In an attempt to attract new readers and retain existing audiences, various types of media outlets encourage audience participation. In addition to increasing levels of approachability, editorial boards hope to show users their opinions are important while also stressing that the media is no longer something distant and abstract.

But why is the media becoming more accessible, and how will audiences be addressed using new forms of communication? More importantly, how do media representatives feel about the transition and what are the benefits for consumers?

Barriers Fall – Congratulations!

Media expert Anda Rozukalne, chair of the Riga Stradins University Communication Studies Department, advocates breaking down editorial walls to encourage society to take a more active role in their media.  Rozukalne explains that newspapers must increase transparency and create more opportunities for readers to take a hands-on role in the publishing process. Rozukalne is convinced that receptiveness can be seen as a positive trend, allowing consumers to feel like equal collaborators, but she also understands that marketing plays a role.

“The warmth of [this] relationship is easier to sell. Transparency is the new definition of objectivity: when we know how it works and what methods form the basis of the specific activity, it will be possible to evaluate how fair and responsible the process is,” Rozukalne emphasizes.

Building close cooperation with readers has been the pathway to success for the Latvian weekly women’s magazine Ieva. Summer camps organized by the magazine have helped to promote interactions between the audience and the magazine’s developers – allowing staff to better understand their readers.

Rozulakne also points out that newspapers that collaborate with their consumers are able to obtain vital information. “According to international studies, editorial boards have very little knowledge of their audience in general; they live with presumptions of what society expects from them, in addition to meeting the requirements set by their advertisers, but it has nothing to do with the reality.”

By fostering close relationships with readers, publishers are able to increase their media responsibility and place emphasis on the quality of information and content produced.

Radio in 3D

In Latvia, Radio 101 is considered the leader in terms of approachability.  Not only are their broadcasts delivered from inside a walled glass studio located in the middle of a public square, they also stream content for free via their webpage. “From the very beginning, when the idea of the radio was born, it was pretty clear that it should be located in the middle of the city,” says Zane Peneze, developer of morning programming for Radio 101.

Peneze and colleague Edwards Svans both see transparency as a vehicle for success in radio, a vehicle that has the potential to be implemented across the globe. Nevertheless, they do not see themselves as pioneers, pointing out that there have been other attempts to create open studios in Latvia.  Radio station Rietumu radio was the first followed by Hakizaka, which transmits four live broadcasts a day from a studio in the club Kalku varti featuring contests and viewer participation.

Journalists – “Universal Soldiers”

Daily newspaper Diena (The Day) is one of a few Latvian newspapers to create new channels of communication with readers, thanks to a solid Internet platform providing readers with breaking news, video content, and live broadcasts (currently – the daily video program Dienas rits), creating serious competition for television.  Guntis Bojars, editor-in-chief of publishing house Dienas Mediji, explains, “The media looks for different ways [to increase intimacy with] their readers throughout the world. They should be unique and different. It is the most sensitive and a permanent issue, which is important for all editorial boards.”

Bojars has been called a pioneer in Latvian publishing, namely due to his new weekly magazine PiektDiena (The FriDay).  The e-magazine, available for both iPad and Android OS users, is one of a kind in Latvia and rivals many competitors worldwide. Articles are supplemented by photographs, videos and active links to external resources or social networking profiles. By offering traditional content paired with audio, video, commentary, photos and more, Bojars is offers the ultimate interactive news experience.

The Fear of Losing the Audience

While many assert this is the beginning of the transparency movement, others see current trends as the swan song of open editorial offices. Media and public relations expert Sandra Veinberga is among the researchers who disagrees with her colleagues, claiming that the period of open editorial offices has ended in most Western countries. “Their zenith was in the ^‘90s, when public podiums were made, which allowed people to express themselves for free with the hope of gaining popularity and increasing their audience. Unfortunately the majority of media outlets stopped this practice.”

Veinberga is convinced that such media activities do not develop real feedback. “Being afraid of losing their audience, media outlets begin giving gifts to their listeners by organizing concerts, offering free books and cinema tickets, organizing travel lotteries and other activities.”

New report reveals mounting print revenue losses take a toll on the newspaper industry.

As digital news consumption grows, can salvation really be found in a new business model? A new report released this month by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) paints a bleak picture for the future of the newspaper industry.  The report, titled, “The Search for a New Business Model: An in-depth look at how newspapers are faring trying to build digital revenue” gathered information by interviewing executives from 13 different media companies in addition to surveying 38 newspapers from the United States. 

