Nieman Journalism Lab |
- Come have a drink with Nieman Lab Monday
- Plaza Pública aims to challenge and improve Guatemala’s journalistic culture
- Plaza Pública aspira a cambiar y a mejorar el periodismo en Guatemala
- The newsonomics of breakthrough digital TV, from Aereo to Dyle and MundoFox to Google Fiber
| Come have a drink with Nieman Lab Monday Posted: 16 Aug 2012 02:57 PM PDT Astronomically speaking, there’s still more than a month left of summer. But especially for those of us who work at, attend, or send kids to schools, summer’s bound at least as much by academic calendars as the tilt of Earth’s axis. That means time is short, and that means that it’s time to raise a glass to the future of journalism while it’s still nice out.
This is happening Monday, August 20, starting around 6 p.m. As before, we’ll be gathering at The Field in Central Square. It’s maybe 20 steps from the Central Square Red Line T stop, so if you can get on a subway in Boston, you’re all set. Here’s a map. The Field has a nice open-air patio in the back — if there’s room, we might be back there. If not, look for reporter’s notebooks. No agenda, just conversation. I will personally buy a beer for the first 10 people to find me and repeat the nonsense phrase “Jürgen Habermas” three times. |
| Plaza Pública aims to challenge and improve Guatemala’s journalistic culture Posted: 16 Aug 2012 09:00 AM PDT
It’s not uncommon for news sites in the United States to evolve into a series of verticals: technology, politics, celebrity news, sports, and the like. In Guatemala, Plaza Pública is also built around a series of verticals. But here, they’re equity, environment, social cohesion, cultural diversity, and corruption. “We audit the private sector as part of our mandate,” site director Martín Rodríguez-Pellecer told me. “Traditional media does not cover these issues because they’re afraid companies would remove ads.” Plaza Pública stands out for a few other reasons. It’s a digital native, but reluctant to set its pace against the 24-hour news cycle. It’s mainly funded by a private university, but it’s seeking a national audience. The site’s name and concept were inspired by Jürgen Habermas’ idea of the public sphere, where private citizens come together to discuss matters of public relevance. Plaza Pública, which translates to “Public Square” in English, wants to be the place where such conversations not only take place (it has 80 blogs) but where they’re provoked by news stories. In January, for example, it published an investigation that revealed minors were working on sugar plantations owned by the Guatemalan president’s Chamber of Agriculture. “In Guatemala, as in many other countries in Latin America, media orgs restrain the ‘public interest’ to public officials and public institutions, when it really goes beyond them,” Rodríguez-Pellecer said. “It also includes the links between businessmen and policy-makers, the media-politicians relations and controversial social issues.”
Investigative data journalism is a big part of what Plaza Pública does, though its editors prefer to call it in-depth precision journalism. There’s a reason for that distinction: “During the past 20 years, any sensationalism is considered ‘investigative reporting.’ We try to do a less incendiary journalism,” Rodríguez-Pellecer said. His team is a group of 15 reporters, coders, designers, and photojournalists. “We all have been in traditional media, but we got tired of not being able to do the journalism that we wanted,” said Rodríguez-Pellecer, who worked seven years as a reporter for Prensa Libre, Guatemala’s most influential newspaper. The newsroom also gets help from 10 students from different universities and in disciplines ranging from archeology to political science and journalism. Two-thirds of Plaza Pública’s $300,000 annual budget comes from Universidad Rafael Landívar, a private university administered by the Society of Jesus, the Christian religious order. The funding model raises questions about editorial independence: How can a news organization promise autonomy when its main funder is an institution with very clear stances about so many controversial topics? “Since we started, we [have made it] clear that we were not going to report on the university, the Pope, or the Society of Jesus,” Rodríguez-Pellecer said. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not critics of some of the bishops’ points of views on topics like sexuality and gay rights, for example.” In turn, the university does not get involved in the editorial process: “We pick the topics we cover,” he said. But the institution does have the editorial board’s ear. “Always, those differences are discussed after the publication, not before. We appreciate very much the independence they gave us.” Plaza Pública, which has 65,000 monthly visitors, in part borrows its model from projects like News21 at Arizona State University, and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism at City University London, on-campus newsrooms with access to university resources. Like News21 and TBIJ, Plaza Pública is a nonprofit. It cannot sell ads because of universities’ tax-exempt status in Guatemala, but the goal is to eventually — at least three years from now — operate within a legal framework that would allow the sale of ads and maybe even data. “We also want to sell services related with the databases we’re building,” he said. Rodríguez-Pellecer says it’s almost impossible for a digital news outlet in Latin America to rely solely on ad revenue. Even successful ventures like El Faro in El Salvador and La Silla Vacía in Colombia have had to diversify their revenue streams. Plaza Pública has ruled out a paywall, but it’s actively thinking about ways to add more revenue channels. (It also receives grant money from groups like Open Society Foundations and Friederich Ebert Stiftung.) “We think citizens should contribute voluntarily, too, if they want to get journalism that is on the people’s interests side,” Rodríguez-Pellecer said. Photo of the Palace of the Captains-General in Antigua, Guatemala, by Ray Metzen used under a Creative Commons license. |
