Media Predictions for 2008

• Ownership by Rupert Murdoch will change the Wall Street Journal in small ways, but will not corrupt it entirely. Remember the concern when the Journal announced plans to sell ads on its front page? The dire predictions have not been fulfilled, and the front page remains untarnished.
  • Some things will be different – like the possibility of free online access for everyone. And we've already seen some "tarting up" of its content. For instance, we've seen an editorial citing supermodel monetary policy: apparently Gisele Bündchen has requested payment in euros rather than in the falling dollar. (To be fair, other publications including the New York Times also discussed Bündchen's monetary policy.)
• More print media will follow Business 2.0. Corporate consolidation will reduce business-to-business technology advertising, which will push more secondary print publications into online-only mode. Expect to see more in 2008. Remember that circulation is irrelevant to the publisher's decision to discontinue a magazine if its ad pages drop.
• The blogosphere will become more important. These companies that have sat on the sidelines need to get up and look at their sector, their customers, employees, and competitors. It's past time to just watch the blogosphere. Because the lead time to ...but remember about what works for one company may not work for another.
  • Some for podcasts and RSS feeds. If you're hosting webinars, you should make the information available by podcasts and RSS feeds.
• TiVos and iTunes and will continue to give users control over what content they access and when. Mass market will be challenging, but niche marketing continues. (There will always be a need for mass marketing for consumers but only niche markets will be the way to go – see blogs.)
• Social networking: YourFace – Facebook and MySpace – are not the only two players, but they will continue to take up the most space in print and online media because of their market valuation. And because the media loves a horse race. Niche sites may do well in 2008, but the media will continue to focus on YourFace.

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Finance/Economy

• Subprime mortgages will continue to play out in 2008. The impact on banks and on the housing market – and on politicians who will try to solve the problem before the 2008 elections.

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Tell us what you think. Did we get it right? Are we way off base? Drop us a note at birnbach@birnbachcom.com.