Online Media and User-Created Content: Case Studies in News Media Repositioning in the Australian Media Environment

Professor Terry Flew

Media and Communications

Creative Industries Faculty

Queensland University of Technology

Brisbane, Australia

Paper presented to Media after the Mass, European Media Management Association Annual Conference,

Paris, France, 13-14 February 2009.

2

Impacts of Web 2.0/User-Created Content (UCC)

1. Digital content innovation favour the margins - decentralised, new entrants, organisational innovation

2. New form of competition for incumbent media for advertiser revenues, audience time and access to content

3. Media professionals challenged by ‘pro-ams’ and social media sites

3

Impacts of Web 2.0/User-Created Content (UCC)

4. Users expect participation, interaction and engagement - less deferential toward media gatekeepers

5. ‘Long tail’ economics and eroding of the distribution bottleneck that protected media revenues

6. Open platform media means plethora of information and entertainment content sources

4

New media, new rules?

MASS COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA

NEW MEDIA/WEB 2.0

Media distribution High barriers to entry for large-scale distribution to new entrants

Internet dramatically reduces barriers to entry based on distribution

Media production Complex division of l abour; critical role of media content gatekeepers and professionals

Easy-to-use Web 2.0 technologies give scope for individual and small teams to be producers, editors and distributors of media content

Media power Assymetrical power relationship – one-way communication flow

Greater empowerment of users/audiences through enabled interactivity and greater choice

Producer/consumer relationship

Mostly impersonal, anonymous and commoditised (audience as a target mass market)

Potential to be more personal; rise of the produser (Bruns, ,2008); building user networks and communities

Media content Tendency towards standardized mass appeal content to maximize audience share – limited scope for market segmentation based on p roduct

‘Long tail’ economics (Anderson, 2006) make much wider range of m edia content potentially profitable; de-massification and segmentation

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News/paper?

I'd like to suggest to you that the term newspaper should be broken into two parts, news and paper. The paper part needs to be put aside for a moment, as it is only one of many potential distribution methods. The news engine is independent of the delivery mechanism, or it should be (Vinton Cerf, The Guardian, 26 September, 2008).

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Australian media use, 1999

People using media by type (%) through the day, June 1999

01020304050607080

Early morningMid morning

LunchAfternoon

DinnerAfter diner

Per cent

TelevisionRadioNewspapersMagazinesInternet

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Australian media use, 2006

People using media by type (%) through the day, March 2006

01020304050607080

Early morningMid morning

LunchAfternoon

DinnerAfter diner

Per cent

TelevisionRadioNewspapersMagazinesInternet

8

Newspaper circulation in Australia - metropolitan and national dailies 2002-2008

9

Online traffic to major Australian news media sites, 2006-2008

10

Mainstream media still dominate independent news media online in Australia

11

Global trends in advertising spend

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Australian advertising spend across media, 2002-2007

Media Market Share 2002 (%) Market Share 2007 (%) Television 36.4 33.8 Newspapers 38.3 35.2 Magazines 10.1 7.4 Radio 9.0 8.5 Cinema 3.3 3.9 Outdoor 0.7 0.9 Online 2.1 10.4

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‘Perfect storm’ facing newspapers in late 2000s

1. Declining advertising expenditure with global economic recession

2. Declining share of total advertiser spend

3. Loss of ‘river of gold’ classified advertising to online

4. Declining spend on premium online sites

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Disaggregation of media content - the major threat

It is the loss of control over the format and timing of the distribution of information that poses the true challenge to the traditional media - the value created by traditional media models is based on scarcity, but the Internet supports an environment of information abundance. Audiences are able to access the same professionally produced news, information and entertainment that they previously obtained from traditional media, but on their own terms - furthermore, they are able to separate stories from the advertising sold by the publisher or broadcaster (Miel and Faris, 2008: 5).

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Brisbane Times

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Fairfax print media titles have been successful online

S M H a n d T h e A g e U B G r o w t h

0

1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

3 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

4 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

5 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

7 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0

J ul-00

Oc t-00 J an-01 Apr-01

J ul-01

Oc t-01 J an-02 Apr-02

J ul-02

Oc t-02 J an-03 Apr-03

J ul-03

Oc t-03 J an-04 Apr-04

J ul-04

Oc t-04 J an-05 Apr-05

J ul-05

Oc t-05 J an-06 Apr-06

J ul-06

Oc t-06 J an-07 Apr-07

M o n t h

Total UBs

S M H - T o t a l

A G E - T o t a l

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Online-only Fairfax Media titles

• The Vine (young people 18-29 y.o.)• Brisbane Times (Brisbane/S-E Queensland)• WAToday (Perth/Western Australia)• Online classifieds:

– Domain (houses)– My Career (jobs)– Drive (cars)– RSVP (personals/dating)

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Brisbane Times impact in SE Qld. market

• Very successful when launched

• Employs fraction of journalists of incumbent (Courier-Mail)

• Growth has slowed over 2008-09

• Peak demand is 12-2 - “lunch time is the new prime time”

• Minimal opening up for user-created content

0

405146

610727

264878

432156

880408

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

800000

900000

1000000

2006 2007 2008

Unique browsers per month

brisbanetimes.com.au

couriermail.com.au

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Special Broadcasting Service

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SBS: Australia’s multicultural public broadcaster

• Established in 1978 - began TV in 1980

• SBS ‘has given cultural diversity visibility in the media and in the process it has made Australian culture richer, more varied and more inclusive’ (Ien

Ang et. al., 2008: 4).

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Opening up SBS Online for user-created content

• STRENGTHS– Scope to move beyond

being ‘re-broadcaster’ of agency news material (CNN, BBC etc.)

– Reputation as trusted news source

– Multiple links to Australia’s diverse ethnic/language communities

– Educated and informed audiences

– Scope to be ‘honest broker’ between communities in conflict

• WEAKNESSES– Accusations of bias/lack of

balance– Not expected to be an

‘opinion’ outlet– Risks to brand and

reputation– Balance between editorial

standards and opening up to user participation

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Opening up SBS Online for user-created content

• OPPORTUNITIES– Harnessing cultural diversity

as a productive resource– New sources of news

agenda-setting– New forms of

participation/public sphere– Engaging disenfranchised

communities (e.g. young)– Telling different stories/new

forms of identification with SBS

• THREATS– Credibility and

quality/regularity of output from non-SBS sources

– Site moderation and legal risks

– Editorial management of site

– Scope for conflict between SBS professional and UCC ‘pro-ams’

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UCC @ SBS and future of public service media

• From PSBs to PSM: rethinking the pubic service remit

• Not just multi-platform but new modes of engagement

• Scope to be innovators in changing the media form

• Opening up - moving beyond the media professionals and ‘transmission model’