Category: News
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The reason NFL ratings dropped 10%
NFL ratings were down this past season. The anthem protests, off field-behavior, Thursday night games, less-than-stellar prime time matchups: it adds up to about a 10% loss in NFL ratings compared to previous years. This year’s SuperBowl was one of the 10 most watched TV programs in U.S. history, but…
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Facebook expands its Breaking News test
Facebook is expanding its test group of local and national publishers that get to put that BREAKING NEWS banner on stories. It added another 50 this round based on the initial results of testing. “Drawing attention to breaking news on Facebook will help get important information to people when…
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How Hackers Exploit Bluetooth Technology
Bluetooth is amazing technology. It lets you connect your mobile to your car, your tablet to your television, control your lights from your smart phone, and more. It can also be a way for crooks to steal your identity. That’s why more than 3.6 billion devices ship with Bluetooth technology every year.…
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46 Ways To Improve Your Page Loading Time Instantly
Guest Blogger: Josh Wardini Page loading time refers to the time taken to transfer and show the content of a website page in a web browser window. This process is measured in seconds and it has direct implications on how visitors are engaged and the success of a brand. Even one-second…
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Who should solve the problem of advertisements placed against fake news?
It seems a safe bet to say that it’s an advertising agency issue to avoid placement on questionable websites. Or a tech solution from the programmatic companies to avoid placing ads on ad networks that rely on fake news websites. That’s not how U.S. marketers feel, though, according to a…
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Mark Zuckerberg Now Says He’s Letting News Back into the Facebook News Feed – but with a Catch
Just a week after blowing publishers’ minds by letting them know Facebook was de-emphasizing their content and reminding them who is really in charge, Mark Zuckerberg has change his mind again…or maybe he’s just drip-feeding out the news. Facebook says it will prioritize what it defines as “trustworthy” news sources…
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Should social media companies screen content before it’s posted?
Should social media companies screen content before it’s posted and weed out offensive or extremist content? Setting aside the First Amendment for a minute, here’s the question: Would you be willing to accept a delay in posting content if it meant increased vetting from tech companies? Tech Companies Team Up…
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Former Facebook Exec: “We have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works”
Chamath Palihapitiya is a name you may not know unless you are steeped in Silicon Valley culture. He joined Facebook in 2007 – a lifetime ago in tech years – becoming its VP for User Growth. He’s now the Founder and CEO of Social Capital. In a talk at the…
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Popular websites record every keystroke you make and put personal information at risk
It’s got a stuffy kind of title: “No boundaries: Exfiltration of personal data by session-replay scripts.” That’s the title of a paper written by researchers at Princeton University. What underlies that title is a potential invasion of privacy and gathering of data without permission on some 480 popular websites. The…
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Winners and losers in a rapidly consolidating digital advertising market
Good News for digital ad sellers: Digital Advertising is expected to finish the year with a year-to-year growth rate of 11.5% in 2017 and grow again in 2018 by 11.3%. That information comes from GroupM/WPP, the world’s largest buyer of advertising. Magna (IPG Mediabrands) pegs 2018 digital growth at 13%.…
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MRC: New measurement standards for digital audience
The Media Ratings Council has released new Digital Audience-Based Measurement Standards developed in conjunction with the 4A’s, IAB, and ANA. The standards introduce a new metric called “duration weighting” for digital video ads. The measurement will be used to equalize time spent on video across media platforms. In other words,…
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Quartz: Android phones send location data even when location services are turned off
“When you use Google services, we may collect and process information about your actual location. We use various technologies to determine location, including IP address, GPS, and other sensors that may, for example, provide Google with information on nearby devices, Wi-Fi access points and cell towers.” – Google Privacy Policy Google says it collects…
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Year-long Google study of the dark web shows how accounts get hacked
The folks at Google teamed up with Carnegie Mellon to undertake an extensive study on how accounts get compromised. By searing the dark web, they identified some troubling things: 788,000 potential victims of off-the-shelf keyloggers 4 million potential victims of phishing kits 9 billion usernames and passwords exposed via data…
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Do you consider Facebook more or less accurate than other sources for news?
