Hogar

Searchable databases of paid-for, classified listings have proven financially viable for media outlets, even “very lucrative” (Scott, 2005, p. 106), but when incorporating a searchable database of ads into a website, or any sort of e-commerce layering, the website’s neutrality and

Klein gave suggestions as to maintaining the media entity’s pedigree and credibility, such as making sure content remains the first priority, ensuring high-level listings and “not just

opening the gates” by having a subscription model. He also emphasized insuring that customers have a way to voice concerns with the process. Mostly, he focused on the positives of a model that layers an interactive database and e-commerce experience on top of its content, saying it helps consumers “actualize,” close “the loop” and meets “customer needs.”

Recommendations for Practice

After completion of this study, data has been collected and analyzed on the topics of new media outlets, funding platforms and their ethical and economic implications. Given the breadth of information, it is helpful to synthesize the most important, fresh content and present it for future practitioners and researchers in the new media world. Some key recommendations for practice include: give advertisers legs; content is king; be transparent; and consider the implications.

Give advertisers legs. One of the most ingenuous features of the new media world is that new media has so many options just within one outlet to create opportunities for economic sustainability. For example, analyzing Klein’s interview, he mentions more than a handful of ways Dwell brings in revenue: as the host of an exhibitor conference called Dwell on Design, “a physical manifestation” of the brand, the basic print and web advertising business, an

e-commerce store, an independent research division and their ranked subscription platform Dwell Design Source. Dwell’s methodology is in accordance with the literature that suggests

diversification is key to helping advertisers “harness” new media and “meet people with the right message at the right time through the right media” (Adam Brown as quoted in Festoon Media, 2010).

Content is king. Despite the many new overlaps between commerce and content in new media, content remains king. Academic research suggests that if the content remains top-notch, even if it sponsored or layered with commercial opportunities, audiences will read or interact with it. Accordingly, Saviss said that “it’s important to realize that commerce doesn’t form”

Time Out; content does. Her utmost advice for practitioners in new media is to maintain high

level fact-checking and ensure accuracy; quite simply, “get your facts right, or you’ll lose all credibility.” Klein agreed, explaining that content - not commerce - is still the main driver of audiences to Dwell’s online presence. Though there are many extensions, from Design Source to e-commerce, all additional information stems from the editorial content and “takes the context of the article and builds upon it,” he said. Unique, solid content is the foundation for a successful new media platform; from there, an article should begin “spawning branches to engage the customer in other ways,” he suggested. Content should be what new media “lead with,” Klein said. Klein’s other advice to other media practitioners relates to the content. Develop content that is “distinctly yours and own-able,” he said. In a fiercely competitive new media market,

“defensible,” unique content will win, he suggests.

Be transparent. Transparency was an overarching theme throughout research on new media, perhaps because one of the principal faults of contemporary media is the lack of

transparency. New media norms, such as social media integration, allow sponsored content to be

“camouflaged” easily (Edelman, 2013), leading to blurred lines between editorial and advertorial content. Avoiding confusion is necessary to ensuring the maintained credibility of a new media platform, Saviss explained. However, one of the biggest hurdles is the accessibility of the digital age. Many new media practitioners are merely citizen journalists who are blogging or creating

implications of their actions. “I think we also see a lot of bloggers who aren’t as legitimate that are blurring that strict ethical line,” Saviss concurred with the research. It is important to note her hypothesis that more substantial new media platforms, ones that separate content from

advertisements, will rise to the top because they will garner audiences’ trust. “Above all else, new media because it’s so new,” she said, requires “integrity.” Mustafa agreed with this sentiment wholeheartedly. “If you are, for example, crowd-funding to write something that is going to go on your own blog,” Mustafa said, “you’re entering treacherous waters. It needs to go through some sort of a rigorous editing process, fact-checking.” The need for transparency is dire in the crowd-funding realm as well, Mustafa added. It is imperative to ensure that there are no strings attached or corporations tied to donated money and that consumers of news “understand and see financial ties” if they exist, such as in the case of many advocacy journalists.

Consider the implications. As content and commerce reach a crossroads, it is important to consider the implications of every decision that might lead to compromised ethics and/or the layering of editorial and advertorial content. For example, the relationship between crowd and journalist in a crowd-funding model must be considered. With the spread of communication between journalist and audience growing through social media, namely Facebook and Twitter, and the encouragement by crowd funding sites for journalists to give “perks” that further link the journalist and audience, a more connected relationship is likely to emerge between donors and the journalist: “It becomes an intimate connection with your supporters, but that intimacy can be a problem. You don’t want to start to feel like these people are your friends or there is pressure to give them what they want.” Along with the implications of new media business models, a

discussion should be had about the implications of new media in the long run, all three sources said. For instance, what are the implications in terms of the movement toward crowd-funding

journalism? “If they’re willing to purchase your work, but not fund it, what does that say?” asked Mustafa about larger media organizations. “I liken it to a kind of analogy, like if there’s a broken road down the street, and municipality won’t pay to fix it. But, you gather up the neighborhood, and everyone chips in to fix that road. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? There’s a sort of empathy and community feel that emerge, which is positive, but fundamentally, private money is filling a gap it probably shouldn’t have to fill. If the media is not able or willing to invest money into innovative, interesting work, there is a problem there.” She continued later on in the interview, “I think it’s time for a bigger conversation regarding the implications of new media forms and what media, journalists and the public should demand from each other. There’s a lot of potential for abuse, but there’s also the potential for really great stuff to happen.”

