- usa today

THE NATION’S NEWSPAPER
Collegiate
Case
Study
www.usatodaycollege.com
25 Years of MTV
By Cindy Clark, Jayme Deerwester, Taryn
Hartman, Korina Lopez, Whitney
Matheson and Alison Maxwell
.................................................................................4-7
Google eyes new ad ventures:
Old media
By Jefferson Graham
................................................................................8-10
Papers take leap forward
By David Lieberman
..............................................................................11-14
Protest tunes bubble up as
war’s popularity sinks
By Edna Gundersen
...................................................................................15
While newspaper editors and associations are undertaking significant restructuring in order to respond to the evolving demands of technological media-based
news and to capture a share of technology-based advertising, other ventures have
surged into the market. Technology firms such as Google have pioneered new
trends in advertising and are increasingly interested in the news industry.
Corporate website designers in turn are becoming savvier about creative applications to enhance their advertising profile on the web. Meanwhile, major news is
moving into the domain of popular culture, with artists rendering political messages in their work. This case study profiles key trends in media overall and examines the role of various actors in the sector.
‘Rolling Stone’ founder
keeps things fun
What better way to make
editorial calls?
By David Lieberman
USA TODAY
Critical inquiry
Discussion and future implications
............................................................................................16
USA TODAY Snapshots®
NEW YORK — For ty years after
founding Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner still
prides himself on a keen sense for what's
on the cutting edge of pop culture.
So you might be not believe what
medium excites the chairman and
president of Wenner Media most in this
era of revolutionary new options on
broadband and cellphones.
Minding their media
Estimated number of hours
the typical American will
spend using various
media this year:
Watching TV
Listening to
radio
Using
Internet
Reading
newspapers
Listening
to recorded
music
Media Literacy
1,555
974
195
175
175
Sources: Communications Industry Forecast & Report; Statistical
Abstract of the United States, 2007
Wenner — who helped launch writers
Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe and
photographer Annie Leibovitz — still likes
old-fashioned, ink-and-paper magazines.
"What does the magazine do better
than any other medium?" he asks. "It
does photography better. It does layouts
April: The 40th anniversary issues of Rolling Stone.
better. It does long reads better. You can
have a point of view. And if you do those
things well, you'll have an audience that's
loyal and steady — and the advertisers
will follow." Wenner, 61, has good reason
By Robert W. Ahrens, USA TODAY
© Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reser ved.
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION, JUNE 12, 2007
an offer to merge Rolling Stone with MTV in exchange for 25%
of the company.
"If I had done that deal, I wouldn't have had any enjoyment,
and I would have sold the stock," he says. "I would never have
had the foresight to say, 'I should hold the stock because
someday Sumner Redstone will build this up and it will be
worth $3 billion.' I would not have thrived under an enterprise
like MTV."
His job also has non-financial perks: He flew to Amsterdam
to interview Bob Dylan for Rolling Stone's anniversary issue.
(Wenner took his magazine's name from Dylan's 1965 classic
Like a Rolling Stone.)
That's why he scoffs at frequent speculation that he's gearing
up to sell Wenner Media, which doesn't have an heir apparent.
"Why would I sell? I've got the most enjoyable job, and I'm
having the greatest time doing it."
By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY
Neatness counts: “I think if you've got a messy office, you must have a
messy mind,” says Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone, Men's Journal
and Us Weekly magazines. “If I walk down the hallway of the company I
own, this is the way I want it to look. And I think it makes a good environment for everybody.”
to be upbeat. His privately held company is one of publishing's
most intriguing success stories.
Gross ad sales at his three magazines, including Us Weekly
and Men's Journal, collectively were up 19% to nearly $674
million last year, according to Publishers Information Bureau
data. (The total includes sales commissions that the company
doesn't collect.)
And this year is off to a strong start. Gross ad sales at the
three magazines were up 20%, to $135.8 million, in the first
quarter vs. the same period last year. That's remarkable
considering the magazine industry overall saw ad sales rise just
3.8% last year.
"It's a tough environment out there," Wenner says. "In the
last 20 years we've had cable TV and now the Internet. That
makes the overall competition tougher than ever for people's
share of mind and attention."
Wenner, who helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
says he has thrived by trusting his gut. Instead of basing
editorial and business decisions on readership surveys or
financial repor ts, he considers what he likes and — as
important — what would be fun.
The result is sometimes choices that would baffle traditional
business strategists. For example, around 1981 he turned down
His desire for control occasionally may seem excessive. For
example, he insists on neat desks.
"I think if you've got a messy office, you must have a messy
mind," he says. "If I walk down the hallway of the company I
own, this is the way I want it to look. And I think it makes a
good environment for everybody."
No question, Wenner's having a ball being a celebrity
executive — one whose name frequently shows up in gossip
columns. Gossip also is paying off handsomely for his company
with the success of Us Weekly, a bi-monthly he bought in 1986
and converted to a weekly in 2000 to take on Time Warner's
People and American Media's Star.
"Nobody had ever competed with those two," he says. "Star
was still in scandal mode. People was running stories about
nuns falling down wells and Cher and Elizabeth Taylor.
Meanwhile, this new generation is coming along with new
style, new attitudes. And we tapped it."
Us now accounts for about 60% of Wenner Media's revenue
after two years of about 35% annual ad sales growth, and 19%
growth in the first quarter of 2007. Circulation, at 1.75 million,
is up 106% since late 2001. Total readership is up 192% to 11.1
million, according to Mediamark Research.
Few predicted it would be such a hit. Industry watchers also
scratched their heads in 2001 when Wenner sold half of the
magazine to Disney for $30 million — an odd development
considering the entertainment giant had just dumped its
magazine assets, including Fairchild Publications and Los
Angeles Magazine.
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About Jann Wenner
anything Disney's ever done, except for maybe the overall
corporation," says Eisner.
u Born: New York City, Jan. 7, 1946.