With all the noise about “Fake News” and Facebook’s role in spreading it, a survey done by The Verge in conjunction with Reticle Research during September and October provides an interesting revelation. Before you look at the results, think about this question: Compared to other sources where you regularly get…
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Is Facebook looking at moving media content out of the news feed?
Facebook is thinking, apparently, about moving Page feeds out of the newsfeed everybody sees and moving them to a new Explore Feed that’s buried under the More menu on the mobile site. That means publishers and media companies that have spent years building an audience and gotten hooked on using…
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How much control should social media companies have over public discourse?
You may not care that President Trump’s twitter account went dark for 11 minutes recently. Regardless of where you are on the political scale, maybe you should. Trump has used Twitter for a way to bypass traditional media and get his message out unfiltered. When someone working with a social…
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Nearly half of all Americans think the national media makes up stories about Trump
One more sign that the public’s trust in national media has eroded to a startling level. A revealing poll by POLITICO/Morning Consult shows considerable distrust of the national media. Overall, 46% believe the media fabricates news stories about President Trump and his administration. Only 37% say the media doesn’t make…
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Where does Google go when it wants to roll out a new product? Television.
YouTube TV is rolling out across the country, starting in select markets, which will feature a so-called “skinny bundle” of TV channels, including local channels. It is designed to compete – at a much lower price point – against cable and satellite packages in this era of “cutting the cord.”…
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TV still #1 choice for news consumption, but the gap is narrowing
Only a third trust social media as a news source Half of all Americans report they get their news on television, but the gap with online is narrowing. 43% now say they often get their news online. The gap is just 1 points, narrowing from 19 points in 2015, according to…
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One of the creators of Google News calls the search site “shameful and irresponsible” in spreading fake news
Google’s already under fire for its role in spreading “Fake News.” Now, one of the engineers who helped create Google News had quite a bit to say about the search site and it wasn’t flattering. Krishna Bharat helped lead the team the creation team, but posted to Facebook that Google…
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Recognized by the National Guard
I was recently honored to be recognized by the Alabama National Guard for WAAY-TV’s partnership. Along with the Alabama Broadcasters Association (ABA), our TV station helps the Guard with recruiting messages and advertising. Major General Sheryl E. Gordon met with the ABA and recognized each of our Board Members, including…
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For publishers, the Facebook Freefall continues
Since January, the average amount of engagement brands and publishers are getting with Facebook posts has fallen 20% since the first of the year, according to Buzzsumo. After analyzing 880 million FB posts, Buzzsumo reports that image and link posts had the largest drop off. Videos now get twice the…
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Facebook vows to fight back against foreign interference in US elections
CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his plan to protect the integrity of US election. He says he wants to make sure “Facebook is a force for good in democracy.” “I don’t want anyone to use our tools to undermine (our) democracy,” Zuckerberg said in a video address. In order to…
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Partisan views on media are more entrenched than ever
If anything, partisan views of the national news media have gotten even more entrenched… and the gap has widened, according to a national survey by Pew Research Center. While Democrat views on the impact of the national news media have grown more positive, Republicans have grown even more negative in their…
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Can public officials block citizens on social media or is it a violation of their constitutional rights?
