The ftm 2013 Greatest Hits

#1 - The Television Business Will Never Be The Same
The marketing geniuses in every field have worshiped at the premium offer temple for as long as sellers have been selling. Customers are told that for just a tiny bit more a whole new world of fun can be theirs. It’s popular because it works. Loss-leaders work, too.

#2 - Google Puts Shoe On Other Foot
Adaptability is by far the most important quality for successful digital strategy. Enormous effort is required as those wishing to reach and be reached search for competitive advantage. It is no longer sufficient to produce for listeners, viewers and readers content that compels, entertains and informs. As media operators embrace all the digital technologies necessary to thrill users and enable revenue streams they are finding legal certainties no longer certain at all.

#3 - The Audience Has Spoken: The Business Model Shudders
There are some who believe online media is a bubble about to burst, a house of cards so to speak. With the advertising model under constant repair, paywalls and subscriptions seem the most reliable revenue streams. Media consumers are evermore enticed by unique content so long as the price doesn’t wreck the household budget and broadband speed is sufficiently high. Staying in the middle of it all is the emerging business model.

#4 - Paywalls The Springboard To Democracy
As newspaper publishers met this past week in Thailand for their annual World Newspaper Congress business models were again front and center. Declining paid circulation and advertising revenues continue to plague the printed medium, except in Asia, giving attention at its fullest to the hard battle for online success. Publishers have embraced paywalls almost universally.

#5 - Media Muzzled By National Security Concerns And Other Embarrassment
Governments have been resplendent in their commitments to press and media freedom. Dimming that light are national security issues, particularly embarrassing leaks. Balancing both can be difficult. And it can happen anywhere.

#6 - A Mission In Search Of Purpose
Like the weather, everybody talks about change. Media organizations are particularly susceptible to the idea. It makes for great meetings. After that, reality is very stormy.

#7 - Could Television Go The Way Of Newspapers?
Television is in big trouble. Media buyers under the internet’s spell are pushing ad rates lower. At the same time new digital choices cannibalize audience and revenue streams. The result is painful and may send free to air TV the way of newspapers.

#8 - Paywall Champions And Skeptics At Crossroads
Every new path bares exploration in the search for that digital dividend. The straight and narrow gives way to the winding and worrisome. No ideas are bad but some can go terribly wrong. Sifting through the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly, of online revenue models keeps the conference venues filled.

#9 - Major Media Ignores The Obvious Until It Hurts
Where sharp divides on cultural issues exist passions are easily ignited by the smallest acts. Sometimes it's the air of springtime. Sometimes it's the fear of another Spring. Whatever is in the air, people hear about it. It's a fact that can't be controlled.

#10 - Copyright Law: Think Small And Thin
If the digital age needs dramatically different copyright law, the wait keeps getting longer. Legislatures looking to the past to chart the future choose vague language so everybody stays happy or, at least, quiet. And it’s the small things that get in the way.

See also...

ftm Greatest Hits 2012

ftm Greatest Hits 2011

ftm Greatest Hits 2010

ftm Greatest Hits 2009