Cindy Price Schultz, head of communication and journalism department at the University of Wyoming, was recently chosen to present her research paper “Doing Digital News: A Comparison of Three Business Models” at the World Media Economics and Management Conference in Cape Town South Africa this coming May.
This conference focused on massive media economics and management issues from around the globe, Schultz is geared towards
the management side. To attend you must put together a proposal and upon acceptance you will be invited to present the full pater at the conference.
With 170 different conference attendees and paper presenters, the papers are expected to be will done in order to be published in a journal. Schultz aspires to send her paper to the International Journal of Media upon its completion.
Schultz first attended this conference in 2015 New York, spiking their interest. A formally European conference, this conference is being held in Africa for this first time this May, Schultz said.
“Doing Digital News: A Comparison of Three Business Models” is the title of the paper Schultz is bringing to the conference. On the premise of the transformation of new from paper to digital and therefore the business models need adjustment for success.
With a lifetime of a year or less, online news organizations tend to fail due to the lack of a proper business model. The World Media Economics and Management Conference is geared toward bring information to new managers for success in a digital world.
“If they [online news organizations] last two years, that’s a pretty successful organization. So, what they’re looking for, and in fact one of the main concerns of this conferences is how do you help managers to move into the twenty first century with digital,” Schultz said.
Due to the rural nature of Wyoming, Schultz focuses on digital news in “Doing Digital News: A Comparison of Three Business Models.” Being centrally located in Wyoming, Schultz choose three different types of digital media businesses, based in Wyoming, to focus her research on.
Wyoming has a vast landscape with people scattered across the state. The rural aspect of the Wyoming research is applicable to various areas around the world.
“I think there is a lot of focus on urban areas but not rural areas,” Schultz said “With this international conference being in Africa there’s a lot of rural areas in Africa as well that this could be a helpful business model for them.”
The first type of digital media business Schultz chooses to focus on is WyoFile, a non-profit that focuses on investigative reporting. WyoFile, funded mainly by small donors, provides great information to readers as it provides great explanation of big picture news topics such as petroleum funding in the state, Schultz added.
The Second business is Oil City news in Casper, a for-profit entrepreneur, owned by and advertising agency. It used to be part of a larger group, but has reduced to just Oil City news. This news sources gains their funding through exclusive advertising for example only running one ad for a doctor without any ads for competing doctors.
The third business Schultz discusses Laramie Live, a for-profit corporation. Owned by Townsquare Media, this corporation works as an independent app as well as social media pages. This idea was pitched by local radio stations to bring more independent news to the public.
Those attending the international conference will be from around the globe, with ideas from Harlem to Wyoming. Prepared with these three business models, Schultz hopes to present her paper through successful rural digital new businesses in South Africa so they can be applied to areas throughout the globe.