Here’s an interesting debate: If you’re a public official, should you have the right to block people from your social media page? A number of public officials are being sued, including Governor’s in Maryland, Kentucky, and Maine, by state ACLU chapters. Kentucky Governor Sued In Kentucky, the ACLU there filed suit…
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Find out if your data was compromised in the Equifax breach – 143 million people are affected
Equifax, one of the world’s largest credit reporting agencies had a major data breach – affecting 143 million people (nearly half the US population). Released was personal data, and some 200,000 SS# and some credit card numbers. You can go online here to check and see if you are affected. …
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Where did people turn for life-saving information in Hurricane Harvey? Local TV stations
If you doubted that local television is still important in people’s lives, consider this: When Hurricane Harvey was threatening Texas, where did people turn for the latest information? Local TV. 89% surveyed said local TV news was their top choice. Their second choice? Local TV station websites. Their third choice? …
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Some good news for the newspaper industry
Here’s some good news for the newspaper industry. Gen Z (under 18), 18-24-year olds, and 30-34 years olds are increasing their readership. Comparing traditional newspaper use (either in print or online) with the same study done in 2015, Civic Science found a stark increase among the youngest demos. Newspapers may…
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Total eclipses aren’t as rare as you think
As millions flock to the path of totality across the U.S. for this once-in-a-generation event, you should know it’s going to happen again in less than two years. However, you won’t notice. It’s going to happen over the Pacific Ocean and skirt the southern edge of Argentina. In fact, eclipses…
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Total eclipses aren’t as rare as you think
As millions flock to the path of totality across the U.S. for this once-in-a-generation event, you should know it’s going to happen again in less than two years. However, you won’t notice. It’s going to happen over the Pacific Ocean and skirt the southern edge of Argentina. In fact, eclipses…
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A scary chart for the newspaper industry
The decline of U.S. newspaper has been well documented by now, but this chart from the American Enterprise Institute shows just how deep the cuts have been.
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Partisan views on media more entrenched than ever
If anything, partisan views of the national news media have gotten even more entrenched… and the gap has widened, according to a national survey by Pew Research Center. While Democrat views on the impact of the national news media have grown more positive, Republicans have grown even more negative in…
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We’ve got work to do: Majority of public thinks media is biased
Media folks, we’ve got a lot of work to do. The general public now believe overwhelmingly that news organizations are biases and subject to partisan agendas. We used to joke in newsrooms that if we had both Democrats and Republicans calling to complain about our story, we were probably OK,…
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Facebook discussing metered paywalls for publishers on platform
Publishers that have tried out Facebook’s Instant Articles have been pleased with the speed in which pages load, but not necessarily pleased about the economics. By keeping readers within Facebook’s walled garden, publishers didn’t see the activity translate directly to page views – and exposure to the accompanying ads. Ad…
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News organizations ask Congress for authority to collectively bargain with Google, Facebook
The New Media Alliance represent almost 2,000 news organizations, primarily newspapers. This week, the organization starting asking Congress for some help in taking on the big internet companies. Call it a pre-emptive strike for collective bargaining with Google and Facebook. It’s no secret that Goo-book dominates digital advertising. In the…
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The difference between NATIONAL news reporting and LOCAL News reporting? Trust.
With all the talk about fake news and how much the public doesn’t believe journalists, it’s important to note that there’s a huge difference in how people view NATIONAL news media versus LOCAL news media. The local folks live and work in your community, go to church there, shop at…
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Canada’s Supreme Court rules Google must block some search content worldwide
Can one country really tell Google what it can and can’t show in its search results for the rest of the world? Read on. Canada’s Supreme Court made a startling ruling that has broad-reaching impact around the world. In a 7-2 ruling, the court decided to grant an injunction preventing…
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Gmail will no longer scan your email and target ads
Did you even know that Google was scanning your Gmail messages and then targeted advertising to you based on the contents? They were. Now, Google says they won’t do it anymore. Well, kind of. They’ll still scan and use the info, but just not serve ads.
