Could Amazon’s New Kindle save the New York Times?

*updated 2/10/09

2 weeks after suggesting radio should look to podcasting for growth and newspaper may be able to reinvent itself through new technology (Local TV’s not Dead, it’s Moving to a Gated Community) an interesting post by@Andrew303, on my twitter feed, caught my eye:

Printing The NYT Costs Twice As Much As Sending Every Subscriber A Free Kindle

Not that it’s anything we think the New York Times Company should do, but we thought it was worth pointing out that it would cost the Times about half as much money to send every single one of its subscribers a brand new Amazon Kindle instead of a physical newspaper each day. more…

So that got me thinking about the media futurists I read who have counted out the possibility of newspapers successfully monetizing the web. Perhaps digital paper is too far off to be a feasible new way to read the “paper” but is it too far fetched to say that a new technology could save them? Perhaps a new Kindle or some larger “e-book” friendlier version of the iPhone? *Michelle Machmanus, of OHL, pointed out via a Linkedin discussion there is new thinner & lighter tech on the way like a fascinating e-book reader from PlasticLogic.com.

Certainly newspapers will have to create a new business model shedding expensive presses and delivery staff regardless, but what if major newspapers got in bed with tech companies much like the Apple & At&T deal? Right now devices like the Kindle are extremely expensive for average consumers who don’t travel much and they compete with lower priced gadgets like cell phones. Could a subscription model emerge that would subsidize the cost of a Kindle (for example) enough to convince the consumer to purchase a Kindle and a NY Times subscription? Do Randomhouse and other book publishers need to get on board to create an Itunes version for newspapers and books?

Through my own experience working in media, I believe the newspaper industries biggest challenge is cultural not technological. Maybe it won’t be a newspaper investing in new tech, maybe an “Amazon.com” will purchase a newspaper’s identity, hire a slew of unemployed writers, editors & photographers, deploy them across the across the country and create a new generation of Kindle News.

What? It could happen:-)

Unfortunately I have not used a Kindle prior to writing this and don’t know how the user experience of reading a newspaper on one would rate. I do have an ipod Touch and find that reading e-magazines on it is do-able, although not ideal. If you have a Kindle or some insight as to what it would take to make the leap from paper to e-gadget, please weigh-in below in the comments and let me know if you would subscribe to national / local news sites if they gave you a discounted Kindle or iPhone.

-Richard

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Local TV’s not Dead, it’s Moving to a Gated Community

…where antennas are torn down, all its stuff is being hacked up into little pieces, rebuilt, re-evaluated, repackaged, re-purposed or thrown away. Oh, Radio and Newspaper live next door.

Much like other bow-tie managed entities, years (decades) of excessive profits have created an industry wide comfort zone where many execs have come and gone, cashing in/out along the way. Of course those days are at an end with Main Stream Media (MSM) companies taking a severe public beating. With hundreds of job cuts at NBC and other companies, Tribune’s bankruptcy, the end of PC Mag’s “-azine” and the constant whine of revenue loss from newspapers, those left rowing the boat are being punished for those who have rowed before.

Perhaps broadcast deserve a little break though; after all they’ve been distracted by micro evolutions within their own space such as time shifting programs, Sony gear versus Panasonic, increased competition from newspapers, retransmission battles with cable, syndication issues, revenue swings from politics, etc. Then again, if you’re driving on the highway and distracted by a swarm of wasps inside your car, you’re still responsible for knowing that up ahead the bridge is out.

So as many philosophize the death of television, I wonder about a shift of massive proportions affecting multiple industries including radio, television and print collectively. Technology isn’t just killing television, it’s changing the way we communicate leaving the entire Main Stream Media up for grabs.

TV: The bigger picture shows no breaks for media content providers

So, yes traditional television will die in its current packaging only to be reborn in other forms. Early versions hint that content may be split up by numerous new media providers like www.Hulu.com, Revision3 and others, but even as network parents try to maintain control and contain content Hulu struggles as “traditional media” repackaged in a shiny “new media” graphics. A blog, shortened commercial breaks and a widget don’t constitute a new business model. Regardless, it seems that technology from Boxee will continue the assault on media content providers by reconnecting users to content and thereby threatening to make brands irrelevant. Much like the way Google has made information brands (Webster, Wikipedia, etc.) irrelevant to the masses. After all, who cares / remembers the brand when relevant information from all brands it presented to you equally and immediately via search?

RADIO: Say NO to internet radio and yes to podcasting.

Due to its ease of use and the lack of public adoption of satellite & WIFI in vehicles and in the workplace (WIFI would deliver internet radio) it seems radio will outlive both traditional TV and newspapers. It also occurred to me that radio has the best advantage for “doubling down” on both their current analog business model and creating new online revenue streams. While TV & Print may have more money / audience behind them, staffs at radio stations are more nimble with less capital invested in equipment like printing presses and satellite trucks. Radio companies with diversified portfolios also have the attention of the tech savvy youth and vast audiences of local, high school & college sports within reach and ready to be converted to the next stats heavy online community. The real opportunity, however, is in the podcast race. With a clear advantage, as an industry, radio stations could surely take their fondness for formatting to an even deeper “niche” level and cash in big. NPR and others would have an even bigger advantage if they were to launch a massive information assault on the current community of podcasters and audio book creators.

NEWSPAPER: Don’t Go Changin’?
Of the MSMs there may be good reason for newspaper to not evolve. In fact there’s a very real possibility that some newspapers may find themselves rebuilding traditional staffs in the not so distant future! With the tension mounting by the Kindle and iPhone ebook apps, the newspaper industry finding a new home in the digital world on mobile devices in e-zine form. What would truly be mind blowing is if the newspaper industry could create its own tech revolution in “digital paper.”

So what’s the point? The point is that all of this is transitional and that the better able you are to adapt the more likely you are to survive. Survival will not come from your next show, tonight’s ratings or this weekend’s paper sales but from investing in new products, technology and actually listening to customers because the comfort zone is lost.

-Richard

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For great media discussions I highly recommend:

Terry Heaton’s PoMo Blog

Lost Remote | Local Media and the Battle for the Web

WilliBlog

TWIM (This Week in Media) Podcast

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