At Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits, David E. Carlson, a professor at the University of Florida, wondered if content was lost in the focus on competition at the E&P/Media Week Interactive Media Conference? See related notes here and here.
“Out of 12 educational sessions over two days, there are three — count them, three — sessions that I would classify as specifically related to online content.”
“I fear that some of us may be losing sight of what brings people to media websites in the first place. It’s content, and there is a reason people say ‘Content is king.’ You can’t ‘monetize’ visitors you don’t have.”
For journalists worried about content losing out, their challenge is to find ways to bring readers to their sites. Why should they stop what they’re doing and read this article? Why should they choose to go to your site? They have other choices for news, sports and classified ads, what’s the reward of choosing your site?