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The Illusory Truth Effect: The more someone sees “fake news,” the more they believe it
A study done by Yale University’s Department of Psychology, Department of Economics, and School of Management concluded that “even a single exposure (to fake news) increases perceptions of accuracy.” Here’s the kicker: Even when flagged as disputed by fact-checkers, or warned that the story might be fake, the perception of…
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It’s not just Trump: World Leaders user Twitter to get the message out
Pope Francis is the most followed world leader on Twitter with a combined total of 33,716,301 followers on his nine language accounts, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump with 30,133,036 followers and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 30,058,659 followers, according to a Burson-Marsteller study, an annual global survey of how world leaders,…
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Three questions for Ford’s new CEO
GUEST POST: University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business The future arrived early for Ford’s new CEO, Jim Hackett, who recently replaced Mark Fields after the automobile giant lost patience with its former leader just three years into his tenure. David Kirsch, a management and entrepreneurship professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert…
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New Study: Cord-Cutting is accelerating in 2017
Cord-cutting is growing rapidly. After years of relatively small number of consumers ditching their cable and satellite connections, the number of people opting for going it alone or smaller video bundles has grown dramatically in the last year. According to a Magid Broadcast study of consumers this April (reporter by…
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We’re hiring serious journalists to do the important stories
Have you become disillusioned with the TV news business? Tired of the fluff and happy talk? We want serious, experienced reporters that are willing to take on the tough stories, dig deeper, and do the important journalism our town deserves. Here’s the kicker: We’re willing to pay for experience. If…
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Now accepting guest posts!
It’s a chance to get your thoughts and your brand in front of this blog’s 6,400+ followers – made up of television, advertising, marketing, and digital thought leaders. It’s free to you, because it takes the load off of me to come up with everything! I post daily insights…
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When the majority of people tell me that doing something will negatively impact my brand, I take it seriously
When my son was very young, he was watching television one day and noticed one of the characters was drinking a “cola.” That’s what it said on the can. He asked me if that was Coca Cola and we talked about how they often substituted generic products so they didn’t…
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TV still the largest reach of U.S. consumers
A new report from Pivotal Research Group echoes what several other industry reports, including Nielsen, have been saying for years: TV has the largest share of audience of all media. In April 2017, national TV platforms reached almost every single person in the United States: 98.1% of all people. Among…
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My (failed) attempt to subscribe to the local newspaper
You’d think in this era of declining circulation a newspaper would jump the chance to add a print subscriber. Apparently not. I’m a bonafide news junkie. I watch TV News primarily and I’m online every day. But I still like to sit down and read the Sunday paper. There’s something about…
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For goodness sake, update your Windows software RIGHT NOW!
Ransomware is back in the news with a vengeance. The largest coordinated attack in history is underway, exploiting a vulnerability in Windows, and holding people’s computers hostage. Ransomware infects your computer and encrypts your data. It demands payment before releasing it. Authorities have said repeatedly there’s not much you can…
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Goobook swallowing up nearly all online advertising dollars
Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian, is always a fun read. Recently, he listed off a new set of stats that puts digital advertising into perspective. Along the way, he created a new acronym: Google + Facebook = Goobook. Look at these stats from Pivotal Research: In the third quarter of…
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Will people still read long-form content when it’s on a tiny cell phone screen?
With more and more traffic going to mobile, specifically smart phones, every day, is there a future for long form journalism on line? That’s one of the questions a Pew Research Center study tried to answer. Researchers looked at 125 million cellphone sessions accessing 74,840 articles encompassing 30 news websites…
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Would you rather pay for content or put up with advertising?
85% say give us ads. 75% say they would drastically reduce their online activities if they had to pay. In fact, Americans assigned a value of nearly $1,200 per year to the array of free, ad-supported services and content currently available to them on computers and mobile devices, according to…
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Nation’s largest radio owner tells SEC it may not make it another year
iHeartMedia is the largest operator of radio stations in the United States. It counts more than 250 million listeners in its ranks. The company, however, is so saddled with debt , it may be just one step ahead of bankruptcy. The group went on a buying spree grabbing 850 radio…
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Despite new tech chips in credit cards, fraud jumps 33%
I got that call on the weekend. Somebody had used our credit card to try to book an Uber ride. Since we hadn’t left the house that morning, I knew it wasn’t a legitimate charge. I’m happy the folks at Chase knew it wasn’t right and called. One of the things…
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Who you trust more: Advertising or News Media?
