19 Feb 2012 - 16 Apr 2022
The launch of the Guardian‘s digital edition in Australia is a milestone in the development of our global ambitions. It also illustrates the opportunities and challenges facing a newspaper industry that is undergoing a period of dramatic upheaval, brought about by rapid technological change, exacerbated by the current difficult macro-economic environment. In the last ten [...]
Following in the footsteps of Barack Obama and music sensation Psy, The Economist‘s digital editor Tom Standage participated in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” today. The questions posed by the Reddit community ranged from why The Economist has no bylines to what new technologies will soon take over the world. There were also a number [...]
From long-forgotten stories to archival photos, newspapers and magazines are sitting on a treasure trove of old content. Sure, some of this content is outdated or inconsequential, but some is evergreen or intriguingly retro. Who wouldn’t want to see a 1955 New York Times photo of a Jetsons-esque robot or revisit a 2001 Economist article [...]
Four days into 2013 and the publishing industry has already seen a blossoming of paid content models. First, Andrew Sullivan, the popular blogger who has most recently been affiliated with The Daily Beast, announced on Wednesday that he was amicably severing ties with his corporate parent and will be embarking on his own. This separation [...]
With the proliferation of devices–especially mobile devices–publishers have had to manage how to display their content across devices with many different screen sizes. The publishing answer is “responsive design”, which automatically re-sizes the page layout based on the screen size. While I know a lot of publishers find it costly and difficult to deploy, many [...]
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post for Lean Back 2.0 on how publishers might rethink long-form reading on the desktop computer. I had been blown away by an ESPN.com feature called “The Long Strange Trip of Dock Ellis” about a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who threw a no-hitter while on LSD. The piece, with a beautiful [...]
This Lean Back 2.0 blog aims to examine, discuss and track the impact that new digital reading devices, particularly tablets, are having on both reader behaviours and media businesses. It includes thinking from leading commentators across the media, publishing, advertising and technology industries.
The big question some analysts pose is what platform will lose users with the rise of tablets. At this point, the answer is “none.”
Assistant editor, Lean Back 2.0
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