Weeks, I'm curious why you say, YouTube live streaming will affect local newspapers?
I'm surprised someone didn't post, "Nooooo, don't get him started!" Oh, wait,... I don't think I've bored my friends here to tears yet with this.
Let's see if I can keep this short, SenorLoco.
Note that I said "local DAILY newspapers."
There are only so many hours in the day. And while how much time can go into consuming news is always elastic, the fact is--most news on most days is boring.
Video helps keep news from being boring (sometimes). And, with streaming moving into the mainstream and costs dropping, the barriers to broadcasting are lower. Add that how everyone is going to mobile devices, not only does print looks unappealing to the consumer next to video, but even what we now view as the standard flow of web news becomes impacted.
Local daily newspapers have proven, time and again, they cannot adapt to new technology. I've worked with several newspapers on two serious web projects--I never brought them anything magic, I admit--but I was underwhelmed with their vision and aggressiveness. I have sworn off working with anyone working with newspapers forever and a day. (Most people in the industry are very kind and thoughtful and I do not like saying that. Indeed, it was their charm that likely caused me to waste too much time with them.)
What will be the new local news model? Likely it will be built around area special interests--business, family, politics, region, food, health, entertainment, services, churches, sports, etc.
Who will do this? Likely the major players (firms, clubs or individuals) in these interest areas who find they can easily tap into the technology with very little help to reach their audiences. It will be ham-handed at first, but it will evolve. Meanwhile, the daily local newspaper? Gone. Get a PDF newsletter in your email each day, then a weekly newspaper like we see now, probably on Saturday or Sunday, stuff with inserts. That's it.
And, I would guess that is seriously off-topic. So, bringing it back home--video is very, very compelling. And I hate it. But, marketers like it, audiences like it and it's fun to do. It can be better than print or words on some things. Sometimes. (Ask any political pro.)
This post you're reading right now would be more fun with some music, pretty girls, colors and moving images. And, there are people who can slap it together just about as fast as I wrote this. One of them is interning in my office right now.