While many newspapers struggle to recover from staggering print losses, the report suggests some papers find success in augmenting profit loss with digital revenue projects.

Unfortunately time may be running out for many of the newspapers included in the study. Of the 38 newspapers providing data for the report, overall newspaper revenue had fallen by 40 percent in the last decade and print advertising dollars were lost at an average of seven times the rate digital ad revenue was growing.

Authors of the PEJ report attribute these losses to the fact that 92 percent of the advertising revenue generated by the newspapers included in the study still come from print sources.

But not all newspapers are struggling.  Several examples of individual successes can be found in the PEJ report, with most of the newspapers attributing their achievements to business model revisions and an emphasis on digital assets. 

For example, one newspaper included in the report saw significant revenue growth by selling targeted advertising based on individual browsing histories. Another newspaper grew digital revenue by building a consulting business which functioned as a guide in order to help other businesses market themselves digitally.

Newspapers which began transitioning their business models also receive a boost from promising new data pointing to an overall increase in digital news consumption.  National Public Radio now reports that 1 in 4 Americans access news via mobile devices, and marketing research firm comScore reports smart phones have increased news site traffic between 7 to 10 percent this year alone.  

Unfortunately it appears as though many newspapers are dragging their feet in making the decision to transition. For example, PEJ authors found that among the papers providing data for the study, “the number of print-focused sales representatives outnumbered digital-focused reps by about 3-1.”  

One news executive put it best when explaining how a transition to a digital business model is potentially dangerous to a fledging newspaper: “There might be a 90 percent chance you’ll accelerate the decline if you gamble, and a 10% chance you might find the new model. No one is willing to take that chance.”

New report claims women journalists have a long way to go in closing the gender pay gap.

German newspaper Bild was in a giving mood this International Women’s Day. While providing 300 female staffers with the day off, the paper’s male staff members made the decision to drop their 28-year tradition of stocking the front page with scantily clad or nude women. In light of a March report showing that female journalists in the European Union (EU) are paid 17 percent less than their male counterparts, perhaps Bild’s gesture would have been more apt had they simply paid their female journalists more money.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) released the report early this month in order to raise awareness about the increasing pay gap in journalism. IFJ General Secretary Beth Costa says, “The struggle for equality in media remains the reality, [this] report proved that little progress has been made to end [the] gender pay gap.”

The global report, titled “Gender Pay Gap in Journalism” used data collected from nearly 2000 journalists from 16 countries who responded to the Wage Indicator Salary Survey from 2009 to 2011. The Wage Indicator Survey not only polled journalists on their salary amounts but also employee benefits, working hours, job satisfaction, and overall life satisfaction.

Details of the report included grim statistics that pointed to disparities in nearly all aspects of employee compensation, with 14 of the 16 nations included in the study showing that male wages were higher than female wages.

Fortunately the IFJ report is more than a collection of gloomy statistics, with the authors providing strict guidelines to follow in order to promote gender equality. Mindy Ran, chair of the IFJ Gender Council said that the report should be used as a tool, “In order to fight wage inequality – both as a weapon against those who believe the fight for equality has been won, and for policy makers, governments and trade unions to plan further.”

With nearly 40 percent of all working journalists being women, the IFJ went to lengths to show that females are not just paid less but that their benefits are lower as well, leading to increased inequality. Not surprising were the findings that women journalists described less satisfaction with their work than men in the EU and the former Soviet Union.

In Germany, where Bild is published and circulated, the discrepancies between male and female workers in all sectors have become so vast that a public debate erupted. A report published last week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that Germany has the widest wage gap between male and female workers among all countries in the EU.  The report also pointed out that Germany has far fewer female workers holding management positions in comparison to other developed nations.

With most critics charging shrinking circulation rates and a low female readership as motive behind Bild’s front-page makeover, perhaps the IFJ report will accomplish what Bild’s small gesture failed to do – promote lasting change by collecting support from governments and other prominent decision makers in order to permanently stop this problem.

Source: Gender Pay Gap in Journalism, Wage Indicator Global Report 2012. Central European Labour Studies Institute, Wage Indicator Foundation, International Federation of Journalists, 8 Mar. 2012.

A study of Dutch newsrooms conducted by communication scientist Yael de Haan reveals journalists are meek when receiving or dolling out criticism in the newsroom, which may contribute to low journalistic quality.