Meanwhile, Wenner has kept Rolling Stone growing by
balancing articles that appeal to college students with those for
baby boomers. In addition to the stories about pop music, he
says, both groups key into the magazine's sharp-edged
coverage of politics and current events.
u Education: Dropped out of University of California
at Berkeley.
u Recent reads: Dreams from My Father: A Story of
Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama; Lolita by
Vladimir Nabokov.
u Latest music: Modern Times by Bob Dylan, Stadium
Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nashville by
Solomon Burke, and Continuum by John Mayer.
u Recent movie: Notes on a Scandal.
u Advice: "I tell people: 'Trust your gut.'"
u Biggest mistake: "Hiring the wrong people."
"That had a few people thinking I was insane," former Disney
CEO Michael Eisner says. "It was only because of Jann. Solely
and completely. And I liked the idea (of competing) in what was
perceived to be a decaying industry. Now that I think about it, it
was probably pretty stupid."
He can laugh now. Last year Wenner bought back Disney's
share in the magazine for $300 million. "It turned out
unbelievable — probably the biggest increase in value of
"It presents serious news in a more compelling way," he says.
"The interpretation and deeper look into what's important to
the country at large — that discussion is taking place more in
Rolling Stone than it has in Time magazine for the last five or
six years."
He's also optimistic about Men's Journal, which has been
growing steadily but not as quickly as Wenner's other
magazines. The company plans an ad campaign to promote its
attention to adventurous lifestyles, as opposed to fashion and
fitness.
Wenner's even starting to warm up to the Internet. He plans
to add a social networking feature to RollingStone.com, which
now offers news, reviews and audio or other supplements to
the magazine's features.
Meanwhile, Us recently introduced a video channel on its site
and on Eisner's Veoh.com.
"Scanning the Internet, looking for information, bits and
pieces — it's great. You can skip around," Wenner says. "But it's
like: 57 channels and there's nothing on. And reading is not
going away."
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S LIFE SECTION, JULY 28, 2006
25
Years of MTV
Along the way, the network made
headlines and supplied countless
indelible memories. USA TODAY'S
Cindy Clark, Jayme Deerwester,
Taryn Hartman, Korina Lopez,
Whitney Matheson and Alison
Maxwell take us back through 25
key moments.
The birth of MTV
Aug. 1, 1981
1 MTV was born. A new concept — a
television network dedicated to the
young and the music they love — kicked
off at midnight with a video of British
band The Buggles' Video Killed the Radio
Star.
"Like any proud parents who count the
birth of their child as one of the greatest
days of their lives, MT V's debut is,
without a doubt, still one of the greatest
moments in the lives of everyone on the
crew," says Martha Quinn, one of five
original "VJs." Quinn recalls that the
production team had to take a school bus
to Fort Lee, N.J., to watch the debut on a
small television in a restaurant basement
— because Manhattan cable channels
weren't yet carrying the station.
"As the screen got dark and that rocket
went off for the first time, our heads
were exploding. We were rebels with a
cause, and we had the rock 'n' roll
generation and the television generation
behind us."
"I think we started as an idea with very
little content; it was more like a radio
station with songs and cheesy, hair-metal
videos," says Van Toffler, president of
MTV Networks' music/film/Logo group.
"But we quickly realized the novelty of
music videos wore off and was not
repeatable with thousands of viewings.
So we evolved into being more about TV
production — yet still sloppy, live and
organic."
Kiss comes clean
Sept. 18, 1983
2 The moment: Rockers Kiss appear
for the first time without their faces
obscured by gobs of makeup.
What made it special: The publicity
stunt for the album Lick It Up was the
first time the band members showed
their real faces in public. Record and
concert ticket sales rose, and the group
remained makeup-free for several years.
In 1996, the band reapplied its face paint
for a reunion tour.
Ghouls galore
Dec. 2, 1983
3 The moment: The elaborate 14minute music video Thriller has Michael
Jackson morphing from a teen on a date
to a werewolf and a zombie while he and
an army of the undead perform a ghouly
dance.
What made it special: Directed by John
Landis, the most expensive video of its
time ($1.4 million in today's dollars)
bridged the worlds of cinema and music
and forever changed how music videos
were made.
Not like a virgin
Sept. 14, 1984
4 The moment: Madonna ushered in
1984's inaugural Video Music Awards
with a bang (and a bustier) by
performing her hit Like a Virgin.
W h a t m a d e i t s p e c i a l : Though
relatively tame by today's standards, her
writhing on stage and sexually suggestive
moves helped cement her reputation as
a risque performer and set the stage for
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'Remote' turns us on
even more risque MT V VMAs shows
to come.
Dec. 7, 1987
A united front
9 The moment: With Remote Control,
pop-culture freaks found a gem of a
game show in host Ken Ober's basement.
Also lurking there: future stars Adam
Sandler and Denis Leary, in skits such as
"Stud Boy" and "Andy Warhol's Diary."
Dec. 15, 1984
5 The moment: Do They Know It's
Christmas, by the UK's Bob Geldof and
Midge Ure, is released by the all-British
Band Aid, which included such
performers as U2's Bono, Sting and Phil
Collins. By Christmas, the single had sold
6 million copies and raised $8 million to
benefit famine relief in Ethiopia.
What made it special: Beyond being a
stunning all-star charity drive, it led to
the even bigger American follow-up the
following March: We Are the World ,
which benefited the same cause. Geldof
appeared with superstars such as Stevie
Wonder, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and Tina
Turner performing a tune by Michael
Jackson and Lionel Richie and conducted
by producer Quincy Jones. Since its
release, We Are the World has raised
$63.1 million.
A united front 2
July 13, 1985
6 T h e m o m e n t : The multi-venue
music collaboration Live Aid, organized
by Geldof and Ure, aired to raise money
for famine relief in Ethiopia. Bands such
as The Who, Duran Duran and Hall &
Oates performed around the globe, with
main locations in London and
Philadelphia.
What made it special: The outgrowth
of Band Aid drew 1.5 billion viewers
across 100 countries for the live
broadcast, one of the largest-scale
satellite linkups and TV broadcasts of all
time. It raised more than $280 million.
And in July 2005, artists including U2,
Madonna, Pink Floyd and Jay-Z
performed at Live 8, 10 simultaneous
concer ts around the world to raise
awareness of world poverty. It drew an
estimated 3 billion viewers.
