The Evolving Newsroom

More for the doom and gloom file. A survey by Zogby International shows that almost half of Americans get their news online and 67% are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism:

"For the second year in a row we have documented a crisis in American journalism that is far more serious than the industry's business challenges - or maybe a consequence of them," said Andrew Nachison, co-founder of iFOCOS, which organised the We Media Forum and Festival hosted by the University of Miami School of Communication - where the survey results got an airing.

"Americans recognize the value of journalism for their communities, and they are unsatisfied with what they see. While the U.S. news industry sheds expenses and frets about its future, Americans are dismayed by its present. Meanwhile, we see clearly the generational shift of digital natives from traditional to online news - so the challenge for traditional news companies is complex.

"They need to invest in new products and services - and they have. But they've also got to invest in quality, influence and impact. They need to invest in journalism that makes a difference in people's lives. That's a moral and leadership challenge - and a business opportunity for whoever can meet it."

Hmm, the report's a little short on suggestions on how to make journalism better but there are some interesting figures in there and Silicon Alley Insider's summary is worth a look.

Wondering how to get teenagers interested in news? Here's a few insights from a US report:

1. They won't come to you so you have to go to them
2. If something catches their eye they'll take a look, but they won't go looking for news.
3. News makes them feel anxious about the harsher side of life. They're happier if you can diminish negative associations for them and offer a springboard for taking action, talking about it and effecting change.
4. They respond well to user-friendly, useful and trustworthy sites.
5. They don't feel strongly about online advertising, postively or negatively.

Cyberjournalist does a nice job pulling out interesting quotes from the report, which was conducted by Northwestern University's Media Management Center. You can grab the report for yourself here.

Here's a few pull-outs.

"Teen after teen told our researchers that they won’t go out of their way to get the news online, but they will click on news stories ‘if something catches my eye,’” said Michael P. Smith, executive director of the Media Management Center (MMC).

“There’s a world of meaning – and opportunity — in that phrase,” Smith said. “Understanding it and learning what to do about it is vitally important, since our democracy depends on an informed citizenry. This research provides insights and suggestions news organisations can use to better connect with and serve teenagers.”

Teens get most of their news online from the large internet portals and news aggregators that pop up when they go online — not from local media websites. Therefore, news organisations should develop widgets, partnerships and news feeds tailored for teens in order to get their content on the sites and places where teens spend their time online.

Researchers found that while serious news – particularly news of politics, government and public affairs – is not currently that important to most teens, they are “interestable.” They will look at news online if it catches their eye – with content that interests them, video, the right topics, humorous and weird news, and new things.

For teens, news is stressful and reminds them of the peril in the world. So news organisations should actively experiment with ways to diminish the negative associations teens have with news and to lift their feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness. This includes making news a better springboard for talk, action and change; writing about teens’ feeling of peril and about the subjects they’re worried about, and increasing attention given to solutions and problem-solvers.

Analysts are forecasting online ad spend will surpass TV ad spend in the UK by 2009. The study, by Group M, the media planning and buying agency owned by advertising heavyweight WPP Group, projects a 31% increase in online spend this year versus a 1% rise in TV ad spend.

Emarketer notes that the UK media picture is unusual: "For one thing, the print sector remains pretty healthy. Also, the phenomenal rise of the internet has encouraged significant spending on the Web by UK advertisers, and hard evidence of online successes breeds further investment.

"Moreover, the dominance of television as an advertising vehicle is less pronounced in the UK, because TV programming is not funded by advertising to the same extent that it is in the US and elsewhere."

But it's still a sea change and although Emarketer's projections are slightly different, it agrees that online spending will overtake TV within two years.