollars for coverage they could get elsewhere (premium content is now free).
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- See what’s new in InCopy! Adobe’s latest release, InCopy CC 2017, includes OpenType enhancements, new straddling footnotes, and more. To learn the fundamentals of effectively using Adobe InCopy for editing and text manipulation, check out our newest handbook, Using Adobe InCopy CC 2017. Step-by-step instructions and helpful tips will get you up to speed quickly.
- December Book Picks: Find out how to get noticed, unleash the extraordinary, and think differently in 2017. TFP’s latest recommended reading selections provide the inspiration and practical tools and strategies you’ll need to keep up with industry changes and excel in the new year.
- TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week: Give yourself the gift of healthy workday habits! Check out our latest infographic share highlighting 12 productivity tips that can help you work smarter.
- Coming next week: Don’t miss TFP CEO Margot Knorr Mancini’s 2016 wrap-up, highlighted in our December Publishing Innovations newsletter.
Adobe will be on holiday shutdown from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, and Apple iTunes Connect will be closed from Dec. 23 to Dec. 27. This Week in Publishing will be on break as well, returning on Friday, Jan. 6. Happy holidays, everyone!
Image: Inc., Getty Images
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
