Category Archives: newspapers

Plowing through the middleman

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

The snow day. Growing up in Michigan, it was always a treat. Whenever a significant amount of snow was in the forecast, I’d wake up early to see if I got the day off. I’d listen to the radio as … Continue reading →

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Building sandcastles on the Web

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

As I’ve been figuring out what to do next, I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about what I’ve done in the past. The sad reality of building Web products is that your work quickly disappears. Just as waves … Continue reading →

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What the AP must do now

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve written before about how the Associated Press blew it in the early days of the Web by choosing to not play in the online news space. More than a decade later, AP still has tremendous assets that it can … Continue reading →

Posted in google, journalism, newspapers, publishing | 1 Comment

How the AP blew it

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

In the most recent round of AP getting in a huff about search engines and aggregators stealing traffic that they feel rightly belongs to them, there’s a fundamental problem they’re ignoring: AP chose not be in the online news business. … Continue reading →

Posted in google, iphone, journalism, media, newspapers, yahoo | 9 Comments

Anyone can be a journalist

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

In conversations with people in the news business, I regularly hear about the need for “professional journalists.” Ask them what makes a professional journalist and the answers get wishy-washy. Is it someone who is on staff at a newspaper? What … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, flickr, journalism, media, mobile, newspapers, publishing, social networking, twitter | 7 Comments

Newspaper companies can’t unring the bell

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

American newspapers are in trouble. So far this year, the Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer have shuttered their presses. Tribune is in bankruptcy. My first employer, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, is also there. Publishers have threatened to … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, media, newspapers, publishing, twitter, web 2, web 2.0 | 3 Comments

More bad news for newspapers: hotels going green

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

This picture should send shivers down the spines of executives at USA Today headquarters in McLean, Va. For at least as long as I’ve been traveling for business (13 years and counting), a USA Today in front of the hotel … Continue reading →

Posted in hotels, journalism, media, newspapers, travel | 3 Comments

Who needs newspapers?

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

I read two thought-provoking pieces this week on the decline of newspapers from voices outside the newspaper business and one Really Dumb Idea from a voice on the inside. Author Clay Shirky, Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable: When someone demands … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, media, newspapers, web 2, web 2.0 | 5 Comments

A tale of two media companies

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

You’ve got a competitor with deep pockets, huge brand recognition and a lot of traffic that is interested in your content. What do you do? Here are two very different approaches: GateHouse Media is suing The New York Times Co., … Continue reading →

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Google guys = 2(newspaper industry)

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans puts Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page at #13 and #14 with a net worth of $15.9 billion for Brin and $15.8 billion for Page. That’s a bit less than the $20 billion … Continue reading →