While we hear a constant drum beat that trust in the news media continues to drop, it’s not the same for advertising. In fact, more people think ads are more honest than they were three years ago, according to a YouGuv survey in March. Trust but verify
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Overall news consumption is up 18%
Overwhelming majority of consumption happens on TV Adults in the US spend more than 72.5 BILLION MINUTES consuming news during an average week. The Nielsen folks say total new consumption across platforms was up 18% last year. Broadcast TV (local and national) accounted for the biggest chunk of viewing (29.4…
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Live TV viewing continue to decline, but still accounts for 58% of all media usage
Live TV viewing continues to decline. Smartphone viewing doubled in the last year. Viewing on tablets and other mult-media devices grew as well. Still, Live TV still dominated the amount of time people watched video each day in 4Q 2016, according to Nielsen’s total audience report, accounting for 58% of all video viewing.
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175 TV stations sell off spectrum, nearly 1,000 will move to new channels
A bunch TV stations got a windfall from the FCC’s spectrum auction. Some got so much they opted to go off the air forever and take the money and run. Altogether, 987 TV stations must change channels. [ FULL LIST AFTER THE JUMP ]
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YouTube cuts off ads for channels
YouTube takes positive step to stop ads from appearing on hate speech videos YouTube has responded to complaints about ads running in channels featuring hate speech and offensive content. Many of the places the ads were running were fairly new channels, or creators trying to build an audience with outrageous…
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YouTube stars feeling the pinch from ad boycott, tighter controls
“…there’s a difference between the free expression that lives on YouTube and the content that brands have told us they want to advertise against.” – YouTube Creator Blog With that, YouTube announced even more controls for advertisers to make sure their ads don’t show up where they don’t want…
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Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press
I put this up right outside my office door to remind everybody who walks into our TV station how important it is that journalists do their job. The Bill of Rights warrants Congress shall make no law abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the Press. The founders saw journalists…
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Pepsi, Walmart, Starbucks, AT&T, Verizon, VW (and hundreds more) suspend YouTube/Google ads
More than 250 companies have now pulled ads. Ad losses for YouTube are now in the millions of dollars. Analysts warn that the loss could escalate into the hundreds of millions of dollars if things don’t change. Pepsi, Starbucks, and Walmart have suspended their YouTube advertising. They’re joining similar moves…
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Should Google & Facebook be regulated, pay license fees for news content?
The British government has officially opened an inquiry into “fake news.” Damian Collins MP, Chair of the Committee investigating, summed it up: “The growing phenomenon of fake news is a threat to democracy and undermines confidence in the media in general.” Now British publishers have responded. The newspaper group News Media…
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Nearly 800,000 cut the Cable and Satellite TV cord in 2016
The numbers are in. More than 796,000 people ditched their pay-TV service (cable or satellite) in 2016, according to Leichtman Research Group. That’s about an 80% increase in the number of cord cutters from 2015, when 445,000 subscribers stopped being subscribers. Other key findings from its study:
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Three challenges for the web, according to its inventor
Al Gore jokes aside, the man credited with creating the WWW in web addresses says we’ve got some big problems on-line that need to be addressed. He’s published a letter to the world, titled “Three challenges for the web, according to its inventor.” In the letter, Tim Berners-Lee, talks about…
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Low renewal rates from ad buyers on Native Advertising: Does it work?
You know native advertising. It’s when instead of running an ad, publishers integrate advertising messages into content. It may be in the form of a news-looking article that features the company’s information or employees. In its best form – clearly labelled as advertising content – it may provide interesting and…
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Is society as we know it “broken?”
