To the point: Turning time into money

"What does the medium of the future look like? How do I turn my newspaper into an indispensable media brand? How can you still earn money with journalism? And how can I advertise cleverly in this environment?" ask media makers and journalists, advertising clients and advertisers.

And the customer, our reader, simply asks, "Why should I spend money on this service?"

Mathias Müller von Blumencron, head of faz.net, starts the year full of euphoria and with four theses: 2016 will be the year of digital journalism, he writes. In the flood of information disseminated via digital channels and social media, the value of credible information backed by an established media brand is increasing. Readers want to be able to trust content again. Let's hope he's right. For the readers we already know from print, that's certainly true. But what about the young people who are just becoming media recipients? What will they actually read in the future? And why?

Müller von Blumencron goes on to forecast an "offensive of excellence in the digital realm": in the future, readers will be willing to pay for quality, not just in print, but also on the web. If more and more printed media disappear from the market, they will of course have no choice. Media makers must finally understand that readers are willing to pay for the quality of information, not for delivery on a particular channel; print or digital is irrelevant. The value of the information must be right.

Müller von Blumencron also sees an "explosion of journalistic formats" coming. Of course, the possibilities for preparing a topic in the digital world - with text, images, film, sound and cross-references - are heavenly. Nevertheless, there will only be two formats: Speed and depth. One variant is fast, small-scale information that is brought to the reader as quickly as possible and free of charge. The other variant is stories: well-researched stories, background reports and advice articles for which the author has invested time and which only reach the public when they are round and ready. The reader has to pay for this work, because the production of such journalistic output costs money. A classic value chain.

Operators of editorial departments, which are being bled dry and shrunk, need to think carefully about what this means: Editorial departments need people for speed and people for depth. A one-man show cannot continuously serve both formats day after day. And even in the newsroom, drilling deep is difficult. In short, journalists need time for research, thinking and polishing the text in their day-to-day work.

Fourth, Müller von Blumencron expects the development of a new business model: Journalistic offerings would detach themselves from media presences and find their way to readers via global online platforms. In return, the editorial team would receive the advertising revenues. An interesting approach. And perhaps an opportunity for freelance journalists: Research in peace, place polished text and exciting research results, and collect. But how does one control and limit the use of one's intellectual property once it has landed on the web? And can a few advertising banners feed a family? Let alone finance a publishing house?

This is where the development of an e-commerce offering, which is defined in a current trend study by the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers as "the dominant trend" of the hour, may come into play. If newspaper publishers enter the Internet trade in food and consumer goods - à la Entlebucher Anzeiger (Entlebucher-shop.ch), this offers "huge potential," as the study puts it. However, such activities mean that the focus on the actual journalistic mission and its transfer to the digital realm is falling by the wayside. But that's exactly what it's all about in the first place.

I think the range of products and services offered by media companies can only be expanded to a very limited extent. Otherwise, they put their credibility on the line.

Think about it: when do you spend money on written, thoughtful things, whether they come in print or digital? I pay when I can save some of my most scarce commodity: Time.

Readers gain time either when they receive information that is important to them quickly and concisely prepared. Or when the time they invest in reading is rewarded with excitement, entertainment, knowledge or assistance. This is the value chain of the future. Only those who save readers time or fill their time with profit will still be able to earn money with journalism. More than ever, Benjamin Franklin is right: Time is money.

Anne-Friederike Heinrich, Editor-in-Chief Werbewoche

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