Josh Larson from Newsgator points out that Murdoch would seem to be praising widgets:
Murdoch: Newspapers + Customized Content = Success His Comments Strongly Make the Case for Widgets: NewsGator Widget Blog
Robert Murdoch, in comments from part of a lecture series sponsored by the Australian Broadcast Corporation, portrays the current environment for newspapers and media companies, not unsurprisingly, as difficult. In particular, he calls out "some of the [obsolete] editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper's most precious asset: the bond with its readers." However, Murdoch points to a potentially bright future for the space if newspapers and media companies can learn to adapt.
In short, Murdoch says that newspapers must embrace technology advances -- RSS content in particular -- to be successful in the changing media landscape. He believes that the key challenge for success in the future will be to "use a newspaper's brand while allowing readers to personalize the news for themselves-and then deliver it in the ways that they want."
These comments lend significant credence to the work we're doing here at NewsGator Media & Consumer Products with newspapers and media companies through RSS, widgets, and related content. In a general sense, the solutions that we offer at NewsGator help newspapers and media companies extend their brand's reach, improve traffic and monetization, and -- here's the key -- also enhance the end user's experience through dynamic (and often customizable) content delivery platforms.
Indeed, If you read between the lines of his comments, Murdoch makes a powerful case for precisely the type of viral widgets that NewsGator provides, by referring to the importance of tools that allow, "a newspaper's brand...[to] deliver [content] in the ways that [readers] want" by "allowing readers to personalize the news for themselves."
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