Fox is Secretly Creating New Networks

What started as something of a whim has grown into a media phenomenon that promises to change the way we get our news. The Strategy Room, a FoxNews.com online streaming TV program that has the look and feel of a typical cable news program, came on the scene during the 2008 Presidential election because there was simply too much political news to be covered by the network. I don't know if the architects of the program knew it at the time, but they were creating a bridge between traditional and new media that was both exciting and profound.

Often, when I am working on my computer, I play Strategy Room behind the window or document I am working on and click to it when they bring up something of interest. When I find myself watching closely, I almost get lost in it and forget that it is a web based show. Fans of new media like myself love it and say "thank you very much," but one has to wonder whether it is in the network's own self interest. I think it is, because the move to online is inevitable. After all, the show has great talent and a professional set, but the big costs to creating a network are the distribution costs. An online program like Strategy Room does not have such problems. However, it seems such moves only weakens the legs of traditional networks, but the power of the Internet leaves them little choice. Fox News seems to understand they are in the information business, more than TV. That will keep the network relevant.

Eric Bolling, who hosts one of the Strategy Room hours has been a guest on my show and we discussed the program's reach. "It is really amazing," he noted, "we often get thousands of emails from people around the country -- and world -- who are wanting to interact with us on the news." The lines between old media and new are only becoming more blurred. He told me that most at Fox were under the impression that Strategy Room would fade away after the elections, but its popularity demanded for it to stay.

It doesn't end with Strategy Room, however. When you get to the site and the actual streaming you find that your options don't end with the talk show. If a governor is being impeached, you see the proceeding live. If a stimulus package is stuck in the Congress, you see it live. If another Obama apointee is trying to explain why he or she doesn't have to pay taxes, you see it as it happens. These additional views probably cost very little for Fox to produce, because the networks already have cameras at these locations, but they make it easier for viewers like myself to stay with the site so I can keep up to date on what is going on. With C-Span you are having to bounce bank and fourth between channels. With Strategy Room, it is all there and one click away. Furthermore, you can also find Fox News Radio conveniently located there and for those who only want to focus their eyes on their work, it is excellent alternative. I am expecting the network to only add "more channels" as it goes along.

There is also a very high likelihood that other TV networks will create similar web based platforms and online channels of their own. Furthermore, this move by Fox only makes it easier for up start new media entrepreneurs to compete against the major players.

The only down side to Strategy Room is that it has yet to find a way to monetize the network. Currently, all the staff have to make themselves available for all the network's news programs, so I don't believe there are additional salary demands in the talent area. But there are costs for those involved in production and the show runs 9 hours a day (from 9 am to 6 pm Eastern). I would think that it would be fairly easy to make it profitable. Yahoo Music does short breaks and plays an ad and there is room for labeling on the big screen TVs in the room or even at the table they sit at. I am only assuming that they are making sure they are in a position to make a long term commitment to the concept. It is pretty safe to assume they will and I believe new media will continue to improve because of it.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

HOLLYWOOD RAGS FIND ECONOMY A DRAG!

I remember the old black and white movies and the Variety newspaper headlines they would show about the celebrity character in the film. They were big (usually all caps) and often highlighted with an exclamation point. With that, I couldn't resist giving homage to this old style when I learned recently that some of the movie industries biggest newspapers are facing serious troubles.

Mediabistro notes that "for more than 75 years, Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have battled to be the movie industry's top newspaper, but recent layoffs due to the recession and competition from Internet blogs has Hollywood wondering if it will soon become a one paper town."

Advertising revenues are plummeting, even during the Oscars season where it is very common for the movie studios to spend big money on full page ads to get their films the recognition they believe is deserved. There are few things more powerful than an Oscar to get people into the movies. The public relations value is without compare. Furthermore, although Variety and the Reporter are expensive to buy ad space, they are less expensive than ads in publications that have larger audience. So with those ads movie makers can hit their target constituents hard to get the statue, but this year they are not doing it.

Don't worry though, the studios are still promoting their films, but they are using bloggers and other online media rather than spending big budgets on forms of promotion that often solicits skepticism rather than interest. Here are a few factors working against the Hollywood newspapers:

• People are more influenced by the opinions of others than they are ads. Ads are insincere, "you mean they think you should watch their movie?" This is not a surprise and the movie makers are becoming aware of this reality.


• The Hollywood set are more technically savvy than the larger population. These people are less likely to wait for a newspaper or look for one when they know the absolute latest information is on their laptop or mobile. News is about currency and that is exactly what print newspapers lack. The suffering that is rampant among old media in general is even greater in Hollywood news.


• Although Hollywood fairs better than other industries in times of recession, everyone including tinsel town is operating with far more caution.