MTV/handout
MTV’s original VJs: Nina Blackwood, Mark
Goodman, Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson, and Alan
Hunter in 1984.
Beach blanket bingo?
March 21, 1986
7 The moment: The network set up
shop for spring-break shows in locales
such as Miami Beach, Cancun and the
Bahamas and entertained scantily clad
women with games, celebrity hosts and
hot music, essentially making it one big
(superbly financed) frat party.
W h a t m a d e i t s p e c i a l : Other than
taking voyeuristic TV to new heights,
there were a few notewor thy acts:
Notorious B.I.G.'s performance of Big
Poppa in 1995, and Gavin Rossdale's
band, Bush, doing Glycerine in '96.
'Sledgehammer' breaks out
Sept. 11, 1987
8 The moment: The animated video
for Peter Gabriel's hit single
Sledgehammer, directed by Stephen R.
Johnson, won Video Music Awards in a
record nine categories, including video of
the year and male video.
What made it special: Sledgehammer's
unique stop-motion animation helped it
become one of the most influential and
popular videos in MTV history. Several
groups went on to showcase animation
in their videos, leading right up to
current band Gorillaz, which exist in
videos as animated characters.
W h a t m a d e i t s p e c i a l : The show's
writing set the bar high for future TV
game shows such as Win Ben Stein's
Money . Categories such as "Beat the
Bishop" (math) and "Inside Tina Yothers"
(anatomy) simultaneously tested the
college-age contestants' education and
useless knowledge.
That's a rap
Aug. 6, 1988
1 0 T h e m o m e n t : Yo! MTV Raps
premieres, featuring interviews with rap
stars, live studio performances and
comedy.
W h a t m a d e i t s p e c i a l : The
groundbreaking show was the first to
showcase hip-hop, even as MTV was
getting a rap for ignoring the increasingly
influential musical genre. The initial
weekly format was expanded to six days
a week as its popularity boomed; ratings
star ted to fall in 1991 after Public
Enemy's video By the Time I Get to
Arizona was pulled for being too violent.
Yo! ran until 1995.
Pee-wee returns
Sept. 5, 1991
11 The moment: At the Video Music
Awards, Paul Reubens made his first
public appearance as Pee-wee Herman
since his arrest for lewd behavior that
July.
What made it special: It was his last
appearance as Pee-wee. His line: "Heard
any good jokes lately?"
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What made it special: Clinton's stance
on underwear signaled a shift in the
public perception of politicians. Of
course, it also served as the first time
Americans learned a little more about
that president's proclivities than they
may have wanted to know.
No strings attached
Nov. 18, 1993
14 The moment: The Seattle grunge
band Nirvana stripped out the guitar
feedback to play an acoustic concert for
MTV's Unplugged TV series in New York.
MTV/handout
It's a whole new world with Real World: The
reality series created a stir and a widely copied
format. The show was based in San Francisco and
featured Rachel, Pam and Pedro, front from left,
and Puck, back left, Cory, Mohammed and Judd.
Pedro, we learned, was living with AIDS.
What made it special: Without the
growling grunge sound, fans were able to
hear a band in its prime. Soul-baring
performances of Polly and Come as You
Are were highlights. It was also one of the
last televised performances by Kurt
Cobain, who would commit suicide less
than a year later, April 5, 1994.
Get 'Real'
May 21, 1992
12 The moment: A "reality" series,
The Real World , premieres. "Seven
strangers (are) picked to live in a house,
work together and have their lives
taped."
What made it special: It launched a
reality-TV format still widely copied.
Now in its 17th season, RW has tackled
social issues such as racism, abortion,
alcoholism and AIDS — most notably
with Pedro Zamora, a roommate living
with AIDS during the show's third
season.
Commander in briefs
April 20, 1993
13 The moment: 17-year-old student
Laetitia Thompson stood up during a
televised Rock the Vote forum and asked
President Clinton: "Boxers or briefs?"
Clinton revealed himself to be a tightywhitey man.
Cornholio is born
July 15, 1994
16 The moment: On the animated
Beavis and Butt-Head , a sugar binge
causes the normally shy Beavis to yank
his Metallica T-shirt up over his head and
become Cornholio, a Nicaraguan rebel in
search of "T.P. for his bunghole."
What made it special: With this classic
episode, Beavis went from mere sidekick
to show-stealer. "Cornholio" helped give
creator Mike Judge enough juice to score
a network show, King of the Hill.
You gotta Love it
Sept. 4, 1996
17 T h e m o m e n t : During the redcarpet arrivals at the Video Music
Awards, Courtney Love interrupted Kurt
Loder's interview with Madonna by
hurling her compact at them. The rocker
stole the Material Girl's thunder when
she stumbled on stage — babbling about
everything from Madonna's shoes to her
desire to be a candy striper — then fell
down.
W h a t m a d e i t s p e c i a l : Although
Madonna maintained her composure,
Love's brazen interruption marks one of
the most embarrassing moments in VMA
history.
MTV/handout
Acoustic: Kurt Cobain on Unplugged in 1993.
A kiss is just a kiss?
Sept. 8, 1994
15 The moment: Newlyweds Michael
Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley hit the
stage at the Video Music Awards holding
hands, and they received a standing
ovation.
What made it special: Jackson said,
"And just think, nobody thought this
would last." Then he turned to Presley
and passionately kissed her. Everybody
was right; Presley filed for divorce in
1996.
A big lil' stunt
Sept. 9, 1999
18 The moment: Lil' Kim showed up
at the Video Music Awards in a oneshouldered purple number with an
exposed breast covered by a pastie.
What made it really special: Tongues
started wagging when she hit the red
carpet. And then when Kim arrived on
stage with Mary J. Blige and Diana Ross
to present the award for rap video. Ross
reached over and cupped and jiggled
Kim's exposed breast.
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'Jackass': Tipped off
April 12, 2000
19 The moment: The reality series,
about a group of guys performing often
dangerous stunts for laughs, premieres
and soon becomes a hot topic of
conversation. Among outrageous stunts:
Frontman Johnny Knoxville voluntarily
sits in a full port-a-potty, and his friends
tip it over.
