NAA Roundup

Member Announcements:

Des Moines Register and Gannett Product win first ever “Best Use of Technology in Journalism” award for virtual reality and 360-degree video (Gannett)
The National Press Foundation awarded the pair for the virtual reality experience on Iowa agriculture, “Harvest of Change,” which was the first VR experience produced by USA Today Network. The award also honored the live, 360-degree coverage of speeches from the Iowa State Fair Presidential Soapbox.

Dow Jones Expands Factiva Content Sources in New Zealand (Dow Jones)
Dow Jones announced Factiva, its news aggregation platform for business-critical info, has doubled its regional content sources in New Zealand, providing customers with access to more than 50 additional major newspapers and local publications across 11 regions, including Hauraki Herald, Queenstown Mirror and Wairarapa News.

GateHouse Media and Motor Racing Network Launch New Relationship (GateHouse Media, LLC)
With this relationship, GateHouse Media will launch racing sections across every GateHouse Media daily publication website. These sections will feature continuous racing coverage from both MRN and GateHouse Media publications operating in major NASCAR markets. The sections will feature daily news, podcasts and video.

Staff Updates:

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.
John Newby has been appointed publisher of The Muskogee Phoenix.

Tribune Publishing
Rajiv Pant has been appointed as Tribune Publishing’s first Chief Product, Technology and User Experience Officer.

Mohit Pandey has been named Tribune Publishing’s Senior Vice President of Engineering and Mobile.

NAA Announcements:

Web-BlackFridayAd_Thumbnail_2015NAA 2015 “Black Friday” Ads for Members Now Available
Shoppers say local newspapers are the best place to get information about Black Friday sales, store hours and special offers. Download and run this ad to promote your newspaper as the Ultimate Holiday Shopping Guide! Download now.

Newspaper Association of America Announces Third Annual Accelerator Pitch Program
The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) is now accepting submissions for its third annual Accelerator Pitch program at NAA mediaXchange 2016, which will take place April 17-20, 2016, at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC. Winners will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses to 1,000 newspaper media industry executives and their colleagues. Read more.

What We’re Reading:

‘Change Needed for Commenting That Favors the “Verified”‘ (New York Times)
In emails, in online comments and even in that wonder of our time called face-to-face conversation, I hear a lot about Times readers’ frustration with the existence of “verified commenters.” These few hundred people whose comments are posted without moderation can end up dominating the reader commenting system, causing resentment among thousands of others.

‘A virtual reality revolution, coming to a headset near you’ (New York Times)
By 2025, the market for virtual reality content will be $5.4 billion. Early adopters are already experimenting with VR’s use in the music industry, creating behind-the-scenes views of Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die,” for example; filmmaking, sports and journalism.

‘Countries differ in support for press freedom, especially for reporting on national security’ (Nieman Lab)
A new Pew report finds that beliefs in the freedom of the press vary substantially by country, with support for both free speech and a free press “contingent on the topic.” People are also divided on whether the press should “freely publish on sensitive issues related to national security” according to the report.

‘TV ad revs strong in October, digital soars’ (Media Post)
Digital media spend was up 34% year over year, with social media more than doubling the previous year’s ad buys at 129% and video growing by 70%. Newspaper ad revenue rose by 6% and TV revenue improved by 11%.

‘To prioritize social media, recruit your newsroom’s digital natives as SNS’ (GateHouse Newsroom)
Newsroom leaders hoping to pave the way toward digital-first transformation in their newsrooms will find it difficult to do so without a willingness to experiment with ever-changing digital and social tools that is shared by their reporters. Lenore Devore, editor of The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida, realized that her newsroom had enough social media gurus in its midst to effectively reach all of its reporters.

‘The New York Times is using Paris email updates to explore a new method of interaction with readers’ (Nieman Lab)
This is the first time that the Times has given its readers the option of following such a large-scale story via email, and the response has been positive. Frequency and duration of the updates will depend on reader interest.

‘How publishers use Snapchat outside of the Discover feature’ (Digiday)
Outlets including Mic, The Washington Post, The Verge and The Huffington Post are using the platform’s Story feature to share news updates, behind-the-scenes access to an event or breaking news coverage to engage directly with Millennials.

What We’re Tweeting:

From @NAAupdates:
people using cellphone
New study finds ad industry accounted for 19 percent of U.S. GDP in 2014 | Adweek –http://bit.ly/1S1SgqN

How one blog helped spark The New York Times’ digital evolution » Nieman Journalism Lab – http://bit.ly/1S6S7SN

Media startups, have you entered to win a chance to present at NAA’s Accelerator Pitch? Don’t miss out! http://bit.ly/1GzdtYd

From @NAACEO:

Newsonomics: Can you get readers to pay a dollar a day for digital news? » Nieman Journalism Lab – http://bit.ly/1QSVJt7

How Amazon’s Long Game Yielded a Retail Juggernaut http://nyti.ms/1j7d185
New NAA CEO Column – Shoppers Look to Newspaper Media for the Best Holiday Shopping Dealshttp://bit.ly/1RUtU1T

×

Join the News/Media Alliance for a Lunch Briefing on 4/11 on 'Respecting Creative Industries in the Age of Generative AI' - Learn more