Workshop to Consider the Economics of Journalism in Print and Online

NEW YORK, NY – November 25, 2009 – The Online Publishers Association (OPA) today announced that its President, Pam Horan, will be speaking at the upcoming Federal Trade Commission Workshop on December 1, 2009, titled: “From Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?” The workshop has been organized to consider the emerging issues of an increasingly Internet oriented society. Specifically, Horan’s panel will address trends in online advertising and consumer demand.

“The Internet has transformed the way consumers receive their news, information and entertainment,” said Pam Horan, President of the Online Publishers Association. “Last year, the Internet became consumers’ primary source of both international and domestic news and this year, content sites such as the members of the OPA accounted for 42 percent of all time spent online by Internet users. Based on consumer trends and continued innovation in the technology to deliver quality content; the digital platform represents the future of journalism.”

The FTC has stated that the workshop will consider a number of issues including: the economics of journalism in print and online; the wide variety of new business and non-profit models for journalism online; factors relevant to the new economic realities for news organizations, such as behavioral and other targeted online advertising, online news aggregators, and bloggers; and the ways in which the costs of journalism could be reduced without reducing quality.

“Online advertising today represents the most significant revenue stream for online publishers who create content for consumers to access, in most cases, free of charge,” continued Horan. “As OPA members innovate and explore new ways to enhance the consumer experience, privacy will continue to be of paramount importance and we are encouraged by industry efforts to develop a strong, enforceable self-regulation framework in cooperation with and in response to the work of the Federal Trade Commission. By focusing on the consumer demands and maintaining the vibrancy of the digital platform through creative and high quality content, OPA members are confident journalism will continue to thrive online.”

About the OPA
Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA member sites have a combined, unduplicated reach of 149.3 million visitors, or 79% percent of the total U.S. Internet audience (Source: comScore Media Metrix, August 2008 combined home/work/university data). For more information, go to www.online-publishers.org.