Study Conclusion

In conclusion, this study presented the collective opinions of several industry experts across multiple new media platforms and a review of literature on the topic. Still, new media, much like its name, is new. Therefore, the study and overall recommendations for new media are constantly changing as it evolves. The study does still serve as an educational tool for media professionals who are interested in the progression and trends of new media economic models, their implications and their ethics.

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Appendix A Interviewer: Aryn Sanderson

Respondent: Ramona Saviss, Managing Editor, Time Out LA Date of Interview: 2/25/2014

Abridged Interview Transcription

Aryn Sanderson: “How does your new media business model generate an economic profit?”

Ramona Saviss: “The business side comes out of New York. Time Out LA’s advertising and sales are all based out of Time Out New York. We are planned to have some here in year two or three, but when they launched Time Out LA, they wanted to put some people on the ground here before bringing over some of the ad business. On the sales side, though, we team up with companies like Travel Zoo or classes, and then get a portion of the sales and travel deals sold. On the other side, there is of course advertising. They can choose a feature we’re already writing and pick to put the ads on that page. Obviously we make money by having more page views. The more clicks on the site, the more our ad team can tell advertisers they should advertise with us. We plan to host sponsored events, whether ticketed or sponsoring an event that’s already happening, and then making a profit off of alcohol sales and whatnot. We don’t do pay for play. When emails go out in the newsletter with ads in them or offers, that is independent of the editorial side. All reviews and stories never overlap with advertising. If we send out an email that is an advertisement, it is clearly stated as sponsored content. We don’t write to appease advertisers, and we don’t change reviews based on if they’ve given us an ad or not.”

AS: “What are the main ways your new media outlet differs from a traditional, old media model?

Conversely, what aspects of traditional, old media does your media outlet maintain?”

RS: “Many, many ways. I personally come from a magazine background, and I can say that Time Out is much faster-paced and features more fresh content. In new media, we’re able to respond through social media to something almost immediately. Our story cycles are weekly instead of three months out, we have a larger staff, and, of course, more options for advertisers. In old media, they really only had the option of print ads or sponsored events. Now, we have the options of sponsored emails, ads in the email newsletter, ads on a feature on the website, sponsored events and more. In what we maintain, we still fact check stories. One thing that old media did really well was take the time to make sure the information was correct and useful to the reader, and we maintain that here. Currently, we don’t have a blog platform yet, so we don’t write in first person, and our features are very similar in structure to print form. Soon, we will get a blog platform like Time Out Chicago or Time Out New York as part of that push toward new media. The blog will open doors so that we can respond in a timely manner to things going on like, say, if Carmaggedon were to happen again. Before, we would write a post like ‘Best places to eat without getting in your car,’ but now we would be able to respond in a different way too that wasn’t just a feature.”

AS: “How do content and commerce relate within your new media business model?”

RS: “In most ways, they don’t really, but on our online platform, content and commerce connect through affiliate links. We will feature, say, a music roundup and include a clip of the song, a link to Amazon or iTunes to buy the song, or even like a concert link through Ticketmaster. We then get a percentage of those purchases. At the same time, though, it’s important to realize that commerce doesn’t form our features. Our features come first, and then the affiliate links come afterwards.”

AS: “What are the ethical considerations and implications of your new media economic model?”

RS: “Definitely pay-for-play in advertorial. We take a hard stance on that. Pay for play is writing something because we know it will make advertisers happier. That’s, in my opinion, the No. 1 issue in new media. I think we also see a lot of bloggers who aren’t as legitimate that are blurring that strict ethical line. But, with many new media models, they still uphold the same standards.

Our marketing team, for example, not our editorial team writes sponsored advertisements.

They’re not written and don’t appear as features.”

AS: “What is particularly innovative about your implementation of this new media economic model?”

RS: “I think that what we do that nobody else really does is in our content. For example, our neighborhood guides. Once we start throwing sponsored events too, we’ll tie in our Time Out app. That will give three realms to engage our audiences – a feature on the website, a sponsored event and the app. It makes audiences interested and familiar with Time Out as a brand. The Time Out app will use wherever you war to give you recommendations for how to explore the city. Let’s say you then fly to New York and wake up in New York. It’ll then show you relevant stories and give reviews for there. Time Out has so many legs, that it’s really smart and fresh to use so many outlets to strengthen the brand.” The app is free to download.”

AS: “What advice would you give another media practitioner looking to implement a similar

AS: “What advice would you give another media practitioner looking to implement a similar