What made it special: The port-a-potty
incident put this group of skateboarding
slackers on the map, as viewers tuned in
to see which crazy antics they would
pull. Knoxville went on to star in films,
and Bam Margera got his own MT V
show, Viva la Bam.
Gross-out for good
May 23, 2000
2 0 T h e m o m e n t : Comedian Tom
Green invited a camera into the
operating room while he went under the
knife to remove a cancerous testicle for
The Tom Green Cancer Special.
What made it special: In a year that
saw David Letterman thank his heart
bypass surgeons on the air and Michael J.
Fox quit Spin City to focus on battling
Parkinson's disease, Time decided Green
was the gutsiest of all. The magazine
recognized how the quirky comic "took
his gross-out comedy to a new level on
an unflinching show that took quite a
pair to make."
What made it special: It marked a sort
of meltdown of the multiplatinum
superstar, alongside the tanking of her
movie Glitter . In the months that
followed, Carey was hospitalized for
"exhaustion," only to re-emerge in 2005
for a major comeback.
Diary of a mad family
March 5, 2002
2 2 T h e m o m e n t : The Osbournes
premieres, following the foul-mouthed
antics of metal demigod Ozzy Osbourne,
his manager wife, Sharon, teenage
daughter Kelly and son Jack as they go
about their daily lives.
What made it special: Much like The
Real World, the series inspired a wave of
similar reality shows that continues to
this day, drawing millions of viewers in
the process. It won MTV its first primetime Emmy in 2002. Says MTV exec Lois
Curren: "It was pure entertainment,
seeing extraordinary people experience
ordinary situations, like Ozzy taking out
the trash or going to the dentist. God
bless Ozzy. I don't think he even knew
we were there for the first few weeks."
TV's new honeymooners
Aug. 19, 2003
2 3 T h e m o m e n t : Premiere of
Newlyweds, which followed the early
married life of actor/singers Jessica
Simpson and Nick Lachey.
What made it special: "Is this chicken
what I'm eating, or is it fish?" Simpson's
line while eating Chicken of the Sea tuna
catapulted the pair to A-list status. The
three-season show spawned Til Death
Do Us Part: Carmen + Dave , which
followed the engagement and wedding
of Carmen Electra and rocker Dave
Navarro. Both couples have since split.
Girl meets girl
Aug. 28, 2003
24 The moment: Madonna performed
her classic hit Like a Virgin with Christina
Aguilera and Britney Spears at the Video
Music Awards. The Material Girl caused a
sensation when she shared an openmouthed kiss with Spears.
What made it special: The network
hyped a "big event" before the broadcast,
but no one quite expected a same-sex
kiss between a music icon and a pop sex
kitten. "I didn't know it was going to be
that long and everything," Spears told
CNN.
Nipplegate
Feb. 1, 2004
25 The moment: During Super Bowl
XXXVIII in Houston on CBS, Justin
Timberlake and Janet Jackson performed
a duet of his Rock Your Body. Near the
end of the MT V-produced set,
Timberlake tore off part of Jackson's
costume and revealed her right breast,
adorned with a sun-shaped nipple shield.
'Glitter' isn't gold
July 19, 2001
21 The moment: Scantily clad in a Tshir t, Mariah Carey made an
unannounced visit to the afternoon
video countdown show TRL , acting
strangely and delivering ice cream to the
audience. She told surprised VJ Carson
Daly, "If you don't have ice cream in your
life, sometimes you just might go a little
bit crazy."
What made it special: The incident
sparked public outcry, and the FCC hit
CBS with a $550,000 fine, the largest
penalty ever against a broadcaster. The
FCC has cracked down on what it
considers obscene content.
MTV/handout
Newlyweds: Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey in 2004.
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION, FEBRUARY 28, 2006
Google eyes new ad venues: Old media
Tech titan works on ways to use —
and profit from — targeted ads in
TV, radio, newspapers
By Jefferson Graham
USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Internet search giant Google ushered in the
biggest revolution in advertising since the dawn of television
when it popularized online ads that run near Web search
results. For the first time, advertisers had to pay only if
someone viewed an ad.
Now, Google wants to bring its targeted-advertising system
to old media: radio, magazines and newspapers, even TV
eventually.
"When I watch TV today, it seems that all sports fans are only
interested in beer," Google CEO Eric Schmidt told USA TODAY.
"We think there's a better way."
Google hasn't talked much publicly about its TV ambitions,
but television is clearly part of the company's long-term
strategy to expand its ad kingdom beyond the Internet. Nearly
all of Google's $1.4 billion in 2005 earnings came from ad sales.
The once-invincible search giant stumbled recently when it
missed Wall Street's first-quarter financial estimates. Its highflying stock has fallen nearly 100 points. (The stock opened at
$85 in 2004 and now sells for $390.) Escalating its advertising
strategy is one way to try to keep up the growth.
How Google is attempting to stretch ad sales:
u Print. In April, ads based on Google's auction-style pricing
will appear in some 26 magazines, including Martha Stewart
Living, Car and Driver and PC World. How it works: Google
buys ad space directly from publishers and auctions the space
to its clients. Google profits if advertisers offer more than
Google paid. The first auction closed Friday. Google will
announce the winning bidders, via e-mail, this Friday.
In a newspaper trial, Google is testing small text ads in the
business and sports sections of the Chicago Sun-Times. The ads
look similar to search ads that appear online — small, 10-word
messages that direct readers to websites and say "Ads by
Google" at the top.
By Sam Ward, USA TODAY
u Radio. In January, Google purchased dMarc Broadcasting,
which specializes in using computer technology to fill
otherwise unsold airtime. DMarc also offers advertisers realtime reports on when and how often an ad has aired on a
particular station, something that used to take months to
receive.
u T e l e v i s i o n . Google's new online video store
(video.google.com) sells reruns of shows from CBS and PBS for
viewing on Internet-connected PCs. It hopes to bring its
advertiser network to television. Schmidt would not discuss a
timetable. But he says TV set-top boxes could become a key
tool for Google to learn more about demographics and viewing
habits — and serve up tailored ads.
