THE LONG TAIL - HOW NICHE CULTURE WORKS - PART IX
Continuing with his analysis of the niche culture, Anderson, in Chapter 11 of The Long Tail, uses a startling illustration of the effect of the niche culture on what we typically call mainstream media.
He notes (at page 185) that the traditional news media delivery system has been dramatically transformed since the mid 1980s and that the circulation of typical newspapers is down more than 1/3 as a result of the inroads of the Internet. Anderson notes that, in the past, the power of newspapers came from their command over their tools of production. Now anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection can have access to the power of the press.
Initially, newspapers and other traditional media forums tried to take advantage of this change toward digital technology; however, the growth of niche interests and people creating their own homepages and blogpages provided for a distinctly different approach to the delivery of news. Anderson cites (at page 185-186) Richard Posner, an eminent Judge and legal scholar, who talks about the fact that a blogger can target a much narrower segment of the reading public than a newspaper or television news channel. In effect, the blogs pick off mainstream media's plushest customers, one by one, as they can serve the niche where their old media precursors can only discuss the issue in terms of the masses.
Have a great weekend, Suzana and Ian.
