The Australian newspaper's Media section turns 10 this week. Its must read Monday supplement, Media published a retrospective of the big media events and trends of the last decade and gazed into the crystal ball to examine what the media landscape might look like in another 10 years. Here are just some of the interesting takeouts.
Newspapers are far from dead but face challenges
According to Roy Morgan research, while magazine and newspaper penetration is moderating, penetration is still high with four in five Australians consuming both media each week.
Lachlan Murdoch opined that Australia's newspapers owners were well positioned because, he says, we producethe best newspapers in the world. Future challenges for newspaper proprietors, according to Murdoch, included finding a workable online newspaper model without compromising quality journalism and convincing punters to pay for content. Newspapers that ultimately survive will be those with the best journalism, which should be paid for.
Public broadcasting hits new heights
SBS has doubled its television views from 3.5 per cent to almost 7 per cent in the last 10 years. The ABC is also claiming it has strengthened its position with its greatest success coming from its aggressive move into the online space. Just this week, the ABC launched ABC Mobile, which brings specially developed news, sport, entertainment content to mobile phone screens. Good content attracts eyeballs Cross multiple platforms with one episode of the ABC's Chaser program attracting three million TV viewers on a single night, hundreds of thousands more when it was re-screened on ABC 2, a million vodcast downloads and a best seller DVD.
Magazine attrition rates are high
Of the nine magazines launched a decade ago, only one, ACP's Money Magazine, remains.Casualties have included The Eye (A real shame, Australian Table, Elle Cuisine, Dingo and the Footy Show Magazine
Global news brands to dominate
According to Professor Jeffery Cole, from the University of Southern California's Centre for the Digital Future, the media landscape would be dominated by a handful of global news brands, much of whose content will be consumed on a screen - TV, PC, Mobile. he also predicted new subscription models would emerge, giving people access to up-to-the-minute libraries of music, news and film for between $10 and $20 a month.
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