Haan conducted her study in the midst of an ongoing public dialogue in the Netherlands related to the role of media in society.  While previous debates focused on media structure and politics, new discussions on journalistic responsibility are taking center stage.

One of the catalysts for a more intensive discussion in the Netherlands was the rise of controversial politician Pim Fortuyn and his assassination in 2002, with critics pointing to the harsh political climate created by the Dutch media as the culprit.

In the years following Fortuyn’s assassination leading Dutch media outlets  – among them the daily newspaper de Volkskrant as well as the newscasts NOS Nieuws from public TV and RTL Nieuws from private TV – have introduced several innovative instruments for media accountability such as ombudsmen, editorial blogs, correction corners and dialogue with readers via social media.

But how relevant are these practices in their everyday editorial practice? Haan analyzed the three newsrooms mentioned above in a case study, spending three months in each newsroom as a participating observer.

The results were disillusioning. In all three newsrooms, Haan failed to find a culture of criticism, which prevented media accountability instruments from being implemented constructively.

While time constraints and management mistakes were often cited as reasons, Haan also uncovered other inconsistencies.  For example, the ombudswoman for NOS Nieuws kept in close contact with the editors-in-chief, but often avoided the newsroom altogether. In many cases the journalists themselves blocked the process of self-reflection, even though the editors-in-chief of de Volkskrant and NOS Nieuws have often championed increased media responsibility and media self-reflection.  Aside from introducing several innovative media accountability instruments into their newsrooms, many of the surveyed journalists anonymously admitted that they wouldn’t dare to express criticism in editorial conferences.

Yael de Haan (2011): “Between Professional Autonomy and Public Responsibility: Accountability and responsiveness in Dutch media and journalism.” Amsterdam.

If newspapers are no longer printed, the journalistic profession will change dramatically, and not necessarily for the better.

While several media conglomerates in the German-speaking world, among them Ringier and Springer, have prepared their online futures by merging independent newsrooms, in the U.S. several newspapers halted print publications entirely, offering online editions only. The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin, has surfaced among the handful of pioneers tackling such an approach.

At this point, the Capital Times may be the first newspaper in history with an intensely researched transformation from print to online. “Journalism as Process” – the title of a study (published in Journalism Monographs, Vol. 13, No.3, 2011) by Sue Robinson of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, demonstrates how traditional boundaries and professional roles have vanished in the newsrooms of online newspapers, and how news is no longer presented as a “finite product, ” but rather created and updated as a permanent process of interactions between journalists and their publics.

According to Robinson, the separation of private and professional lives is dwindling, as editors who have become “netizens” no longer need to be physically present in the newsroom, but are instead required to be omnipresent around the clock. Among the citizens, a small yet persistently demanding group of actors has developed, which – by way of participation, linking, sharing and complementing information – contributes to the overall flow of information. Thus, they track stories frequently “along many paths much different than the one the local reporter had laid out.”

Yet a notable weakness exists in the research. With regard to the active public, or the “citizen journalists,” Robinson does not differentiate between “ordinary citizens” who communicate as lay persons and actors attempting to influence journalism as PR professionals. Therefore, perhaps the picture of the ever-grand and vast potential for participative journalism may be contaminated with a bit too much sunshine and a few too many lollipops. It is a beginning, and when viewed from the far distance, the cooperation between a small regional American online newspaper and one of the country’s leading journalism schools could be understood as a laudable collaboration.

Originally published in Schweizer Journalist, 12/2011 + 1/2012

How does media convergence affect journalism?

This question will be the focal point of an upcoming international workshop presented by the Research Unit Media Convergence at the University of Mainz, taking place October 21st and 22nd, 2011. To participate in the workshop – organized in cooperation with the European Journalism Observatory (Lugano), Medienhaus Wien (Vienna) and MAZ Die Schweizer Journalistenschule (Lucerne) – please contact Rahel Künkele (rkuenkel@students.uni-mainz.de) for registration.

Download invitation

Can one make a living as a freelance journalist in Lithuania?

Are you fed up with the tedious working hours in your cubicle? And don’t you have to admit that the news editor is a walking nagger whom you cannot stand? Would you rather be your own boss? If so, freelancing is obviously the way to go.

Being a freelance journalist in Lithuania, however, i.e. handling your time the way you want and taking on gigs you desire, might turn out to be quite a different experience from what it means in a Western European country or the U.S.