66% of US thinks it is, 58% around the world agree. It’s not just you. People around the world are questioning what’s happening their world these days. In fact, More than half (58%) think their society is “broken.” 71% lack confidence in their government and even more, 81%, lack confidence in…
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Cable company hit with $25 million penalty, $8 million legal bill for not cracking down on music piracy
Known fact: people pirate music online. It’s hard to track down each offender, and even taking individuals to task, it’s like the little boy sticking his finger in the dam only to have another leak pop up. Music publishers have tried to put the burden on internet service providers (ISP’s)…
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Who’s more truthful: Trump or the media?
If this isn’t a wake up call for the media, I don’t know what is. A Spring 2017 poll from Emerson College shows the nation is split on the job President Trump is doing: 48% of registered voters approve of the job he’s doing, versus the 47% that disapprove. It’s…
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Auto sales off to a slow start in 2017, but projections show another record year for auto industry
Following a strong close to 2016, January’s retail new-vehicle seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate (SAAR) is expected to slow to 13.9 million units in 2017, down 200,000 units from last year, according to a forecast developed jointly by J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. U.S new-vehicle retail sales in January are…
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Network TV viewing bigger now than 15 years ago *
CBS proudly proclaimed its top performing programs get more viewers than they did 15 years ago. In a world of cord-cutting, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, that’s a strong statement. Ah, but the devil – as the say – is in the details.
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DirecTV raises price on skinny bundle by 71%
When DirecTV launched its skinny bundle in November, offering 100 channels for $35 a month, it was called disruptive. Other bundles on the market were either much smaller, or single-provider options, like HBO or CBS. It almost seemed to be too good to be true. Alas, it was. Those days…
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Are restaurants that don’t accept cash the next trend?
Sweetgreen restaurant chain is in the “fast casual” category, serving up healthy food choices. What won’t be on the menu in 2017 is… cash. Starting mid-January, they will stop taking cash at 64 locations. The company says it will speed up transactions by as much as 15%. Employees touching cash…
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The dirty little secret of digital ad networks
In the rush to move to digital advertising, there’s been an awful lot of ad dollars wasted because people didn’t really know what they were buying. Remember the early days of the world wide web? People reported “hits” – which we then learned equated to server calls and could be…
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Brand loyalty is not dead, even for Millennials and new parents
Brand loyalty dead? It makes for a catchy headline and fits the narrative new-age brand marketers are selling: 90% of the leading household goods brands are losing market share on consistently low-growth categories – Study by Catalina The story goes that in the post-media age (whatever that is), consumers –…
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Meet the Most Wanted U.S. Cyber Criminal
Joshua Samuel Aaron (aka Mike Shields) is wanted for a litany of crimes stemming from a scheme right out of the movies. He and his associates are charged with manipulating stock prices, driving them up artificially, and then dumping them for profit. The US Attorney for the Southern District of…
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Google Maps renames “Trump Tower” in NYC as “Dump Tower”
If you googled “Trump Tower” for a while this weekend, you’d find this… Instead of this… Yup, somebody re-named Trump Tower as Dump Tower on Google Maps.
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Cyber Criminals now spreading ransomware through Facebook, LinkedIn
If you find a graphic or image on your computer and you don’t remember downloading it, stop before opening! Experts have seen a dramatic increase in what’s Locky Ransomware being shared by unsuspecting victims, now through social media platforms LinkedIn and Facebook. Ransomware is insidious. It locks up your computer…
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Media, Pollsters get failing grades
There’s no question it was a nasty election season. The losers? According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, just about everyone. The press got blasted… even more than the candidates themselves.
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New Facebook feature: Adding live video tab to mobile app
I opened up my Facebook mobile app and found something new today: a little video icon at the bottom next to my newsfeed button.
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President-Elect Trump slips the press pool twice; media goes crazy
Media folks fight with each other every day. They’ll do all sorts of things to beat their competition. So, when 18 media organizations get together to unite on a common goal, it might make you wonder what they’re all worried about. It appears they are worried about President-elect Donald Trump’s…
Paul Dughi.com 