For more educational
resources,
visit http://education.usatoday.com
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How Google ran its ad auction
Google ended a test online auction Friday to open bidding on magazine ad
space. After browsing through Google’s list of 26 magazines, from which the
1. Research data for each magazine, 2. Pick ad size from a full page,
such as circulation, demographics
and household income of readers
to decide which magazine or magazines to advertise in.
a half-page or a quarter-page.
One full page is 81⁄8 x 9 9⁄16
inches.
1 page
1/2 page
search giant purchased the space, bidders filled out a one-page application
form. Here’s how it worked:
3. Select which issues to
advertise in.
4. Bid by entering the maxi-
July/ Aug. 2006
mum amount of money you’re
willing to pay in all of the selected issues. Google will reduce the actual cost to the
lowest price needed to win
the auction.
Sept. 2006
Total bid for issue(s) selected
5. Via e-mail, Google will announce
the winning bidders on Friday. Ads
start running in April.
Oct. 2006
1/4 page
Source: Google
USA TODAY
"Cable, satellite, telephone companies— they are all putting
devices in the home that make it possible for our computers to
find them," Schmidt said. "That makes it possible for us to, say,
address men who are 20 and in college, buy a lot of music
online and also voted in the last election."
Now, though, it is embarking on a battle with seasoned
competitors. In old-line media such as radio and television,
"There's no lack of people who are much more experienced,"
says Danny Sullivan, editor of the SearchEngineWatch online
site. "They will fight Google hard."
On a recent conference call, Schmidt told Wall Street analysts
that Google's focus this year is on applying its advertising skills
to "different mediums."
Google is increasingly perceived as an 800-pound gorilla.
Book publishers are suing Google over its plans to digitize outof-print books. Many companies have sued Google citing
trademark infringement relating to its online advertising
practices.
He addressed such innovations as the new video store, the
dMarc acquisition and new tools to bring Google search to
mobile phones. He said 2006 offers a "unique and historic
opportunity" to expand.
If Google can get its "fingers in the pot for every transaction,"
effectively becoming a broker between advertisers and media
outlets, it can "really win," says Jeff Lanctot, general manager of
Seattle-based interactive ad agency Avenue A/Razorfish, which
represents clients such as Microsoft and Coors Beer. Advertisers
are eager to bring the same targeted ads that work so well
online to other media, Lanctot says. Then, they would not have
to show an ad "to 100 people to reach the 10 who will find it
compelling."
"TV stations can charge extra," he says, and advertisers would
be willing to pay.
Competition won't roll over
Google didn't invent search-related advertising. Overture
(now Yahoo Search Marketing) launched the technique. But
Google's dominance as an Internet search engine enabled it to
popularize the form.
As a companion to its corporate manifesto "to organize the
world's information," Google now seems set on creating the
biggest advertising platform in the world, says longtime media
analyst Paul Kagan, of PK Worldmedia.
"For all of Google's tech talk, it is one big ad company," Kagan
says.
Twenty-six publishers sold space to Google for its magazine
advertising auction, which Google will re-sell, presumably at a
profit.
Jeff Edman, president of PC World, says the format works well
for the magazine because "some of those advertisers might
come back and advertise again."
Magazine ads generally are sold either through agency
relationships or directly to big clients based on a rate card, or a
negotiated rate. Through the auction process, anyone can bid
on placing a full-page ad in Martha Stewart Living with the ease
of trying to score a deal on a used camera on eBay.
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Page 9
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION, FEBRUARY 28, 2006
Interested advertisers fill out a simple form at Google's
website. According to the online instructions, "You choose the
ad size, set your price, and decide how you'd like to use the
space. There's no risk to you — you pay only if you win the
auction." Google promises to work with successful bidders "to
fill your ad space effectively."
their marketing mix. But he says he doubts that broadcast can
come close to the effectiveness of online search ads.
Online, "You know you are reaching people who are looking
for your products," he says. "T V and radio have no idea
whether their listener cares about the new movie opening this
weekend or not."
Google views it as a way to invigorate old media with
thousands of new customers placing radio, print and TV
campaigns at the click of a mouse.
Thus the big question for Google: Can the online targeted-ad
revolution truly be expanded to old media?
Google's online advertising network initially was supported
primarily by small businesses that hadn't advertised much.
With Google's pay-as-you go method, they found an affordable
medium.
"It's very ambitious to say you're going to go into another
area and immediately change it," says Sullivan. "Radio isn't very
measurable right now, not because of a lack of interest, but
because it's just a tough thing to do."
That Google's search advertising AdWords program also
works in an auction-style format. Advertisers bid on keyword
terms — "Las Vegas lawyer" or "Boston bakery," for instance —
and pay Google only when a Web surfer clicks on an ad. Rates
have gone way up since Google's AdWords first started, but
many campaigns can still be had for under 50 cents a click.
Google's online advertisers can create a campaign and see it
on Google in minutes. Schmidt sees offering similar tools for
radio spots to his customer base.
Instead of going to Google and crafting a 10-word ad, a
budding entrepreneur would attach a cheap microphone to a
PC, click a button, record a spot and upload it instantly to
Google.
Schmidt muses about bringing radio advertising to the
common man: "Wouldn't it be great if you could advertise your
brand-new invention on the radio, for not much money, just to
see if it works?"
Could be catalyst for cottage industry
Schmidt acknowledges that there's a big difference between
creating a little online search ad and a well-produced radio
commercial
He envisions services popping up similar to those that help
small sellers place products on online auctioneer eBay: miniproduction companies that could produce radio and TV spots
for small businesses with state-of-the-art voice work, sound
effects and music. "Show up — we'll do the work for you and
make sure the ad works for you," he says.
Chris Winfield, who oversees search ad campaigns for clients
at his 10e20 Web Design firm, knows this firsthand. He's what's
known in the trade as a Search Engine Optimizer (SEO), a group
that didn't exist in the pre-Google era. "Any time Google comes
out with something big, cottage industries pop up to help
people." His clients, Winfield says, would love to add radio to
First test results not spectacular
Google began its first old-media test last fall when it bought a
series of full-page ads in PC Magazine and carved them up,
selling segments to a group of advertisers.
