Yahoo Wednesday confirmed that the company is laying off about 2,000 employees as part of a broader effort to reduce costs and create a smaller, more streamlined organization. The embattled Web portal said it expects to realize about $375 million in annual savings from the move and will take most of a pre-tax charge of $125 million to $145 million related to severance costs in its second quarter. The blog AllThingsD, which first reported the expected layoff Tuesday, suggested it could be the start of wider employee cutbacks. It also indicated that the immediate cuts would fall hardest on the company’s product division, led by Blake Irving. Yahoo did not provide further details on those points in its statement Tuesday, which broadly discussed the benefits of the latest restructuring effort. Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson called the move "an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo -- smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require. ... Our goal is to get back to our core purpose -- putting our users and advertisers first," he stated. Thompson, who was named chief executive in January, previously indicated that significant changes were ahead for Yahoo, but did not provide details of a turnaround plan. In Tuesday’s statement, he said the company has identified “a select group of core businesses” within Yahoo that it will focus on without specifying those areas. He also reiterated his intent to capitalize on the company’s wealth of data from its 700 million users to deliver more personalized content and better ROI for advertisers. AllThingsD has reported that Thompson, who has hired the Boston Consulting Group, could lay out plans for a company-wide reorganization next week.
When personalized news reader app Zite launched a year ago, it was greeted with a cease-and-desist letter from a group of large publishers, including Advance Publications, The Washington Post and Time Inc. The companies took issue with Zite -- pulling in their content and reformatting it in a way that stripped out surrounding Web site material, including ads. Zite was able to sidestep that legal dust-up, but has since tried to forge better relations with the big publishers whose content its sleek iPad app tailors to a user’s specific interests, based on reading habits, viewing patterns, and Google Reader or Twitter history. The result is a new program that gives participating publishers their own dedicated sections on Zite, which maintain their particular look and feel and allow them to upsell mobile apps or subscription services via house ads. Among the initial group of companies joining the publisher program are CNN -- which acquired Zite last August -- HLNtv, The Daily Beast, Motley Fool, The Next Web, VentureBeat, Fox Sports and The Huffington Post. Perhaps most attractive to Zite’s publisher partners is the option to run a banner ad at the end of articles promoting other content, including apps and any paid services. “Publishers are spending a lot of money right now on applications for iPhone, iPad, what have you -- but discovery is a big problem,” noted Zite CEO Mark Johnson. The house ads in Zite are aimed at helping to solve that problem by reaching people who are already using an app. He added that the arrangements involve no money changing hands. What publishers get under the new offering are their own sections within the app instead of having all of their content filtered by topic. The section will carry each publisher’s own branding and articles curated according to a user’s interests and tastes, using Zite’s algorithm. The interface is designed to allow fast, easy access to stories; publishers will get regular analytics reports to track interaction with their material. How will individual publisher sections be found by Zite users? Johnson said someone reading an article under a certain topic like politics, sports or technology would have the ability to add that publisher’s section to their selected material. Publishers will also have the opportunity to target readers based on their interests, and be featured in some fashion in the app’s start page. He emphasized that the app helps extend audiences just by the nature of its design. Zite, which added a version of its app for the iPhone in December, has not publicly disclosed how many downloads or active users it has. Zite competes with rival news reader apps, such as Flipboard, Pulse and AOL's Editions.
YouTube's movie deal with Paramount could contribute more than content to the video site's library. While the movie-rental deal with a fifth major Hollywood studio adds 500 new titles to its expanding online library, it also contributes audience segment data to augment targeted ads. The Paramount deal brings YouTube's rental library to nearly 9,000 titles. For example, Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" will take its place among other movies available through on-demand streaming agreements with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Studios. Rentals will out-price most rentals on Google Play: $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for older movies, with $1 more for high-def content. Titles will generally become available to rent for 48 hours. No sign of Google allowing viewers to download movie content from YouTube. There are many possible reasons, ranging from licensing fees to piracy, but Mahi de Silva, executive vice president of consumer mobile at Opera Software, said streaming versus the download and sales of movies benefits Google and license holders. For example, de Silva points to a handful of publishers that developed methods for building anonymous consumer profiles based on streaming music. "The correlation is interesting between the consumers' lifestyle patterns, location and affinity to certain genres of music," he said. "Streaming enables the platform providers to partner with record labels more effectively to monetize content, though they know many consumers don't pay for the music. But if they subscribe to a channel, the labels can promote other music." Streaming allows content providers and music labels to drive monetization through ad revenue or premium services. It gives the music labels access to an audience they otherwise don't have, de Silva said. "Using some of the same tools for music platforms, I expect companies that manage streaming media will also build out similar tools and systems to create a new economy to stream video," he said.
