The CM Summit is now just three weeks away, I hope you can join us. We’ve got more than 450 folks signed up, and we’ll hit our limit pretty soon, so register now…
With that in mind, fourth on our hit list of CM Summit interviews is Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Chairman, The New York Times Co.
Arthur has led the Times for the past 13 years, and during his tenure the company has constantly innovated in digital publishing. The Times made news recently by announcing it would take a “metered” approach to pay as you go on the Times website. It was also a launch partner for Apple’s iPad. Below are some of the questions I have for Arthur, I welcome your input!
(And please, help me with questions for Tim Armstrong, Arianna Huffington and Tony Hsieh! Thanks!).
– How is progress on the “metered” approach to the Times? How did you come to this decision, and where does the project stand?
– The Times and its other properties are what the industry calls “premium” publishing brands, and you make most of your marketing revenue from “premium” brand advertising. What do you make of the whole remnant/DSP/exchange model?
– Talk to me about the differentiation of a branded environment online. What makes the investment worth it for you, for your marketing partners?
– What do you make of iAds? Are they competitive to your own sales force? Will you be using them on the NYT?
– The NYT was showcased in the roll out of the iPad. Is this device going to live up to its hype? What about the rest of the “pads” out there – RIM, Android/Google, HP, etc?
– Has the Times come up with any new forms of advertising products that you can discuss?
– What lessons have you learned going digital along the way (one that comes to mind is the precursor to the metered solution, called Times Select ?)
– How is About.com doing, and how does it fit into the overall digital strategy?
So what would you like to know from Arthur Sulzberger? Leave a comment, or tweet it on #cmsummit. Thanks.
1) Why is the NYT iPhone app (still) free?
2) How are the mobile ad programs doing for NYT mobile apps?
3) On many newspaper properties, there is a very sharp disconnect between the advertising that one sees in print, vs. those ads and programs that run online. Is that just the nature of the platforms and the types of vendors that want to leverage them, or are there more opportunities to align print and digital sales processes? If the latter is true, what are the biggest problems and challenges faced by the NYT and other newspaper organizations?
In retrospect, do you think The New York Times would have been better placed to deal with its digital and analog threats (and that includes Murdoch’s WSJ) had Howell Raines still been in charge?
This is going to be a great interview! I think it is really interesting and I will share it with all the entrepreneurs I interact with.
I think I would ask him What strategy does he use when it comes to dealing with innovation?