“Sometimes I have the impression that Lithuania is the only country where throngs of pensioners and kindergarten teachers resort to freelancing in a desperate attempt to add some extra income to their low pensions and salaries,” says Paulius Tumosa, Programme Director of European Radio, a radio station in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Tumosa has been trying hard to establish himself as a freelancer in print media, but has now given up the fight.

“It just does not make sense to be a freelancer in Lithuania,” he says. “The sheer majority of newspapers opt for relying on their in-house journalists, whom they pay a salary of LTL 1000 litas (EUR 289 euros), rather than commissioning stories from freelancers.”

In the crisis years 2008-2009, when most financially-hit outlets axed their journalists, Tumosa had hoped that the demand for freelancers would increase. This, however, did not happen.

“On the contrary, editorial offices, after cutting their full-time journalists’ salaries nearly to the minimum wage, let go of their freelancers, and had all the writing done by their in-house staff,” Tumosa explains.
At the peak of his freelance career, the 24-year-old journalist was not able to work for more than three to four print outlets at a time.

“One website which was initially interested in publishing my stories ended up deciding that it did not need any external help in filling up its content. The editors did not even explain to me whether there was something wrong with my stories. They simply let me go,” Tumosa says.

He declined to mention the name of the news site, fearing “adverse consequences in the future.”

Another outlet, a regional newspaper in the industrial town of Taurage in the southwest of the country, kept commissioning stories from him for a while, paying LTL 100 (EUR 28) per a piece. With the crisis worsening, however, his honorary was slashed more than twice, down to LTL 40 (EUR 11) per a piece.

“My self-esteem would not allow me to continue working for such poor pay. I just quit writing. Sadly, a grocery shop assistant earns more than most Lithuanian journalists, especially in the province,” says Tumosa, who graduated from Vilnius University’s Institute of Journalism.

He believes the editors of the provincial newspaper would only commission stories that its in-house reporters did not wish to take on.

“I felt that some journalists would avoid certain topics for fear of possible reprisals from the people quoted in their stories, who often tended to be the local big shots,” Tumosa said. He also contributed as a freelancer for the major daily Lietuvos Rytas for a while, until he was waived.

“We see the future of our newspaper with our in-house full-time journalists,” one of the editors told him. “We are not interested in freelancers’ stories, unless somebody comes up with some explosive stuff.”
Tumosa says he is not aware of any print media freelancer who would be able to make ends meet by freelancing only.

“I have heard that the New York Times pays USD 1000 for a feature piece. Sure, most print media outlets in Western Europe pay less, but none as little as in Lithuania, where you receive USD 20 or less for a feature story. How many of them do you need to get published if you want to make a living as a freelancer?” Tumosa asks.

“The Lithuanian media market is too small,” he says. “It relies exclusively on full-timers. In addition, there is no freelancing tradition.”

Ramune Ramanauskiene, editor and director of the Taurages Zinios, a weekly newspaper in Taurage, says she works with several freelance journalists.

“One freelancer steadily contributes to our sport section,” Ramanauskiene says. “I commission some stories from him and he proposes his own ideas as well. I like his style and work ethics. I don’t know, however, if he fits the description of a Western European freelance journalist, as we, unfortunately, can only offer him a very symbolic low fee. I believe freelance assignments should be met with a certain competitiveness in payment, an aspect which is missing in Lithuania.”

In Ramanauskiene’s view, freelancing in Lithuania is for the most part not as much about a certain lifestyle and a career choice as it is about earning some extra money.

“There is no way a freelance journalist could make a living from freelance writing in the province, as all newspapers rely on their in-house staff,” she says.

According to Ramanauskiene, provincial editors rely mostly on retired educated people and low-paid professionals, such kindergarten teachers, to fill up the space in their newspapers. “I would rather call them contributors than freelancers,” she says.

“I am not sure whether they can be called freelancers, because not only is there a lack of competitive compensation, but the other aspects of what I cannot imagine freelancing without – professionalism and quality – are also missing. As amateur contributors, they, as a rule, lack the in-depth skills that a professional freelance journalist, I assume, must have,” Ramanauskiene argues.

She points out that, traditionally, journalists in Lithuania, especially in the regions, feel more secure when they are “attached” to their editorial offices.

“They want to go and work at their editorial offices every day and occupy their desks the way their parents and grandparents did,” Ramanauskiene explains. “True freelancers, I assume, enjoy their independence. It is the core of the business. In Lithuania, most contributors usually write for one newspaper. I believe that old-fashioned editors would not allow them to write for other newspapers.” She says that she is aware of successful freelancers working for the most popular television programmes. “As far as I know, however, they come from other fields of life, such as politics, economics and show business. Only very few certified journalists work as freelancers,” says Ramanauskiene.

