Monthly Archives: January 2009

Media acquisition, the French way

January 25, 2009 – 7:26 pm

TweetTons of cash for publishers, little in  return. That’s the Sarkozy prescription to “save” the press. For €600m ($767m) to be spent over three years, the French president is buying if not influence, the French media barons’ ear and goodwill. This is not a stimulus package. This is a band-aid to an ailing industry that [...]

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The tragic economics of ultra-small news sites

January 25, 2009 – 7:25 pm

TweetTwo days before heading the Elysée gathering, I had a conversation with the founder of a tiny French news sites called Bakchich. info. The guy’s name is Nicolas Beau. He has a hell of a track record in investigative reporting. He spent quite a while at le Canard Enchained, a satirical newspaper-like weekly known for [...]

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What to invest in now?

January 25, 2009 – 7:25 pm

TweetSo, awright, we have a real new president. Some in the kommentariat found his Inaugural Address “average”.  Others, such as the NYT’s editors, gave it carefully weighted yet eloquent praise.  I enjoyed the sobriety, the quality of the language, not too everyday, not too clerical or esoteric.  Above all, I like the call to collective [...]

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The alchemy of users stickiness

January 18, 2009 – 5:36 pm

Tweet“You’ll see. Time spent on sites will settle the issue of audience measurement. That is where everyone will ultimately come to an agreement”. Thus spake the head of Mediametrie /NetRatings in France. Last week, we were having another passionate discussion about the way we measure websites audiences. My view: the always changing methodology, the discrepancies [...]

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Seven statues for Steve Jobs

January 18, 2009 – 5:32 pm

TweetFor this week’s Monday Note, the plans was to calmly traverse the field of investment opportunities as redefined, upended is a better word, or narrowed, by what is shaping up as depression.  I used to write recession or recession/depression but, now, even the Washington sages are now losing their calm.  Today, they’re conceding: the bailout [...]

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The Upcoming Catharsis of 2009

January 11, 2009 – 10:18 pm

TweetHow about a contrarian view of 2009? After a while (say, five years) we might come to view this year as highly beneficial to the information industry. Why? Three reasons: -    It will force news organizations to stop procrastinating and implement life-saving  decisions. -    It will accelerate radical change.  What was supposed to take several [...]

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Healthcare

January 11, 2009 – 10:17 pm

TweetLast week’s dismissal of Healthcare as one of the subjects to watch in 2009 was met with strong retorts. Difficult, confusing, fraught with ideology, demagoguery, logomachies, it doesn’t matter, readers write back.  This is the most important topic of all, without health, nothing else counts, look at how much of the GDP gets into healthcare.

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Blogging, a new journalistic genre ?

January 5, 2009 – 8:25 am

TweetOver this new year, one of the most interesting developments on the Internet will be the continued evolution of blogging. Starting as little more than populist rants, blogging has already transcended its origins and grown into a fresh new journalistic genre, one that is likely to become the main engine of modern news sites. Two [...]

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Things to watch in 2009

January 5, 2009 – 8:23 am

TweetNo predictions, no forecast, that’s above my pay grade, just sifting through this coming year’s most interesting trends.  The Chinese curse, May you live in interesting times, being upon us, we might as well try and make the best of this New Year.

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