Taking power away from Apple and other content gatekeepers, a consortium of top publishers -- including Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp. and Time Inc. -- just launched their own tablet newsstand. Dubbed Next Issue Media, the joint venture features all the publishers’ top titles -- from People and Sports Illustrated to The New Yorker and Vanity Fair -- and is designed specifically for Android tablets. "This is a game changer for customers," said Morgan Guenther, CEO of Next Issue Media, and former president of Tivo. In all, there are 32 magazine titles available at launch, while the catalog is expected to expand later this year. In a preview version unveiled last year, the digital newsstand was available exclusively on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.0, with sales handled by the Verizon Wireless VCAST store. The new stand-alone app, however, is compatible with a far greater range of devices. Next Issue Media was originally formed in 2009 with the goal of creating a shared digital newsstand to scale up digital content consumption -- not to mention wresting the control of distribution away from Apple. Trying to calm publisher concerns, Apple unveiled a digital subscription model in early 2011 that relaxed its previous prohibition on disclosing consumer information (with their consent) to publishing partners by agreeing to share the name, email address and ZIP code of those who subscribe to digital content. Apple also allowed publishers to sell iPad magazine subscriptions through their own Web sites, or from within the magazine apps themselves, while keeping a larger percentage of the revenue. Despite its issues with Apple, however, Next Issue Media is planning to launch an iPad-friendly app at some point later this year. For now, magazines will be available on Android devices through subscriptions, as well as single-issue sales. Publishers will offer digital content for free or at a discount to existing print subscribers. “Unlimited Premium” subscribers will have access to all titles in the catalog, including weeklies -- such as Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, and Time -- for $14.99 per month. An “Unlimited Basic” subscription includes titles published monthly and biweekly for $9.99 per month. Individual magazine subscriptions range from $1.99 to $9.99 per month, while individual magazine issues are available from $2.49 to $5.99 per issue.
Digital books are gaining new readers. The proportion of American adults who have read an e-book bumped up to 21% as of February from 17% in mid-December, fueled by a surge in holiday sales of both tablets and e-readers. More broadly, 43% say they have either read an e-book in the past year or have read other long-form content, such as magazines, journals, and news articles in digital format on an e-book reader, tablet, PC, or cell phone. The findings come from a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project based on a series of surveys conducted from November 2011 to February 2012. “A significant number are reading more because books can be plucked out of the air,” said Lee Rainie, who heads Pew’s Internet research arm. The study found the average reader of e-books has read 24 books in all formats in the last 12 months, compared to an average of 15 books by non-e-book readers. There were no major differences between owners of e-book readers and tablets -- both read on average 24 books in the previous year. More importantly for publishers and device makers, 30% of those who read e-content say they now spend more time reading -- especially e-reader and tablet owners. Some 35% of the former, and 41% of the latter, say they’re reading more since the advent of e-content. People are also reading e-books on more than one device. Among people who have read e-books in the last year, 42% did so on a computer, 41% on an e-reader, 29% on a cell phone, and 23% on a tablet. As tablets proliferate, however, it’s likely that proportion will grow closer to that of e-readers. The research also suggested the rise of e-books doesn’t spell the end of print books. In the past year, 72% of adults read a print book compared to 21% who read an e-book, and 11% who listened to an audio book. And 88% of those who read an e-book also read a print title. In general, people prefer e-books when traveling, commuting and looking for a wide selection. Print is the choice when it comes to reading books to children and sharing books with others. What about reading in bed? It’s a virtual dead heat: 45% opt for print, and 43%, e-books. “E-book readers and tablets are finding their place in the rhythms of readers’ lives,” said Kathryn Zickuhr, author of the Pew study. “But printed books still serve as the currency when people want to share the stories they love.” Also helping to expand the growing audience for e-books are the newer breed of dual-use devices, like the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet. The lower-priced tablets proved popular over the holiday season, especially the Amazon device. By mid-January, it had captured an estimated 14% of the tablet market. The original Kindle remains the top e-reader, with nearly two-thirds (62%) of those surveyed owning the model, followed by the Nook, with 22%. No other competitor has more than a 3% share. The results in the Pew study were mainly based on a nationally representative sample of 2,986 people 16 and older interviewed between Nov. 16 to Dec. 21, 2011. It also included separate surveys of 2,008 adults 18 and over from January 12-15 and 2,253 people between January 20 and February 19, 2012.
