This document discusses developing an online newspaper business model. It suggests examining a newspaper's core competencies and assets from the customer's perspective to deliver timely, comprehensive convenience. This implies a resource-based view where a newspaper can disassemble and reassemble its value chain to meet online needs. The document recommends partnering with mobile media and local businesses for content distribution to access both local and long-distance online audiences. It argues the "long tail" online model allows newspapers to leverage search capabilities and serve niche interests in a user-directed manner. Challenges include training, organizational changes, and maintaining technical infrastructure for search functions.

1. DEVELOPING AN
ONLINE
NEWSPAPER
BUSINESS MODEL
LONG DISTANCE MEETS
THE LONG TAIL

2. Online Newspaper Backgrounder
 Revenues up, market share down
 Online ad gets 20-30 % of print ad’s worth
 Online profit margins half of other media

3. Current Models
 Pay-by-view
 Free
 Free w/some pay-by-view
 Result: Publishers say, “Online is key, but I
won’t be experimenting or doing anything
positive about it as part of my investment
strategy” (WAN 2006 survey)

4. The Search for
Competitive Advantage
 Implies: Resource-based view theory
 Suggests: A firm’s strengths lies in its
resources
 The place to start: A firm’s value chain
 Process: Dis-assemble, then re-assemble
the parts or elements to meet the new
market’s needs

5. Then what?
 Core competencies
 Mistake: Match products w/demographics
 Better: Deliver convenience,
comprehensiveness, timeliness; not a niche
 Examine assets for value, from customer’s
viewpoint, but also for “inimitability”

6. Distance in Online Context
 Online = global reach
 Online value in eyes of customer
 “Proximity” takes on new meaning in online
 Two online audiences:
local and long-distance (Chyi & Sylvie,
1998 & 2007)
 Distance audience basically ignored

7. Along Comes the Long Tail
 LT: In distributing a commodity, info tech –
specifically the Internet – increases the
share of niches (Anderson, 2006).
 Online Benefit: Internet markets arm
audience members with search capabilities.
 A Big “But”: The consumer – not the
newspaper – determines the product (GLT)

8. Key: Partnering & Distribution
 Why?: Media have intended & unintended
uses, rendering the newspaper ill-equipped
in marketing, audience knowledge, delivery
systems and context of use.
 So: Make news for non-newspaper delivery
vehicles
 Such as?

9. Possible Partners
 Mobile media; it…
 moves
 has willing-to-pay users
 headed to broadband sophistication
 allows time shifting
 is growing in use

10. Possible Partners (cont.)
 Local, retail businesses; they…
$ aren’t classified ads
$ attract people and invite socializing
$ have bonded with their customer bases
$ are venues that make papers unobtrusive
$ invite informational searching
$ spend $ online

11. GLT Pluses
 Content-as-search eliminates much guessing
about what attracts consumers.
 Searchable content resolves usability design
issues and provides “original” content and
eliminates need to ally with a popular browser to
drive traffic.
 Offers a sense of community without imposing the
journalist’s or editor’s view of that sense.

12. Challenges
What’s Not to Like?

13. Challenges (seriously)
 Training – creating value for some, learning
value for others
 Organization – serious local R&D
 Organization – outsourcing
 Organization – tech infrastructure (search
interface)
 Organization – planning (continuously)