Comments on: Umair Haque on ‘Nichepapers’

By: Nichepapers, micromedia—and journalism?

Nichepapers, micromedia—and journalism? — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:08:19 +0000

[...] Umair Haque on ‘Nichepapers’ (onlinejournalismblog.com) [...]

By: Umair Haque on charging online and a new business model « Fee or Free?

Umair Haque on charging online and a new business model « Fee or Free? — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:16:56 +0000

[...] Haque on charging online and a new business model Via the Online Journalism Blog, Umair Haque, Director of Havas Media Lab, has a post on why charging online won’t work for [...]

By: John Mecklin

John Mecklin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:05:21 +0000

In terms of quality and target audience, newspapers have an enormous range, even in a single city. (Just look at the New York Times and the New York Post.) In business terms, newspapers have been run reasonably well, very poorly and everything between. All newspapers benefited from something of a monopoly in classified advertising terms (although that monopoly was breaking down even before Craigslist, via shopper publications and alt-weeklies). But the conceit that all newspapers exploited that partial monopoly by absolutely maximizing profits and minimizing journalistic quality and reader service, and all new digital sites are so much better in those terms (in the new world that only the digital priesthood can properly understand) is an absurd oversimplification. The associated financial conceit — that these lean, small, focused Web entities are the way of the future — is just as simple-minded, and perhaps just plain wrong. The Web sites Haque mentions make no or very little money. (Just try to get a straight answer about financial reality out of the Huffington Post people.) And many newspapers are profitable on an operating basis, even amid the worst recession in half a century.

All I said in my original post, and all I’m saying now, is that the world and the World Wide Web are complicated places, and cheerleading via digital-Godspeak doesn’t usually come very close to explaining reality.

By: paulbradshaw

paulbradshaw — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:11:13 +0000

And yet you don’t provide any evidence to support your own opinion? I agree the NYT and other news orgs will continue to exist – partly because others will not. But his core economic arguments: that news orgs were profitable because of the markets they occupied rather than just the content; etc. appear pretty solid. I’d be very interested in counter-arguments.

By: John Mecklin

John Mecklin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:31:40 +0000

It’s almost always fun to read the unsupported pronouncements of the self-proclaimed Web expert. It’s the tone that’s immediately hilarious; it’s almost its own language. Call it digital-Godspeak. “I am the digital God. I have made an itemized list — Moses’ tablets, only in ones and zeros. These tablets of Haque, oh unenlightened denizens of the non-digital realm, explain precisely how everything is, and shall be henceforward. Ask not for evidence, mere facts! I am the digital God, and my opinions are facts, my lists self-proving, my commentage indisputable!”

The non sequiturs are entertaining, too, though. “Stories are for information — topics are for knowledge.” Orwell ought to have said it.

I’m not a particular fan of the average daily newspaper, and clearly part of the change to full electronic delivery will include improved quality and depth and tighter focus for the Web sites that deliver journalism/news. But the kind of cheerleading purveyed by the Nichepapers post obscures/ignores nuance and countervailing facts, including the almost certain reality that some (and perhaps most) major newspapers will make the transition to full digital delivery and continue to be leading sources for quality reportage and commentary. I love TPMmuckraker, but it’ll never replace the New York Times — or even be able to compete with it.