Abstract
This cross-national comparative case study of online news production analyzes the strategies of Cable News Network (CNN) and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), aiming at understanding of the implications of organizational strategy on the role of journalists, explains why traditional media organizations have a tendency to develop a multi-platform approach (distributing content on several platforms, such as television, online, mobile) rather than developing the cross-media (with interplay between media types) or multimedia approach anticipated by both scholars and practitioners.
Arne H. Krumsvik (1966) is Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Oslo and Associate Professor II at BI Norwegian School of Management. He has held positions as General Manager at Kanal 24 (national radio), Online Editor at VG and Dagbladet (national newspapers), Editor in Chief at Romerikes Blad (regional newspaper) and Managing Editor at Scandinavia Online. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Oslo, a Master of Management degree from Norwegian School of Management and BA in Journalism from Volda University College. He has co-edited the Norwegian book “Journalistikk i en digital hverdag,” published by Norwegian Academic Press, Kristiansand, 2008.
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Notes
- 1.
Picard (2005) identifies five rationales for the development of media product portfolios: Risk Reduction, Managing Product Life Cycles, Market Exploration and Company Growth, Breath of Market Service, and Efficiency.
- 2.
While NRK traditionally is a public service broadcaster of radio and television, the online activity is defined as a commercial activity since 2000.
- 3.
In 1980, Ted Turner launched CNN, the world’s first live, 24-hour global news network.
- 4.
NRK’s program activities are organized according to a so-called broadcaster model. One section of the organization, Broadcasting, plans programs and the contents of the program schedules. This part of the organization sends requests and is responsible at all times for what is actually transmitted via television and radio and for what is published on the internet. Another section of the organization, the Program Division, develops and produces programs and contents according to the requests from the Broadcasting section.
- 5.
AOL purchased Time Warner for US $164 bn in 2000. Each original company merged into a newly created entity, where the shareholders of AOL owned 55% and Time Warner shareholders 45%. After the merger, the profitability of the former America Online decreased, and the market valuation of similar independent internet companies fell. This forced a goodwill write-off, causing AOL Time Warner to report a loss of $99 billion in 2002 – at the time, the largest loss ever reported by a company.
- 6.
Wire services supply news reports to newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. These news agencies can be corporations (Reuters and AFP) or cooperative organizations (AP, UPI).
- 7.
NRK and CNN did both require registration of video users; however, only CNN charged for videos initially.
- 8.
A restaurant chain serving fresh bison meat is one of Ted Turner’s last ventures.
- 9.
The competitive case of Norwegian national newspapers represents a deviant case in the same time period, with several players developing analyzer strategies resulting in different structures and processes (Krumsvik, 2008). In 2008 also the majority of these players are integrating news gathering to gain higher efficiency.
- 10.
Chamberlin (1933) introduced the term Monopolistic Competition to explain a situation between the polar cases of perfect competition and monopoly. In this market structure there are many firms selling a differentiated product, and there are low barriers to entry and exit in the industry. It is similar to monopoly in the sense that the firm has some control over the price it charges, since products are differentiated. But because there are many sellers, it is similar with perfect competition in that the free entry and exit of other firms in the industry pushes each firm’s net profit toward zero.
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Krumsvik, A.H. (2009). Strategy and Structure for Online News Production – Case Studies of CNN and NRK. In: Hunsinger, J., Klastrup, L., Allen, M. (eds) International Handbook of Internet Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9789-8_20
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