Lauri Elliott

Media sector driven by the shift to digital and mobile.

Instead of a shift to mainframes and big high-end systems and platforms, the media industry has largely benefited from the availability of cheap, entry-level consumer technology.

Publishing is benefiting from the shift to online, where content can be created on inexpensive personal computers, laptops and even mobile phones.

BMI-T public-sector consulting business unit manager Tertia Smit says that with the convergence, liberalisation and consolidation of the ICT sector, this market is becoming highly competitive and companies need to adapt to remain in the game.

Smit says that communications and media companies have a high percentage of knowledge workers.

BMI-T says the communication and media sectors’ ICT spend is driven by some large projects that are the result of convergence in these sectors, as well as the emergence of next-generation Internet Protocol networks.

Because of this convergence, it is difficult to look at the media industry in isolation. It is heavily impacted by trends in the communications sector.

In a talk at the University of Stellenbosch Business School earlier this year, Martin Butler, Information Systems Management lecturer, also pointed to convergence as a key.

“Increasingly we are seeing companies that once occupied very different spaces such as telecoms, entertainment and search engines beginning to encroach on each other’s markets.”

Technology companies are moving into the media space, media companies are moving into communication and vice versa.

South Africans are more reliant on mobile than fixed-line as a means to connect to the internet. This means that from a consumer point of view, there is a shift to mobility.

The media industry, therefore, has moved to ensure that content is available on mobile devices. Specific mobile websites are common, with content being tailored exclusively for the small screen.

In its Media Predictions 2010, Deloitte says that the impact of ICT on the media industry is being shaped by two factors.

First, the global economy. Deloitte says that making predictions for 2009 was easy – most economies would fall into recession. “In 2010, the picture is far more mixed.”

BMI-T says that the 2010 Fifa World Cup has helped ease the effects of the global economic downturn in media sectors. The SABC and Supersport have invested hundreds of millions of rands in readying themselves for high-definition TV. Both broadcasters have acquired outside HD units. The broadcasters have also invested billions in HD equipment and full HD studios.

Digitisation also continues to be a force, argues Deloitte. “It is contributing to a reinvention of the … media sector.

“This fundamentally simple transition – the conversion of analogue data into digital form and its distribution via digital networks – not only changes the balance of power within the industry, but can also reset the scope in other sectors.”

BMI-T’s Smit says that capital projects are also driven by the need for more bandwidth and platforms for integrated billing, content management and provision and more customer-driven applications.

Democratising media

Thanks to technology, media has evolved from just traditional media to include alternative media and citizen media. Alternative media can use the same technical platforms, but consider themselves an alternative to traditional media. And citizen media is content produced by private citizens who are not considered professional writers or journalists.

Citizen media is an interesting space. It allows people to have a voice, as well as gain fame, popularity, and credibility. CNN has iReporters, who report on local news they observe. If CNN is able to verify the story and likes the content, the story is featured.

While the concept of citizen media may not be hard to grasp, appropriate business models are. Citizen media has a similar dilemma as social entrepreneurship. Should business models be for profit, non-profit, or a mix? OhmyNews in South Korea has found a for-profit business model that works around citizen journalists.

OhmyNews has over 60 000 citizen journalists. Its motto is “Every Citizen is a Reporter”. Oh Yeon-ho, OhmyNews CEO, said at the LIFT Conference in Geneva in May 2010 that citizen journalists who make it are not those that do it for fame but are looking to make society better, interestingly enough.

OhmyNews’ business model combines citizen journalists with a team of staff writers, who edit content of, team up with, and support the citizen journalists. OhmyNews sends teams of staff writers and citizen journalists to report. Yeon-ho indicated that there are places to which citizen journalists cannot go, like press rooms, so there is a need for staff writers.

OhmyNews’ revenue model, however, relies heavily on advertising, accounting for 70 percent of revenue. OhmyNews has introduced new revenue streams like the 100 000 Club in which users pay about R70 per month for learning opportunities offered by OhmyNews. The goal is to reduce the advertising mix to 50 percent of revenue.

In the report Business Models and Road Maps of Citizen Media Type Applications by Information Society Technologies in 2009, it was noted that business models for citizen media platforms have not matured. This was based on research of the Dutch citizen media industry.

Typically, social entrepreneurs start “with a small group of trusted peers or organisations, who act as the (initial) prosumer part of the community,” according to the report. The audience is bound by a common interest, and “quality” content and conversation are essential.

The revenue models tend to differ from the global Web 2.0 platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Citizen media platforms use cross media business models, which include offline activities like training and on-demand media production.

In Africa, the concept of citizen media as a viable for-profit business model still lags behind for a different reason. In general, “socially” oriented endeavors are still seen as the space of non-profit organisations. This blind spot actually leaves a good opening for innovative entrepreneurs in Africa.

This article was commissioned by ITWeb/Brainstorm of South Africa.  It was co-authored with Hilton Tarrant.  Permission was granted to reprint.

Media is such a major issue for Africa at this time.  There is a general perception that western media is doing a disservice to the image of Africa.  I agree and disagree.

I agree that western media has painted a particular view of Africa as needy, poor, corrupt, and in conflict historically.  But there are also those who do Africa a good service.

But to me this argument is no longer the primary relevant issue.  Now with the technology tools and the connected society, everyone is media.  That is called citizen media.  Individuals, groups, and organizations need to use this shift to make media that is appropriate for Africa.

The new configurations of media will be infinite, but open.  This is what we have to focus on.  There are still people who need to work with in traditional media who can help change what is being reported and how.  But most of us, whether professional media or public media don’t have to what for things to change, we can make the change.

I had a brief opportunity to share these thoughts and others at the Rwanda Convention 2010 (www.rwandaconvention.org) in Boston, Massachusetts on May 29, 2010.  And living  up to the potential in technology, I participated via videoconferencing from my home!

You can download my slide presentation – Evolving Media Presentation 2010 (37). 

Feel free to start up a conversation on this.