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"Sales are robust for e-readers and there is no shortage of tablets yet to launch, including the new Apple iPad.  But will strong sales translate into a boost for the media industry?\nIf media organizations do it right, the potential could be there for e-readers and tablets to become a viable revenue source.  However, it may take a dramatic shift in the way publishers view digital content and their online business models.\nHere\u2019s a look at what media companies will likely need to do to make that happen.\nThe Potential of E-readers and Tablets\n\n\n\n\u201CRight now, the e-reader and tablet are the most promising new potential source of revenue for newspapers,\u201D said Roger Fidler, program director for Digital Publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri.\nWhile a Freedom Foundation Fellow at Columbia University from 1991 to 1992, Fidler created a conceptual electronic newspaper prototype with about 12 hyperlinked pages. In 1994, he adapted that prototype for the Tablet Newspaper video he and others produced at the Knight-Ridder Information Design Lab.\nFidler also coordinates the Digital Publishing Alliance, which includes news companies such as The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post, and is focused on issues such as standards for content and ads on e-readers and tablets.\nHe told me that when he wrote Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media in 1997, he predicted e-readers would become commonplace in 2010. Not only have they arrived, but sales of e-readers are picking up.  Sales of e-readers are projected to be 5 million units this year, up from 2.2 million in 2009, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.\n\u201CWithin 10 years, I believe the majority of subscribers to newspapers and magazines will be reading digital editions delivered to mobile reading devices,\u201D Fidler said.\nHe said that as of February 10th, there were 99 newspapers from around the world available on the Kindle. The newspaper content is subscription-based without advertising. He said e-readers take a content feed from newspapers that\u2019s highly templated and automated.\nPublishers Need a Bigger Cut and More Control\n\nFidler said newspapers get 30% revenue from having their content on the Kindle.\n\u201CThat is likely to change before long,\u201D he said. \u201CAmazon\u2019s ability to set prices for e-reader editions and control the publisher\u2019s share of revenue is coming to an end.\u201D\nHe added that publishers have some leverage because e-reader vendors must have content in order to succeed.\n\u201CAs newspapers have more ability to do rich presentations on magazine-size devices, you\u2019ll see more,\u201D he said. \u201CContent will evolve. There\u2019s a lot of opportunity.\u201D\nHowever, the Kindle won\u2019t get people reading newspapers unless it offers features similar to that of smartphones, such as color display, touchscreens, and photos, according to a news release about a study by the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.\nSurvey respondents are residents of Athens, Georgia, a city that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution dropped from its circulation, the release said.\nUGA advertising professor Dean Krugman said in a statement that \"as a stand-alone attribute, the newspaper feature is likely not strong enough to sell the e-reader.\" He conducted the study for six months last year with advertising professor Tom Reichert and Barry Hollander, an associate journalism professor.\nFidler said there\u2019s evidence to support that Amazon will come out with a full-color device with a touchscreen before the end of 2010. Now that more vendors are introducing e-readers and thin, lightweight tablets such as the Apple iPad, publishers are pushing for delivery and presentation standards, and for agent relationships with e-book stores that let them set prices, incorporate advertising, and capture data about their subscribers, according to Fidler.\n\u201CThe main competitors in this market will continue to be Amazon and Apple,\u201D he said.\nRich Media iPad News Apps are in the Works\n\nWired Magazine plans to launch an iPad edition this summer that includes rich media content. Wired\u2019s Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson showcased a demo of the Wired Reader app at TED. Wired\u2019s publisher Conde Nast also plans to launch iPad versions of GQ and Vanity Fair, Macworld reported.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\nFidler said that people who purchase e-reader subscriptions are still looking for the experience they get in print, and those who want to do more will gravitate toward the iPad. He said the world seems to be divided over a print-centric view and a web-centric view of media content.\n\u201CI don\u2019t think the iPad will be an e-reader killer,\u201D he said. \u201CThey will coexist. They will serve different audiences.\u201D\nNew Content Presentations for a New Medium\n\nAlan Mutter, an independent media analyst who authors the Reflections of a Newsosaur blog, said that media companies cannot simply re-purpose their content for e-readers and tablets. Content needs to be richer, offer more user control and interaction, and has to let the user manipulate it in a way that it becomes highly individualized.\nSport Illustrated\u2019s iPad demo prototype really leverages the capability of the interaction, according to Mutter.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201CI think new content sites demand new approaches to content,\u201D he said. \u201CI\u2019m far from convinced that publishers are looking to make changes as radical as they should be looking to make.\u201D\nHe said that if they adapt, he has reasons to be encouraged. But the heavy, upfront task of launching new content displays for these devices might be too much at this point. Fidler said publishers are reluctant to make major investments in new platforms until they see some proof that they can generate significant revenue and ultimately be profitable.\nWhat\u2019s a measure of success? He said that when the number of e-reader subscribers hits 100,000, media companies will consider them successful because that\u2019s what they believe it will take to get advertisers on board.\nExploring Multiple Revenue Streams\n\nFidler said paid subscriptions and advertising will allow e-readers and tablets to generate revenue for media companies.  He said the hope is that an e-reader edition or an iPad app will be able to generate better revenue than the web has in the past. He stressed that e-reader and tablet editions must include advertising to be profitable.\nMutter said multiple revenue streams such as ads, subscriptions, and potentially syndication from other sites should be pursued.  \u201CAdvertising is part of the picture, but so is charging for the service,\u201D he said.\nMutter said, for example, The New York Times puts content on the iPhone but gives it away for free, while CNN created an iPhone app and charged $3.\nHowever, Gawker's Valleywag reported that The New York Times circulation department wants to charge $20 to $30 a month for its forthcoming iPad app, and the newspaper's digital department wants to charge $10 per month.\n\u201CThe idea of having content optimized for the platform \u2014 I think people will pay for that,\u201D Mutter said.\nMore journalism resources from Mashable:\n- 5 Essential Tools for the Mobile Journalist- The Future Journalist: Thoughts from Two Generations- 8 Things to Avoid When Building a Community- Mashable\u2019s Social Media Guide for Journalists- 7 Ways News Media are Becoming More Collaborative- 8 Must-Have Traits of Tomorrow\u2019s Journalist"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/02/18/e-readers-tablets-news/>