RJI links 1.27.12

Clark Gilbert, Harvard professor and now CEO of the newspaper operations in Salt Lake City, popularized the concept of disruption in media (and elsewhere). The industry has responded by trying to blow up and reconfigure newsrooms. I think the following item point up that the real, troublesome, harder to solve disruption is occurring in advertising. Journalism is not nearly as broken or disrupted as advertising. Fixing or improving the newsroom is always a good thing, should be ongoing ... but it won't fix what's described below. Agree? Disagree? Have solutions or ideas to suggest? Voice them here.

Opitons explode for the advertising industry
Media platforms have proliferated: Summit speaker notes 44 revenue streams for sub-components of the mobile media industry. 

Democracy is good, right? But what does democracy of distribution do to media?
Another attack on the economics of supply and demand for advertising and content providers. 

Craigslist robberies by appointment on the rise
ABC News reports an increase in crime when online buyers and sellers meet in person. 

Facebook hires a managing editor
Bloomberg journalist hired; speculation that Facebook may model new effort after LinkedIn Today. 

Numbers not to ignore: Sharing isn't going to go away
Internet users spend one in every five minutes on a social network, the fastest growing of which are designed for copying and curating. 

Online ad networks: Salvation for hyperlocal news operations?
StreetFight takes a look at five ad networks serving hperlocals. 

One of every twelve magazine ad pages contain an action code
The top 100 magazines increased the use of mobile action codes from 352 in first quarter to almost 2,000 in fourth quarter. 

Mobile app pricing: How to stand out from the crowd
Report says that sale pricing can be an effective strategy in app stores. 

Six ways to use digital tools to cover the election
During the battle for the White House, news organizations have been designing web apps dedicated to political coverage, while individual journalists have been tweeting nonstop. These digital innovations are giving readers unprecedented access to the election. 

Incentive payments to digital contributors drive growth at Forbes
management expects to add contributors and staff, and extend the model to its print operations. 

Nielsen and McKinsey roll out new social media conversation tracker
BuzzMetrics Exchange expected to enable marketers and agencies to monitor "natural language" conversations and listen to them globally or at hyper-local level. 

Building a case for premium content
The signs of a premium content comeback are appearing with more frequency, across multiple digital channels. 

Pay models vs. free content: What's the right balance?
Since launching its hard paywall in 1998, Consumer Reports Online has grown to more than 3.3 million paid subscribers and $90MM in revenue. That compares to 4.4 million print subscribers who generate nearly $105 million in subscriptions. 

Consider bundling when selling iPad app subscriptions
Research suggests that users to buy multiple apps at one time are less price-sensitive than the one-off casual buyer. 

How to turn anonymous visitors into revenue generators
The financial opportunity for publishers in 2012 is to convert anonymous visitors into a registered, marketable and higher revenue audience. 

Follow the money: Optimizing onine revenue
As more of the publishing business moves to digital platforms, the conversation is slowly changing from page views and visitors to revenue. 

For 2012, MRI's are the new focus groups
Looking to really get inside your target audience's head? The top tech trendspotter for Deloitte Canada says neuro-marketing studies testing the brain's reactions to advertisements will increase in the coming year.