| Plaza Pública aspira a cambiar y a mejorar el periodismo en Guatemala Posted: 16 Aug 2012 08:55 AM PDT
Es usual que los sitios de noticias en Estados Unidos se conviertan en una serie de “verticales” de temas como tecnología, política, espectáculos, deportes y similares. Algo parecido ocurre en Guatemala, pero en Plaza Pública esos temas son más inusuales: equidad, medio ambiente, cohesión social, diversidad intercultural y combate a la corrupción. “Son temas que no estaban en la agenda noticiosa porque los medios tradicionales tenían miedo de que los empresarios retiraran la pauta publicitaria”, me dijo Martín Rodríguez Pellecer, el director del sitio. “Parte de nuestro mandato es fiscalizar al sector privado”. Plaza Pública sobresale por otras razones más. Es un medio digital que se resiste a operar a ritmo del maníaco ciclo noticioso de 24 horas y, además, se financia mayoritariamente con fondos de una universidad privada, pero busca una audiencia nacional. El nombre y el concepto del sitio se inspiraron en Jürgen Habermas y su idea de esfera pública, ese espacio donde los ciudadanos se reúnen para discutir temas de relevancia pública. Plaza Pública quiere ser el lugar donde no sólo ocurran esas discusiones (el sitio tiene 80 blogs) sino también donde sean provocadas por las noticias que producen. En enero, por ejemplo, el sitio publicó una investigación que denunció la contratación de menores de edad en fincas azucareras propiedad del presidente de la influyente Cámara del Agro. “En Guatemala, como en muchos otros países de América Latina, las organizaciones periodísticas restringían el ámbito de lo público a los ministros y diputados, cuando el interés público va mucho más allá”, aseveró Rodríguez Pellecer. “También incluye las relaciones entre los empresarios y las políticas públicas, los medios de comunicación y los políticos, y los temas sociales incómodos”.
El periodismo de datos representa una parte importante de lo que Plaza Pública hace, aunque sus editores prefieren llamarlo “periodismo de profundidad”. Ellos tienen una razón para marcar esa distinción: “En los últimos 20 años en Guatemala, la palabra ‘investigativo’ se ha prostituido un poco y cualquier sensacionalismo se considera periodismo investigativo. Nosotros tratamos de hacer un periodismo más sosegado”, explicó Rodríguez Pellecer. Su equipo está conformado por 15 periodistas, programadores, diseñadores y fotoreporteros. “Todos hemos trabajado en medios tradicionales, pero nos cansamos de no poder hacer el periodismo que queríamos”, me contó el editor, quien trabajó siete años como reportero para Prensa Libre, el periódico conservador más influyente de Guatemala. La sala de redacción de Plaza Pública también recibe ayuda de 10 estudiantes de diferentes universidades y en disciplinas que incluyen desde Arqueología hasta Ciencias Políticas y Periodismo. Dos terceras partes de los $300.000 de presupuesto anual de Plaza Pública provienen de la Universidad Rafael Landívar, un centro de estudios privado administrado por la “Compañía de Jesús”, una orden religiosa perteneciente a la Iglesia Católica. Ese modelo de financiamiento plantea dudas sobre la independencia editorial del sitio: ¿Cómo una organización noticiosa promete autonomía cuando su principal financista es una institución con posiciones muy claras en temas muy polémicos? “Desde el principio tenemos claro que no vamos a fiscalizar ni a la Universidad ni a la ‘Compañía de Jesús’ ni al Papa”, aclaró Rodríguez Pellecer. “Eso no implica que no seamos críticos de posiciones de la Conferencia Episcopal sobre temas de sexo, que hagamos temas sobre los derechos de la unidad gay, por ejemplo”. A cambio, la universidad no se involucra en el proceso editorial: “Nosotros escogemos los temas que cubrimos”, dice el editor. Sin embargo, la institución sí tiene un espacio en el Consejo Editorial. “Cuando hay diferencias de criterio, siempre se discuten a posteriori no antes de que se publique un artículo. Apreciamos mucho la libertad editorial que nos dan”. Plaza Pública, que registra 65.000 visitas mensuales, se modeló a partir de proyectos como News21 en Arizona State University, y The Bureau of Investigative Journalism en City University London, salas de redacción basadas en campus universitarios y con acceso a recursos de esos centros educativos. Como News21 y TBIJ, Plaza Pública es una organización sin fines de lucro. Debido a que en Guatemala las universidades están exentas de pagar impuestos, el sitio no puede vender publicidad pero la meta es eventualmente -al menos dentro de tres años- operar dentro de un marco legal que les permita vender anuncios y hasta datos. “También queremos vender servicios relacionados con las bases de datos que estamos construyendo”, me contó Martín. El reto es grande. Rodríguez Pellecer reconoce que es casi imposible para un sitio web de noticias operar sólo con el dinero que ingresa por publicidad. Incluso proyectos exitosos como El Faro en El Salvador y La Silla Vacía en Colombia han tratado de diversificar sus fuentes de ingreso. Plaza Pública ya descartó cobrar por el contenido, pero está evaluando otras formas de abrir nuevos canales de financiamiento. (También recibe donaciones de grupos como Open Society Foundations y la fundación Friederich Ebert Stiftung). “Creemos que los ciudadanos también deberían aportar de manera voluntaria si quieren disfrutar de un periodismo que vele por sus intereses”, concluyó Rodríguez Pellecer. Fotografía del Palacio de los Capitanes Generales en Antigua, Guatemala, por Ray Metzen utilizada bajo una licencia Creative Commons. |
