I’ve tagged these links for possible show topics/background notes on September 8th:
- Reuters – When digital ads pay for local news – Felix Salmon (more about him later) has the analysis about the Journal Register/MediaNews Group deal. Here's an excerpt: "In the world of regional newspapers, Journal Register Company and MediaNews Group are very big fish; they’re now merging, and the merged entity to be called Digital First Media, will be run by John Paton. Who writes that already he’s reaching an important milestone:
'If our dailies continue on the trend they are on right now, by the end of the year they will have brought in more digital revenue than the costs of running their newsrooms.
Digital revenues can pay for newspaper newsrooms.'
It seems to me that Digital First is much more likely to solve the problem of building strong — and profitable — web-based local media than is AOL’s Patch."
- Journal Register Company Announces The Creation of Digital First Media Inc. » Journal Register Company - – From the press release:
"Journal Register Company Announces The Creation of Digital First Media Inc.Digital First Media to Manage Journal Register Company and MediaNews Group; John Paton Named Chief Executive Officer of Digital First Media
Digital First Media to Leverage Scale Opportunities between MediaNews and Journal Register Company Creating Local News Powerhouse with more than 880 Multi-Platform Products in 18 States Serving more than 57 million Americans per month."
- Digital First – Digital First: The Next Step – Journal Register owner (and new CEO of DF) John Paton blogs about the MNG merger & what it'll morph into: "As announced earlier this morning, we have formed a new company – Digital First Media Inc. It will manage both the Journal Register Company and Media News Group and its mission will be to accelerate the transformation of both these great firms to a modern, multi-platform media company focused on local news."