To help advertisers discover how many calls they were
getting from the ads, Google gave clients a special toll-free
telephone number to use. But some advertisers in the test were
underwhelmed. Google predicted a response rate of 1% to 2% of
a magazine's readership base, says Tony Ashley, owner of
Ashley Software, which makes a software tool for writers called
Writer's Blocks. "I didn't get half that."
Ken Chang of Apex Security Solutions, which sells networked
security cameras, describes his experience as "disappointing."
Patrick Keane, head of Google's ad sales strategy, concedes,
"We still have a lot to learn."
The company has clearly switched gears for its second
magazine test with a potentially more profitable model,
auctions. The auction is similar in theory to a concept Google
recently introduced to online advertisers, called Site Targeting.
The clients get to choose which websites their ads appear on
from a pre-determined Google list.
That's the eventual goal for all of Google's media, for
advertisers to target who they want to reach, and for readers,
viewers and listeners to be served with relevant ads.
"We can … make it happen," insists Schmidt.
If Google pulls it off, it will be a historic shift in the way the
traditional media advertising industry conducts its business.
Advertisers and analysts are skeptical, but Kagan says, "I don't
think anything Google talks about is a pipe dream. It just may
take longer than they think."
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Page 10
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION JANUARY 31, 2006
Papers take a leap forward
From podcasts to local-local freebies, old dog's learning some new tricks
By David Lieberman
USA TODAY
says, will require "a shift of
thought from, 'How do we get
people to read more
newspapers?' to 'What
problems are people trying to
solve in their lives, and how
can we help?'"
NEW YORK — If you made a list
of today's great media innovators
you'd probably fill it with people
whose dazzling ideas are shaping
the Internet, television and even
radio.
Most major companies have
already started to adjust.
Not newspapers, though. The
industry is famously risk-averse.
You might not need both hands to
count the big ideas that have
wowed the public with their
originality since 1880 when dailies
began running photographs, or
possibly 1897 when The Yellow
Kid became the first comic strip
with color.
For example, in the last year,
The New York Times bought
Web information service
About.com and launched
TimesSelect, an offering of
additional information and
opinion online to those who
subscribe to the paper or pay
about $50 a year.
But stop the presses. Media's
sleeping giant is waking up.
Executives throughout the
industry, which generated an
estimated $65 billion in revenue
last year, are opening their minds
to a host of ideas, including new
paper publications, television and
radio services, websites, podcasts
and transmissions to cellphones.
Dow Jones bought Web
financial news service
MarketWatch, created a
Saturday print edition of The
Wall Street Journa l and
launched an Internet blog for
lawyers.
By Sam Ward,
USA TODAY
"I don't think I've ever seen the sense of innovation and
willingness to take risks that I'm seeing now," says John Kimball,
chief marketing officer of the Newspaper Association of America
(NAA).
One indication of that is the recent launch of a yearlong. $2.25
million initiative by the industry-supported American Press
Institute to design a new business plan for companies grappling
with competitors on the Internet and other new media.
"Across the industry the message I pick up is, 'Oh my God. It's
slipping away. What can I do?'" says Stephen Gray, managing
director of the initiative, called Newspaper Next. The answer, he
And Gannett, parent of USA TODAY, recently blended this
newspaper's print and online newsrooms and bought a minority
stake in 4INFO, which enables cellphone users to quickly get sports
scores, weather forecasts, movie times and other information.
Some local papers are even more ambitious.
Gannett's The Arizona Republic gave the Internet a bear hug,
joining forces with the company's local TV station, KPNX, at
azcentral.com, a website that blends text and video as well as
news in Spanish. The paper also publishes special news sections
for different communities, free local magazines about fashion and
lifestyle, and publications offering TV listings and classified ads in
Spanish.
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION JANUARY 31, 2006
Reaching out to readers
Newspaper executives say that although they’re losing circulation, they’re reaching new readers on the Internet and
other new media. But Wall Street’s waiting to see how successful these efforts will be and whether they’ll generate
enough new revenue to justify the costs.
Investors shy from newspaper stocks
Russell 1000 publishing newspapers index1 (weekly)
120
111.5
94.0
4/9/2004
1/3/2003
77.8
100
1/27/2006
80
60
Jan.
May
Sept.
Jan.
2003
May
Sept.
Jan.
2004
May
Sept.
Jan.
2005
1 - index for Belo, Gannett, Knight Ridder, Lee Enterprises, McClatchy, New York Times, Tribune and Washington Post; Source: Bloomberg News
Top 10 U.S. newspapers by average
weekday readership in millions
USA TODAY
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
New York Daily News
Los Angeles Times
New York Post
Chicago Tribune
The Washington Post
Newsday
Chicago Sun-Times
Top 10 U.S. newspaper websites
December 2005 unique audience in millions
(Percentage change from 2004)
7.1
5.1
5.0
2.7
2.4
2.1
1.9
1.8
1.6
1.3
Source: Newspaper Association of America
2006
nytimes.com
USATODAY.com
washingtonpost.com
sfgate.com
(San Francisco Chronicle)
latimes.com
boston.com (The Boston Globe)
nydailynews.com
chicagotribune.com
suntimes.com (Chicago)
newsday.com
11.0 (+22%)
9.9 (+16%)
7.8 (+53%)
4.1 (+28%)
4.1 (+52%)
3.6 (+35%)
3.3 (+22%)
3.0 (+99%)
2.6 (+21%)
2.6 (+14%)
Source: Nielsen/NetRatings
By Dave Merrill, USA TODAY
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Page 12
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION JANUARY 31, 2006
Similarly, Belo's The Dallas Morning News has its own fashion
and lifestyle magazines, a free weekday tabloid for commuters and
a Spanish-language daily.
These innovations are "not something that many newspapers
felt a need to do, or had a willingness to do, historically," Belo CEO
Robert Decherd says. "But people's media habits have changed in
fundamental ways. ... Ten years ago it was pretty simple. Now you
have to have a suite of products and advertiser opportunities."
