Illuminations Blog, JTM News

The Weekly Illumination — Issue 22

Welcome to the Weekly Illumination, a JTM newsletter offering a quick look at the week in journalism with a focus on what’s working in today’s news ecology. In this week’s Illumination we’ll take a look at how different revenue models are performing, and provide an update on an ongoing collaboration between JTM and ASNE.

A look at publishing platforms

The latest entry in The Illuminations Blog, A tale of two platforms, looks at what content management systems are being used by news organizations today, while also exploring how NationBuilder offers a new opportunity for online publishing built around user engagement.

Tips and Tricks

Update on the Engagement Hub

Our collaboration with ASNE to support peer-to-peer learning among news organizations that are engaging the diversity of their community continues to progress. Next month our pilot partners will begin populating the site, and we hope to turn it over to the greater community shortly. We’ve posted an update detailing our progress.

Odds & ends and odd ends

The state of news revenue

Newspapers are no longer generating the fortunes they once were, but Pew’s 11th annual State of the News Media report reveals that the print-based publications are still earning the lions share of the money when compared to online news companies and television stations. The report concludes that advertising still accounts for more than two-thirds of revenue, and that fewer audiences members are contributing increasing amounts to support the news they consume. It also found that venture capital and other similar types of investors have poured in at least $300 million over the last year.

In an effort to boost its revenue, Slate has decided to implement a paid membership model. For $5 a month or $50 a year, members will get access to special content and will be polled to help the company decide where to put its focus. Meanwhile, the Orange County Register, which installed a paywall one year ago appears poised to restore full access to its visitors for free.

On the other end of the spectrum is E&E Publishing, an environmental news organization that charges subscribers between $2,000 and $150,000 a year.

Jobs of the week

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The Illumination is a curated collection of stories about journalism innovation, notable job opportunities, grants and updates about Journalism that Matters. It is distributed to e-mail subscribers, through the JTM Google Group, and posted to the Illuminations blog