Freelance writer Nate Thayer touched off a debate this week about media outlets wanting to publish content for free — but the reality is that the economics of content have changed forever, and the supply of free content is almost infinite. Read more »
The Washington Post has launched a feature offering advertisers the ability to place sponsored content on its site, and while this form of advertising has come under fire, other media outlets should consider doing the same. Read more »
Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler says that WikiLeaks clearly qualifies as a media entity, and argues that by pursuing Bradley Manning for aiding the enemy, the government is putting journalism at risk as well as whistle-blowing. Read more »
One of the biggest trends in media at the moment is “sponsored content” or what some call “native advertising.” But is it the savior of online media, or just another mirage in the advertising desert? Read more »
Google is trying to paint a new German law regulating news excerpts as a victory, just as it did with the deals it cut with France and Belgium . But it feels like Google is losing more than it is winning. Read more »
During his court-martial trial, Bradley Manning said that he tried to contact journalists at the New York Times and the Washington Post but got no interest and then decided to leak classified military documents to WikiLeaks. Read more »
Existing players in an industry almost always fail to appreciate how disruption will affect them or understand how to adapt to it, Harvard professor Clay Christensen says, and media companies are making all of those same mistakes. Read more »
When news shows rely on “viral” videos for their programming, without bothering to even try and verify whether they are real or not, all they do is push their viewers towards the original source of that content. Read more »
New owner Jay Penske is shutting down Variety magazine’s daily print edition and removing the paywall around the century-old tabloid’s online content. But will these radical moves help the paper survive against more nimble rivals? Read more »
A new system of warnings for users who download copyrighted content is being rolled out by some of the biggest internet service providers in the United States. Is it something you should be concerned about? That depends. Read more at GigaOM »
Marco Arment softened the paywall around his iPad-only magazine because his content was not benefiting from the social-sharing effect that the web enables — a microcosm of the dilemma that many other publishers are also facing. Read more »
After a fan posted a video of a horrific crash at a NASCAR event, the organizer removed it claiming copyright infringement, but Google over-ruled the company — an example of a decision that happens all too rarely. Read more »
Google has reiterated a warning to publishers that its ban on links that are designed to enhance a site’s PageRank applies not just to paid links but to sponsored content and advertorial as well. Read more »
Twitter’s new advertising API is just part of an ongoing seismic shift in the way advertising works online, where algorithms and self-serve networks are taking over from traditional ad buying and further destabilizing the media industry. Read more »
Maria Popova, who writes and curates content at the Brain Pickings blog, will be speaking at our paidContent Live conference in New York on April 17 about alternative monetization models and the future of self-published content. Read more »
New CEO Marissa Mayer launched a redesigned version of the Yahoo homepage on Wednesday, but the site’s new features seem like a lukewarm rehash of the company’s old portal strategy and imitations of what Facebook offers. Read more at GigaOM »
The Obama administration has shown what is possible when a government becomes a media entity in its own right. But is that good or bad for a free press and for society in general? Read more »
The head of the research lab at the New York Times says the newspaper has launched an advertising product called Sparking Stories that allows advertisers to insert ads into specific content that is trending on Twitter. Read more »
One thing that Tesla’s’ battle with the New York Times has reinforced is how the balance of power has shifted in media now that everyone — companies included — has the ability to publish their side of a story. Read more »
Blogger Maria Popova has come under fire from a number of critics for her use of undisclosed affiliate links on her blog Brainpickings, which highlights how heated the debate over alternative forms of advertising has become. Read more »
According to Harvard business professor and best-selling author Clay Christensen, the disruptive effects of the web are being felt the most by the media and advertising industries, but the education business is next in line. Read more at GigaOM »
Dutch newspaper publisher Jan-Jaap Heij talks about why he decided to launch a mobile app that allows readers to subscribe to individual writers for a monthly fee, and how personal brands are the future of journalism. Read more »
Comcast’s purchase of the 49 percent of NBCUniversal that it didn’t already own was expected to take several years, but the cable provider said Tuesday it has bought the rest of the company for $16.7 billion. Read more »
Most of the startups and networks focused on hyperlocal or community news and information try to be as open as possible, but Nextdoor is taking the exact opposite approach and making the barrier to entry for users as high as it can. Read more at GigaOM »
Although many traditional media outlets and journalists see reader comments as having little or no value, publishers like Gawker and The Verge see them as a potential source of revenue — and even potential hires. Read more »
Research by the Pew Center has turned up several examples of newspapers that seem to have reversed the declining revenue most of the industry is suffering from, although the methods they have chosen to do this are very different. Read more »
Hundreds of traditional publishers have erected paywalls around their content, but there is much to be gained by focusing monetization on individuals rather than an entire newspaper. Here are a few suggestions on how publishers could do this. Read more »
Hyperlocal used to be a popular buzzword in media circles, but NBC says it has shut down one of the pioneers of the genre — data-driven startup EveryBlock — because it wasn’t a good fit with its core strengths. Read more »
Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow, has launched a new platform that he hopes will improve the nature of online comments by adding trust metrics — but there are no shortcuts to healthy online communtiies. Read more »
Some call it aggregation, while others call it copyright infringement or even theft. In a recent Twitter debate sparked by a post on the topic, Digiday’s editor-in-chief and Business Insider founder Henry Blodget traded theories. Read more »
Twitter is said to be looking at acquiring Bluefin Labs, which would fit the trajectory that the real-time information network has been on for some time. But is cozying up to traditional TV the only future for Twitter? Read more at GigaOM »
John Paton, the CEO of the Digital First Media chain, says that he doesn’t believe paywalls or subscription models are the solution to the industry’s problems, but he is experimenting with them anyway. Read more »
While Google may see its payments to French publishers as a smart move for its own short-term purposes, the deal is still being seen by many as a payment for links, and that could set a dangerous precedent. Read more at GigaOM »
Until now, the Atlantic has been the poster child for traditional media entities that have succeeded online, but the New Yorker looks to be planning some major moves of its own to boost its online presence. Read more »
Both Andrew Sullivan — the conservative blogger who recently announced that he is going independent — and former Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer are taking the same approach to media: connect with your fans, and then ask for help. Read more »
Hammered by declining print advertising revenue in much the same way newspapers have been, Time Inc. announced that it is laying off about 500 of its staff. But are the cuts the end, or just the beginning? Read more »
Are new blogging platforms like Medium, Quora, Svbtle and LinkedIn’s Influencers program an attempt to recreate the bad old days of “content farms?” Not really — their focus is much more on quality content than on direct monetization. Read more »
Truth Teller is a prototype launched by the Washington Post — with funding from the Knight Foundation — that is designed to fact-check political speeches in real time. But can it do this? And will anyone care? Read more »
Andrew Sullivan’s breakaway from traditional media to run his own standalone blog — for which he has raised almost $500,000 before it even launches — is a sign of that the balance of power in media is still shifting. Read more »
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer told attendees at the World Economic Forum that the key to the company’s future success is partnering with other players like Apple, Google and Facebook. But is that a future worth betting on? Read more at GigaOM »