Increasingly print media is simply losing its relevance. People want what they want, when they want it. This does not bode well for print media, no matter the industry.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Jett Travolta's Death Says Something About News Authority

I was surfing around the Web today while watching football games and I stumbled on a notice that John Travolta and Kelly Preston's son, Jett died today while they were vacationing in the Bahamas. I wasn't particularly familiar with the site and so I immediately went to look for more information. After all, as a person who was a teenager in the 1970s, I was as big a John Travolta fan. Also, Jett's news was tragic regardless of what you thought of his acting parents. Soon I found TMZ reporting this and I knew that site had more credibility than most entertainment news sources, but this young man was only 16 and the source was still "entertainment news." I was looking for a more reliable source.

Soon I began to find it in more traditional sources and learned that young Jett often suffered seizures and John Travolta had been quoted saying "we almost lost him" in a TV interview a few years ago. However, the cause of death was conflicting. Some sources said he injured himself in a bathtub, while others said it was a seizure. I assume it will be concluded that if a head injury was involved, it started with a seizure.

It took a few"clicks" before I found a page that I considered authoritative and it made me think about the way people perceive web sources. In spite of the rise of blogs -- there are over 133 million of them on the Internet -- I believe people still want to get their news from traditional sources. The more traditional, the better, it appears. I didn't fully embrace the validity of the story until I read it in Reuters (showing my bias for business news I assume).

As someone who writes four or five posts a week, I find this a little disconcerting. Although it is true that some blogs carry more authority than others and this one is written by someone with twenty plus years experience in journalism, it is still a blog. When I did my search based on authority, I instantly dismissed articles that were blog sources.

There are reasons why there are 133 million plus blogs on the Internet today and it isn't because people have nothing better to do than write them (well, not all of them at least). I know many read mine, as I find quotes by me on other blogs and news articles and I get emails and calls from others about my posts. But the gap between traditional and new media remains obvious.

Note: I hate for my analysis to distract from the tragedy of the passing of a teenager who is far too young to die. However, I will leave stories about him to those who are more eloquent than myself to write such. I leave it to those who know him and the family far better than I do. As a father, I find this story particularly tragic and send my sympathies.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

New York Times is Worth How Much?

The New York Times, which is really a national newspaper with a comparable circulation to USA Today, has been reported to have a remarkably low value, according to Business Week. How low did the New York Times go? On Wall Street, its trading value has plummeted to half of what it enjoyed from just a year ago to $12.48 per share. That means it only has a market cap of less than $1.8 billion.

Business Week states, to "put this in perspective, CBS recently acquired tech publisher CNET, a much weaker media brand, for $1.8 billion. Add in the company's $1.1 billion of debt, subtract $42 million for its cash on hand, and the company's total enterprise value—a valuation measure that totals up those items in such a fashion—is just $2.85 billion."

Newspapers are taking a beating every where. In 1993 the Boston Globe sold for over $1 billion. Last year it was being marketed for around half that ($500 to $600 million). Most newspapers have faced a crushing blow because of the Internet and the rise of the new media. The Wall Street Journal, which was sold by the Bancroft family to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for $5 billion (roughly twice its value on the stock market) is a happy exception to what is going on in old media. The fact the Bancroft family -- which seemed very connected to its publication -- sold it at all, demonstrates how concerned they were about the future of their holding.

Increasingly newspapers are trying to make the shift to the web as their primary media vehicle. New York Times has even gone so far to say that it could be exclusively online in a few years. Unfortunately, many newer companies are well ahead of them in this game and brand loyalty simply isn't what it use to be. The only newspapers that have enjoyed an increase in advertising dollars in recent years are those that are free. Be the writing in the newspaper or on the Internet, the writing on the wall isn't very positive for many of the strongest names in print media.

Would you like to get a periodical email of the best of Kevin Price's political and economic content? Subscribe to the Houston Business Review at Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

In the Future, Not All New Media Will Be Short

I have noticed that most of the videos and audios you find online are typically very short. I've been told by media experts that the magic number is four minutes. "More than four and the viewer gets bored." This had something to do, I'm sure, with the time restrictions placed by YouTube. Wired Magazine says we live in a "snack culture" that simply doesn't want to consume anything of substance when it comes to media.

Others argue that four is too many. There is the "One Minute How To" (designed to explain how to do something), the "One Minute Tip" (on technology), the "Sixty Second Investor" and many more. The assumption is that people simply are not going to spend that much time on a single video. It is the ADHD frenzy that is pervasive in online.

I personally believe this is about to change and the new International CES validates that assumption. This electronic expo is demonstrating numerous devices that make the link between the computer and the TV is becoming much more narrow. Soon, we will all be able to simply transmit what we want to watch from our computer to the TV. If we watch online programming on our TV and continue to emphasize short programs, we will have to do a great deal of work just developing a program line up.

I envision the growth of programming that will especially for the Internet. Weekly series that our 30 minutes or an hour long. Netflix, which has movies available online that most are watching on their computers, will become increasingly more relevent as people find it easier to transfer the images on a TV screen.

Eventually the web will cover the whole scope of media in terms of size and type. I also believe that TV will become a mere display tool, but the real media will be the Internet itself.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.