[10652] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Interactive Publishing Alert -- March Issue Now Available
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rosalind Resnick)
Thu Mar 3 23:11:12 1994
Reply-To: rosalind@harrison.win.net (Rosalind Resnick)
To: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 1994 21:55:34
From: rosalind@harrison.win.net (Rosalind Resnick)
The March issue of Interactive Publishing Alert is now available.
This month's issue contains highlights of last months Interactive
Newspapers 94 conference, co-sponsored by The Kelsey Group and Editor
& Publisher, which drew more than 600 editors, publishers and consultants
from around the world. The issue includes profiles of Mercury Center,
The San Jose Mercurys joint venture with America Online, and News in
Motion, a full-color multimedia newspaper published by Todd Chronis of
WalkSoft Corp. There are also reports on audiotex, online shopping,
database marketing, personal digital assistants, N11 and interactive
television plus a sampling of reader opinion on Bicycling Magazine
Online, one of America Onlines newest electronic publishing alliances. The issue also contains a roundup of the latest online publishing deals and excerpts of speeches by Interactive Newspapers 94 speakers and panelists.
Here are some of the highlights:
* Donald Brazeal, editor and publisher of Digital Ink, a Washington Post
subsidiary formed to develop and manage the companys electronic products:
"There are some visionaries out there in other industries that ... want
to rent us a hotdog stand in their electronic shopping mall. ... As
traditional publishers, our greatest risk is letting others define us."
* Ross Glatzer, president of Prodigy Services Co., the United States
largest online service with over two million members: "I believe the
marriage of major newspapers and national online services makes the most
sense. ... The newspaper brings to the table its editorial strengths
along with skill in marketing to newspaper readers. The online service
brings a proven delivery mechanism, knowledge of the intricacies of the
information highway, network-management capabilities and skill in
marketing to computer users."
* Randolph Charles, director of marketing and new business development,
Newsday and New York Newsday: "The move to multimedia for newspapers is
an imperative, not an ancillary product opportunity. ... A position you
should take is one of placing many small bets, ... [to] try to get your
toe in lots of different pots of water as you move into the new world."
* Chris Jennewein, general manager of Mercury Center, an online and
audiotex extension of The San Jose Mercury News: "This is not a small
risk. This is a medium-to-large risk."
Here are some key numbers presented at the conference that publishers
ought to consider before venturing into interactive media:
* Newspapers advertising share is continuing to shrink even as large
newspaper chains report hefty profits. While newspapers continue to
command the greatest share of U.S. advertising dollars, raking in $31.8
billion last year, according to McCann-Erickson, their share of the
advertising market has slipped from 27.6 percent in 1980 to 23.1 percent
today, losing ground to direct mail and Yellow Pages.
* Though 33 percent of U.S. households now own computers and 13 percent
have modems, online services are still far from a mass market. Roughly
4 million people subscribe to the four major online services, Prodigy,
CompuServe, America Online and Genie; more than 16 million people read
TV Guide.
* Nevertheless, newspapers are betting heavily that interactive media
will grow. The number of newspapers offering audiotex, fax-on-demand
and/or online services has soared from 42 in 1989 to 2,700 today,
according to The Kelsey Group.
Interactive Publishing Alert, a monthly online newsletter tracking
developments in interactive publishing and electronic media, provides
hands-on information and advice for editors and publishers thinking
about going online and for publications that have ventured online
already. Each issue contains a timely analysis of current trends
plus interviews with key managers and decision-makers and case studies
of publications that are doing things right (and wrong!). Future issues
will explore online advertising, Internet storefronts, newspapers on
the Net, multimedia, niche marketing, and other topics related to
interactive publishing.
Interactive Publishing Alert, is edited and published by Rosalind
Resnick, a veteran business and technology writer who specializes in
online services and consults with newspapers and magazines expanding
into interactive media. Ms. Resnick is also the author of Exploring the
World of Online Services (Sybex, 1993). She can be reached on the
Internet at rosalind@harrison.win.net.
______________________________________________________________
Subscription Info: A subscription to Interactive Publishing Alert is
available for $149 for 12 monthly issues; $79 for six monthly issues;
$45 for three monthly issues, and $15 for single issues. To order this
newsletter online, use Gopher to connect to marketplace.com, an Internet
information mall, by typing 'gopher marketplace.com'. Once you see the
MarketPlace menu, select the 'Interactive Publishing Alert' menu item.
To subscribe via e-mail, send a message to ipa@marketplace.com. Please
include your name, title, company name, phone number, billing address,
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