Profitability Of Online Media Essay

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Maintaining Profitability of Online Media

It is commonly acknowledged that the role of the media is to provide the public with the information they need to be involved in their communities and participate in political discussion. The free flow of information is so integral to American society that it is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Widespread diffusion of information has been associated with increased civic awareness and engagement (Demand).
Technological advances, such as the advent of the Internet, allow news organizations to relay information faster and more effectively to the readers. However, the shift from print newspapers to online media has proved problematic for maintaining the profitability of news corporations.
The traditional business model for newspapers relied heavily on advertising. The revenue from advertising in print allowed newspapers to maintain low prices and high circulations. As focus shifted away from print media toward digital media, this business model faltered.
Readers have shifted their attention to online media sources, causing a decrease in print circulation and advertising revenue. Though there has been a rise in online advertising, the revenue is not increasing fast enough to fill the gap left by decreased print revenue (Economist).
The shift towards digital media has raised other concerns that may impact the profitability of news corporations. Journalists and news organizations rely on credibility for readership and business. However, there is a general lack of trust in information obtained from the Internet (Credibility). If the public does not trust online news sources, they are less likely to visit online publications. This attitude could lead to a...

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...rategy used by Facebook and Google. Advertisers may be willing to pay more if they were sure they were reaching their target audiences. For example, online publications could offer ad space in the sport section to athletic training facilities, professional sports teams, or sporting gear companies.
Digital media sites could also use surveys to personalize the type of news and advertisements a person sees. In this way, online news sources would be less like newspapers and more like news aggregators. Each reader would have a customized list of articles that they are likely to find interesting. This method would allow the publications to charge more for advertising because they would be tailored to a specific demographic, making the ad space more valuable. The use of tailored ads could relieve some of the pressure to charge for content, therefore, boosting readership.

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