Here are some of the initiatives gaining most favor with industry
watchers:
u Hyperlocal news. Lots of media outlets cover what's
happening across the world, nation, state or even a major
metropolitan area. Companies that pay millions for printing or
broadcast equipment and reporters want to spread the costs
across as many homes as they can reach.
The problem is that people care most about what's happening in
their own neighborhoods.
Double-edged Web
The Internet inspired a lot of new thinking.
Publishers liked the additional pathway to readers and
advertisers. Last year the number of unique visitors to the 25 most
popular newspaper websites increased nearly 37%, to 56.9 million,
according to Media Metrix. And this year, close to 5% of all
newspaper ad revenue will come from the Internet, the NAA says.
The new medium also, however, enabled a fast-growing
collection of rivals to provide news services that appeal
particularly to young readers.
Total newspaper weekday circulation fell about 2.4%, to 54.6
million, from 1999 to 2004. Sales in the 100 largest markets fell
2.9% in the year ending on Sept. 30, according to a Credit Suisse
analysis of data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The Internet also gave direct marketers — including companies
such as Google, Craigslist.com and Monster.com — opportunities to
go after the help-wanted, real estate and auto classified ad sales
that newspapers used to own.
Challenging profit picture
These factors, plus an anemic overall ad market and rising
newsprint costs, dented newspaper profits. Publicly traded
companies collectively reported newspaper operating margins of
19% in the first three quarters of 2005 vs. 20.5% in 2004, according
to MG Strategic Research.
Growing uncertainty about newspaper companies' prospects
contributed to a 20% decline in the collective value of newspaper
company stocks in 2005.
Investors are waiting for proof to support executives' predictions
that their new ventures will pay off.
"It's a story that's hard to tell because (newspapers) don't break
out the numbers," says MG Strategic Research President Miles
Groves.
Still, he adds, with newspapers "losing share and circulation,
you're going to have to have a major shift in the business model
with something broader than ink on paper."
That's why many executives are watching what privately held
Morris Communications is doing with Bluffton Today. The free, adsupported, 32-page daily newspaper and associated website were
introduced last April for a South Carolina town of about 28,000.
Few local developments seem too minor for the tabloid-sized
paper's 12 reporters. Recent editions included stories about the
new school crossing guard, happenings at the Bluffton garbage
dump and the closing of a roller skating rink that also served as a
bingo hall.
High school sports rule. And standing features cover subjects
such as pets, grandchildren and gardening.
And unlike most local newspapers, Bluffton Today also runs on
its website lots of pieces and blogs that local residents write. That
includes a daily blog from the high school principal.
"We call it a community in conversation with itself," says James
Currow, Morris' executive vice president for newspapers. "This
thing has just taken off. It has the highest readership of any paper in
our company," attracting about 95% of the community.
Executives won't discuss the paper's profits. "This is an
experiment," says Jim Smith, Morris Publishing Group's vice
president for market research. "I don't think it would be staffed at
this level in a rollout."
Still, they say that other companies should try the Bluffton model
elsewhere.
"You've got to get to the neighborhood level," Smith says. "You
need dozens of these in a community." He says that as megaretailers grow — especially infrequent newspaper advertiser WalMart — "We've got to operate in a more diverse way and get to be
part of the daily commerce of the area."
The Newspaper Association of America's Kimball also sees
promise in hyperlocal news with significant reader input.
"Any newspaper could do that," he says. "Maybe you get high
school students to write about football games."
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION JANUARY 31, 2006
But MG researcher Groves, for one, says that enthusiasm for the
formula could collapse if many reader-generated pieces prove to
be inaccurate or self-serving.
"You get the local school and the local this and that, but who's
providing the quality control? There's this thing we worry about
that's called trust. That's what allows publishers to make money. If
you don't have that, then what do you have?"
u New media. Just about every newspaper is exploring the
Internet and other new media, but few as aggressively as E.W.
Scripps' Naples Daily News in Florida.
"We offer content over iPod, cellphones, PlayStation, TV, radio
and magazine," says John Fish, president and publisher. "We want
to be platform agnostic. What's the best way to tell that story?
Does it need video or audio?"
He's particularly proud of the company's staff-generated
podcast. "It's a local news version of public radio," he says.
Now it's gearing up to produce a 15-minute video newscast that
it will post on the Web daily at 4 p.m. It's talking to Comcast about
offering the show four times a night on the cable operator's local
channel.
But he says new media profits are "a good bit higher than our
print margins" and represent a smart investment. "It's just going to
grow in the future. And if we don't provide the services, someone
else will come up under us."
u Mini-dailies. Commuters in many cities no longer have to pay
for a newspaper. They can grab one of the new breed of tabloidsize papers, usually targeted to young adults, that many companies
hand out free.
For example, Sweden's Metro International offers mini-dailies in
New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Tribune Co. gives away AM
New York and Chicago's RedEye. The Washington Post has
Express. And billionaire Philip Anschutz, who owns the San
Francisco Examiner, introduced mini-dailies in San Francisco and
Washington, D.C.
The business model seems to work. For example The Dallas
Morning News' 2 1/2-year-old mini-daily, called Quick, should
begin generating cash flow this year, Decherd says.
He says he's not worried about that cash coming out of the hide
of the local flagship publication. "It's a different ad base, and it's
priced differently."
Fish is also excited about new technology that connects the
paper to readers via phone.
Nor is he concerned about the mini-dailies' obsession with local
entertainment and pop culture, something that makes many
traditional reporters cringe.
"We can call to remind you about events on your calendar. We
can call you after each quarter in a football game to tell you what
the score is. We'll make a daily wake-up call and tell you the
weather as well."
"Our consumer-driven society is about a lot of things besides
hard news," Decherd says. "Americans spend a tremendous
amount of time focused on their lifestyles. We have to listen to our
audiences to some extent."
Such ventures can be costly. The Daily News has 20 people
working on new media and six more who handle ad sales.