| The newsonomics of breakthrough digital TV, from Aereo to Dyle and MundoFox to Google Fiber Posted: 15 Aug 2012 01:28 PM PDT
In 1998, when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought the Los Angeles Dodgers, the storied franchise was worth $380 million. News Corp. sold the team in 2003 for $430 million. After winning the ability to negotiate a new multi-billion sports TV contract this fall, they sold earlier this year for $2 billion, blowing the lid off sports property values. In 1994, the San Diego Padres were worth $80 million. After recently signing a 20-year deal with Fox Sports for $1.2 billion, they sold (pending league approval) for $800 million. Meanwhile, in 2000, the Los Angeles Times was worth at least $1.5 billion when it was sold as part of Times Mirror to Tribune Company. Today, as it is newly readied for market out of the Tribune bankruptcy, it would go for something less than $250 million. The San Diego Union-Tribune, once valued near a billion dollars, sold for about $35 million in 2009 and about $110 million in 2011. It’s a reversal of fortune: Newspaper franchises that once outvalued baseball teams by 3-1 or 5-1 or 10-1 now see the inverse of that ratio. Why? Two letters: TV. Those numbers tell us a lot about the continuing power of television, in worth, in value creation, and in the news business itself. If we look just at recent events in the ongoing transformation of broadcast and cable to digital, we now see multiple breakthroughs on their path to digital. They give us indications of what the news business, video and text, will look like in the coming years. While we can argue endlessly about the relative virtues and vices of print and TV news, we must acknowledge the relative ascendance of TV and think about what that means for the news business overall. TV’s revenues are holding up far better than newspaper companies’, and TV is better positioned to survive the great digital disruption. TV has continued to have great audience. Nearly three in four Americans tune in to local TV news at least weekly, surpassing newspaper penetration, even as Pew Research points out they mainly do it for three topics: breaking news, weather, and traffic. Further, it retains great ad strength — 42 percent of national ad spending, matching the actual number of minutes Americans spend with the medium and making it the only medium still ahead of digital spending as digital has surpassed print (newspapers + magazines this year, both in the U.S. and globally). Yes, TV remains a gorilla. While Netflix won headlines when it announced it had streamed one billion hours of TV and movies in a single month, that huge number compared to about 43 billion hours of U.S. TV consumption, according to Nielsen’s 4Q 2011 Cross-Platform report. In a nutshell, that’s the difference between TV and video, circa 2012. Video is the next wave — incorporating TV perhaps, but still the very young kid on the block. Today, TV is no longer a box. Sure, even with all the Rokus, Boxees, and Apple TVs, it seems like TV isn’t yet an out-of-the-box experience. But with Hulu, Netflix, and Comcast’s Xfinity, it’s emerging quickly, escaping our fixed idea of what it once was — the boob tube in the living room. If it’s not just a box anymore, it’s a platform. From that platform, we see both the disruptors and the incumbents doubling down their bets. As in most things digital, few of these launches will be huge winners — but some will drive big breakthroughs. Some of the iconic legacy companies we’ve long known will be absorbed in the woodwork as new brands supplant them. Consider the spate of recent innovation, as we quickly assess the newsonomics going forward:
That’s a short list. We could easily add HuffPo’s streaming initiative and The Wall Street Journal’s wider video embrace. Or Les Moonves’ digital moves at CBS. And Fox’s new MundoFox, Spanish-language TV network, taking on Telemundo and Impremedia. The new network, at birth, offers a strong digital component, working at launch with advertisers along those lines. Let’s note some quick takeaways here, all of which we’ll be talking about in 2013:
The all-access, news-anywhere, entertainment-everywhere era has created a new massive business competition. Which brands will be top of mind? Who will consumers pay? How valuable is news itself in this contest? Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, AT&T — pipes companies — are in one corner. CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, HBO, Showtime, and other known-to-consumer brands in another. Aggregators like Netflix and Hulu over there. Media marketers like Amazon and Apple holding court. Google. The local broadcasters fighting for their place in this digital ring. This new battle of brands, in and around “TV,” is now joined. |
So I’m happy to report the return, after some months’ hiatus, of the Nieman Lab happy hour. For our Boston/Cambridge-area readers, it’s a chance to have a beer or two and hang out with us Nieman Labbers, some ink-stained wretches, a few journonerds aspirant and existent, ramen-fueled grad students, the faces behind a few public radio voices, freelancers, bloggers, thinkers, doers, beard-strokers, Action Jacksons, and maybe even a few Nieman Fellows. Be there or see your Googlejuice slowly, inexorably dissipate. 
Rodríguez-Pellecer says traditional media have ignored those dynamics. So when it comes to political coverage, Plaza Pública doesn’t just report how an elected official votes. The site also 
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