The opportunity that I would like to focus on is finding a way to get cheap and easy access to online newspapers (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.) without having to subscribe to all of them at different times.
The who: adults ages 30 to 55
Who test: The age range I have provided is my guess of who is wanting to find news from these types of newspapers the most. While I don't think everyone in this age range necessarily would read these newspapers, I feel more would read it if they could access them more easily. However, I believe that college-aged students could also utilize this opportunity. Sometimes, these students need these newspapers as sources or as mandatory readings.
The what: it isn't easy to find news from reputable newspaper sources
What test: I believe that the need to find a place to find information is higher than ever in the current political climate. Much false information is being spread; people want to be able to go to different places.
The why: currently, these reputable online newspapers require individuals to subscribe for a monthly or yearly plan to read the articles
Why test: The newspapers that require subscriptions deter people from gaining insight into an issue or situation. No one wants to subscribe to five different publications to have the ability to read one story every few months.
Interviews:
1. 35-year-old bank teller
This individual currently doesn't keep up with the news too often. She has given up trying to find information because she believes a lot of free sources are biased about what they report. While she would love to be more knowledgeable about the current climate, she has been discouraged from finding sources that provide accurate information. She would also like the idea of cross-referencing information.
2. 47-year-old program manager
This individual keeps up with the news. He loves to read newspaper articles; he currently isn't subscribed to any online newspapers. He used to have a subscription to a local newspaper, but it was a physical paper. He ended that subscription because he began to find the news online. He thinks it is vital to keep up with the story; he stays informed by finding articles from free online sources or watching the news.
3. 53-year-old construction worker
While he keeps up with the news, he is not typically heavily invested. However, because of the current pandemic and political situation, he has started paying attention more than he previously did. He reads the news when there is a topic or location that interests him. He currently gets his story from the local newspaper or news station.
4. 34-year-old manager
This student is hugely invested in the news. Many of today's politics and administrational decisions have a direct effect on her and her family, so she likes to stay informed. She gets her news mostly by watching independent news videos, and she currently has a subscription to the Harvard Business Review and the New York Times.
5. 54-year-old accountant
This individual also likes to keep up the news. He has had subscriptions to online newspapers in the past but thought it was too much of a hassle, so he canceled them. He would only read a few articles from the newspapers, so a monthly fee was just not justified. He currently watches different news stations. However, he has been debating on subscribing to maybe only one online news source rather than several
The interviews confirmed a suspicion that I already had; people want to keep up with the news. Many are overwhelmed with the number of sources where you can get information. They don't know where they find information on a situation that is reputable and heavily researched. They hear that the media is biased and that all news sources have an agenda, so having your knowledge come from different sources is essential. Places like Harvard Business Review pride themselves on their factual reporting and legitimate sources but require a subscription. So if individuals should have many news sources but all the "honest" and "reputable" sources require a subscription, there is a problem.
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI think you have something here. With so many papers going out of business I'm sure they would rather have a portion of income instead of nothing. Maybe a few papers could get together and offer a monthly package deal that they split between them. They also could have a pay as you read point system that tracks how long you are on the sight or how many pages you read. The more you read the more you pay.
Hello Taylor, I want to start off by saying that I really do like your idea. I do agree with your statement about how there is so many places to get news and you have to subscribe to all of them and that is an issue. However, to be quite frank I think the diversity of the news is also very important. For something like the media, it is diverse and shows or gives us the news in different ways for the variety of people in the world. Condensing the news to only one page would be quite odd and frankly I do not know if it would be able to be successful. There are already way too many news sources who have a reputation and to drive people away from those would be quite difficult.
ReplyDeleteHey Taylor,
ReplyDeleteThough I do not think that there is a massive market for people that still read the newspaper, especially national ones, I do think that there is potential amongst the people that do. There has been great success in bundling businesses, where people have a one stop shop for products. Instead of having to invest in one specific product line or another, you can have access to all of them at once with one membership fee. I think that this would be a better idea than your current one, as it is unlikely that one can provide a completely unbiased newspaper and especially one without history, precedence, or reputation.
Hello Taylor, I love this opportunity you identified. I actually completely agree that there is a serious need for non-biased news that is presented in a concise matter, in order to keep people informed. If there were a way to create a Netflix but for newspapers, I think it would completely change the game. It needs to be affordable and easy in order to reach the demographic you stated. This is my favorite opportunity so far, so keep up the great work!
ReplyDelete