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Page 14
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S LIFE SECTION MAY 18, 2006
Protest tunes bubble up as war’s popularity sinks
Hard-hitting songs
climb the charts
The song sold 55,000 downloads and was
the fastest-rising modern rock track since
U2's Discotheque.
By Edna Gundersen
USA TODAY
"I think it's a positive sign that a song
with some content can be played on the
radio when three or four years ago it wasn't
allowed," Vedder says. "Freedom of speech
may be more alive than we thought."
Initially, music's response to the war in
Iraq stirred little more than sounds of
silence.
Today, outraged artists are mouthing off
in songs that don't stop with appeals for
peace, love and understanding.
Let's Impeach the President is one of the
incendiary titles on Neil Young's Living with
War, a potent set of songs slamming the
Bush administration. It opens in Billboard
next week at No. 15 after selling 60,000
copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Paul Simon's Surprise, landing one notch
ahead with sales of 61,000, includes the
tune Wartime Prayers, which observes
that "people hungry for the voice of God
hear lunatics and liars." It's Simon's highest
chart ranking in the SoundScan era.
Opening sales for both are considered
substantial for veteran acts shunned by
radio.
Younger artists also are finding that
politics and profits aren't mutually
exclusive. Pink's I'm Not Dead, which has
sold 327,000 copies since April 4, features
an eloquent but scathing indictment, Dear
Mr. President.
Pearl Jam's self-titled album, which
entered at No. 2, has sold 365,000 copies in
two weeks, partly on the strength of World
Wide Suicide, a ferocious swipe at leaders
who "tell you to pray while the devil's on
their shoulder."
Singer/lyricist Eddie Vedder writes:
"Medals on a wooden mantel, next to a
handsome face/That the president took for
granted, writing checks that others pay."
Protest music is rallying on radio and
charts, though little has shown the
commercial clout of Green Day's 2004
multi-platinum American Idiot . The
revolution-minded rock on Living Things'
Ahead of the Lions has sold a modest
18,000 copies since October. The Coup's
"raptivist" rap on Pick a Bigger Weapon has
sold 6,400 copies since April 25. Anti-Flag's
seething For Blood and Empire is heftier,
with 38,000 since March, and a track, The
Press Corpse, that hit the modern-rock top
40 chart this week.
Anti-establishment songs have been
heating up at rock radio since Incubus'
Megalomaniac struck two years ago, and at
top 40 since the Black Eyed Peas' 2003
Where Is the Love, says Sean Ross, vice
president of music and programming at
Edison Media Research.
Lefty fare is still taboo at country, but a
startling development came when usually
conservative Hot AC stations jumped on
Green Day's Holiday, with its "zieg heil to
the president" line.
"That clearly means something," Ross
says.
But does it necessarily mean that
President Bush's declining ratings are
emboldening artists and airwaves to
unleash anti-war tunes?
Tough lyrics: Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam take
President Bush to task in World Wide Suicide.
six to nine months for artists to figure out
how to proceed (after the 2003 Iraq
invasion), to get around to putting out
records and for the lingering Dixie Chicks
hysteria (when many country stations
stopped playing the band after singer
Natalie Maines made anti-Bush remarks) to
wear off. It's had as much to do with the
normal product cycle as anything else.
"And like anything else at radio, if it's not
a single and it's not being worked, program
directors don't go looking for it."
A 9/11 chill, when the "you're with us or
against us" mind-set prevailed, might have
stifled some artists, but Ross believes most
just needed time to digest events.
Anti-war fare "isn't a stopper, except at
country, but I don't think anyone sees it as a
career boost," he says.
Ross says, "I don't think it can be neatly
tied into 'Things are getting worse and
there are more people speaking out.' It took
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Page 15
CRITICAL INQUIRY
1. Examine MTV’s highlights over the past 25 years, in terms of both their cultural and business influences. List and rank
the top five influences for each category. Are your lists the same for each type of influence? Discuss your list with a peer.
2. Make a list of the traits you believe are most important for a media business leader to be successful in today’s environment. Using articles from current issues of USA TODAY, choose another media executive and compare him or her to
Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner. Rank each individual in light of your list of traits.
3. The line between “new” and “old” media seems to be blurring. How is “new” media company Google targeting TV, radio,
and newspapers? Alternatively, how are “old” media newspapers incorporating new modes of delivery such as web
sites, podcasting and mobile devices? Do you believe that “old” and “new” media will merge? Why or why not?
4. Using the case study’s Snapshot® as a guide, conduct your own survey to measure media usage among your friends and
colleagues. How did your results compare to the Snapshot® in the case study?
5. Do you agree with Sean Ross’s statement that the recent rise in anti-establishment music is not necessarily tied to
President Bush’s declining ratings? Using examples from the article, compose a two-minute quick write explaining your
stance. Divide the class into those who agreed and those who disagreed and debate the issue using your quick writes.
1. MTV has profoundly influenced music and the music
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
industry over the last 25 years. In small groups, brainstorm what you think will be the biggest influences on
the music industry over the next 10 years. Use USA TODAY and other resources to find articles about future trends
and current influences. Defend your predictions and discuss them as a class.
2. Using USA TODAY, research the latest advertising strategies being used by Google. How successful has Google been in
expanding targeted ads to old media? What do you foresee for the future?
3. Conduct a study over one week to compare the online version of USA TODAY to the printed one. Make a list of the similarities and differences. Which do you prefer and why? Prepare a 2-3 minute presentation for your class.
4. One way in which the Internet has changed the way people consume news has been the rise of citizen journalism, or
user-generated journalism. Using articles from USA TODAY, examine this trend and its effect on traditional newspapers. To what extent are traditional media making use of user-generated content? Write a 2-3 page essay explaining
your opinion of citizen journalism vs. traditional journalism
5. Do you agree or disagree with Jann Wenner’s quote about the Internet, “You can skip around, but it’s like: 57 channels
and there’s nothing on. And reading is not going away.” What do you think he means?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
v American Press Institute
http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/
v Paste Magazine
http://www.pastemagazine.com/
v Newspaper Association of America (NAA)
http://www.naa.org/
v Billboard Magazine
http://www.billboard.com/
For more information, log on to www.usatodaycollege.com
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