Dainius Radzevicius, chairman of Lithuania’s Journalist Union, says there are dozens of people working for honoraria in the Lithuanian media.“Only very few have established their careers as freelancers. Most write for small honoraria to somewhat increase their wages. I would not even call them freelancers. The salary is the line that separates Lithuanian from Western European freelancers,” Radzevicius emphasised.

Aronas Bagdonas, a former freelance journalist in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, says he put an end to his freelance activities because he was unable to make ends meet. “I was lucky to find a full-time job as a translator,” Bagdonas reveals.

Genoveita Burneikiene, a former lecturer at Vilnius University’s Institute of Journalism, says that freelance journalists are still relatively “a new thing” in the national media landscape. “Most editorial offices, particularly in the province, are still dominated by senior editors reminiscent of the Soviet era, who organise their newsrooms the way they did twenty years ago,” Burneikiene says. “Many of them are afraid that skilled freelance journalists might overshadow their in-house staff, and even themselves,” she adds. “That is the essential difference with Western news outlets, who build their reputation on the prominence of their journalists, usually freelancers.”

*Original article published by Linus Jegelevicius and the European Journalism Centre, September 9, 2011.

Image by Vincent Desjardins

“It is a priveledge to be a journalist in this country.”

And yet never has there been so much pessimism about journalism and its future than in these times. These are the words of Charles L. Overby, Chairman of the Freedom Forum and Diversity Institute – an independent foundation that strives to defend and safeguard the Constitution’s First Amendment – and CEO of the Newseum, the interactive museum on the history of journalism in Washington D.C.

In fact, the circulation figures of American dailies published in the Audit Bureau of Circulation are not very comforting: from April to September this year, 635 daily newspapers registered a decrease of 5 percent compared to the same period last year (the previous year’s decrease was even greater – 10 percent).  In particular, according to Overby’s information, the Washington Post lost 13 percent and the New York Times 8 percent.  The Wall Street Journal and USA Today are an exception, and confirm their positions as the most-read and most-sold newspapers – and their accounts are not in the red, they actually earn money.  Sunday editions on the other hand have seen a 4.5 percent drop and the edition with the largest readership is that of the NYT.

Overby believes the time has come for publishers to act and become the promoters of change, rather than suffering its consequences.  One of the greatest challenges, in his opinion, is to recover from one of our largest mistakes: offering content and news free on the Web.  Inverting the trend will not be easy for certain.  Publishers will have to explain to their readers why a product that, until now, has been available for free suddenly comes with a price.  And they shouldn’t be surprised if readers are reluctant.  It’s important to make audiences understand that a quality product, a unique product that translates to value, has a price.  This is also why copyright regulation must be introduced to protect content and force the brakes on news aggregators, he says.

Furthermore, Overby is hopeful about the future of journalism and of newspapers, even those in print. We haven’t heard the last word yet, especially as long as advertisers continue to prefer paper for their advertising and the press continues to control the agenda and the selection of news items.

Natascha Fioretti reports from Washington, where she attends the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists.

Translated by Ann Wise

TimesCast captures newsroom missteps.

Last month the New York Times launched TimesCast, a daily video produced during morning meetings in the newsroom. The mini program summarizes major stories and includes interviews with the staff, offering readers a peek at the paper’s inner workings. The idea was to jump on the technology train in order to showcase the Times‘ journalism, taking a unique stab at transparency.  As anyone could guess, “uncut” newsroom footage is a stretch from the cool, polished reporting the Times is known best for.  Several recent incidents – heated Tweets, sensitive discourse, fumbled facts – highlight the difficulties in introducing less-forgiving, real-time platforms for newsgathering.

Read more from NYT‘s public editor Clark Hoyt at nytimes.com.

Associated Press agrees to high quota for daily news stories.

A deal with Yahoo Finance requires the wire service to produce 500 news stories daily, a figure weighing heavily on reporters, inspiring anxiety and encouraging the production of shoddy faux-news. An AP staff reduction of 10 percent saw the quota hold strong without comparable curtailment. With reporters monitored intensely, forced to churn out quantity before quality, an ambitious newsroom atmosphere quickly dissipates to tension and paranoia.

Read more at Gawker.