A federal judge has struck down Colorado's law requiring e-commerce companies to disclose information about state residents' purchases to the tax authorities. In a 22-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Blackburn agreed with the Direct Marketing Association that the law unconstitutionally restricts interstate commerce. "The act and the regulations directly regulate and discriminate against out-of-state retailers and, therefore, interstate commerce," Blackburn wrote. He entered an injunction prohibiting Colorado from enforcing the law. The Colorado law applied to any out-of-state companies (including e-commerce companies) that don't collect sales tax from consumers. The measure required them to send detailed lists of consumers' purchases to the tax authorities, and to send consumers annual reports detailing their purchases and notifying them about their obligations to pay state sales tax. The DMA filed a lawsuit challenging the law in March 2010, shortly after it was enacted. The marketing group drew on a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that state governments can't require retailers to collect sales tax unless they have a physical presence in the state, like a brick-and-mortar store. The DMA argued that state governments also shouldn't be able to require out-of-state retailers to notify consumers about state sales tax laws. Colorado is expected to appeal the decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which might not decide the issue for many months. The ruling could dissuade other states from enacting laws similar to the one in Colorado, says Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president for government affairs at the DMA. "Other states have been watching this case, and waiting to see what happens," Cerasale says. Consumers in states with sales taxes generally are supposed to pay tax on items purchased via the Web. Many states rely on consumers to self-report this figure -- a practice that is believed to result in underpayments. In the last few years, a number of states passed laws aimed at collecting more of the sales tax they were owed. Vermont, Oklahoma and South Dakota all enacted laws requiring online retailers to inform consumers about their duty to pay sales tax -- although none of those states require e-commerce companies to disclose consumers' purchases to the tax authorities. Other states, including New York, now require online retailers to collect sales tax from consumers if the retailers use in-state affiliates. Amazon and Overstock challenged New York's law in court; the case is still pending.
“We may be through with the past, but the past ain’t through with us.” – Bergen EvansIt used to drive my mom nuts whenever my dad would tune into the Giants game on the radio during dinner back in the late 1950s and early '60s. “Just gotta check the score,” he’d tell her, utterly oblivious and in total disregard for her objections. In retrospect, it might have been his way to announce to the entire family that he was bored to tears by the banality of the conversation at the table, but the lesson was clear: The best way to end any conversation was to turn on the radio and check the score.Variations of the same scenario (with allowances for local team loyalties) played out in thousands of communities and at millions of family dinner tables every night all across the country. Little did my mom know (little did anyone know) that within a generation or two ,the American dinner table would all but disappear, neglected to death (in the words of the great Paddy Chayefsky) and left to wither and die in the barren confluence of TV and frozen foods. Guess it goes to show just how little we appreciate things until they’re gone, and how much less we appreciate them after that. Popular culture relies on its ability to obliterate history.Time was when the dinner table served as the nexus of all news, especially local news, mostly about family, friends and neighbors. Local news at the dinner table was more than mere gossip. It was a call to action -- maybe a phone call or a personal visit. Back then, the ratio of actionable news to mere gossip was much higher than anything we encounter in commercial media today. Now, we may know what happens halfway around the world but haven’t a clue about what’s going on in our own backyards. And almost none of what we know or learn from the media compels any action whatsoever, except perhaps to change the channel or post something on someone’s Facebook wall.The demise of newspapers has little or nothing to do with the decline of news as a sellable commodity, and everything to do -- like the dinner table -- with the denouement of a lifestyle. The demise of newspapers began when people started checking their email first thing in the morning (as half of all Americans now do) and rushing face first into the white noise of day instead of sitting down in peace and quiet with a cup of coffee to check the sports page. It has nothing to do with the quality or veracity of the product, and everything to do with the quality of life.Wondering what happened to the newspaper industry is like clear-cutting the old-growth forest and wondering what happened to the spotted owl. It ain’t exactly rocket science: Things wither and die as the environments that support them are destroyed.Seems like the more we communicate the less we actually talk. Some years ago I speculated that contrary to popular folk wisdom -- we aren’t what we eat as much as how we eat. Likewise, it’s not what we say. as much as where and how we say it. Today, the dinner table is a distant memory, and we eat on the run, in front of a screen and/or between tweets. No matter how you slice it, however, it all adds up to massive indigestion, constipation and obesity. Lucky for us that the supermarket and drugstore shelves are stocked high with antacids and laxatives.