Earlier this year I spent a few days finding out about the work done at the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre in Bundaberg on the east coast of Queensland. The IWC’s approach is to involve the local indigenous community in all their decision-making and utilise many of the community elders to bridge the gaps between cultural groups. The centre fills a void that has been experienced, for many years, throughout Australia’s healthcare system for the indigenous community and is working to provide more effective support than current government measures.

This is their story.

[UPDATE: Video is currently offline, I'm working on restoring access to the video as soon as possible]

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There is no doubt about it; news organisations are in serious trouble. Budgets have been slashed, left, right, and centre. Papers that have been around for well over 100 years, like The Rocky Mountain News, have shut their doors. Even the worlds most respected paper, The New York Times, is planning to cull over 100 staff before Christmas.

Journalists are losing their jobs everywhere. In Australia, Fairfax Media used the start of the global financial crisis last year to shed 550 staff, and despite assurances from management, the quality of news suffered almost immediately.

The problem is that people just aren’t buying papers in the quantity that they used to. Everyone wants to read their news online. After all why pay for content, which you can get for free? It’s also cheaper, more up-to-date, and far more convenient.

Media organisations understand that people want to read the news online, so they happily provide the content, much of which is directly taken from the print versions, offering no clear incentive to buy a paper. Plus the online market is not making enough money. Advertising revenues are one tenth of what they are for print. Online sites simply can’t support the industry in their current form.

Most media executives have spent the last few years trying to come up with a solution. The one that seems obvious to everyone is to put the content behind a pay-wall.

Rupert Murdoch certainly believes that’s the answer. He recently committed News Corporation to charging for content on all its online websites.

Online editor for The Courier Mail in Brisbane, John Grey, says it will take a while for Australians to get used to the idea, but they will have to accept it eventually.

“There will be broad and loud objection. There will also be quiet and rational acceptance of the reality that while publishing is now cheap, newsgathering is not,” he said.

But News Ltd in Australia, already have one successful international example to copy, The Wall Street Journal. The Journal allows users to view some of its content, but much of the site is restricted through a subscription-based service. Users can opt to subscribe to just the online version, or to both the online and paper versions.

Mr Murdoch has already stated that he intends to replicate this model worldwide.

“Quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalising its ability to produce good reporting,” Mr Murdoch told journalists in August. “The increase we have seen in our Wall Street Journal subscription proves to me that the market is willing to pay for that quality.”

It is, however, important to remember that Rupert Murdoch bought into the idea of paid content through his purchase of The Wall Street Journal in 2007. This success was not a direct result of any input or ideas from Murdoch or News Corporation. The Wall Street Journal had already proven its paid content model sustainable.

One of the alternative methods to a subscription based news service is the idea of micropayments. A micropayment news site would charge users a very small fee to access individual stories. It is an idea similar to how iTunes works with music, or the iPhone works with applications. Users have an account with a credit card on file, and then click a button to instantly bill their accounts and access an article. It’s a novel idea, and one that could generate significant amounts of money if it succeeded.

But General Manager of Reload Media, a web development and strategy company, Craig Somerville, says that the idea of micropayments would not work for news organisations.

“The problem I see with this is that people don’t see a news source as a collection of articles each worth 2 cents, they see a news source as providing an overall summary of where the world’s at, and therefore you can’t put a price on each article individually,” he said.

The micropayment option would definitely have some challenges, especially with trying to convey to consumers that they are getting their moneys worth. Whether news organisations adopted a subscription, or micropayment model, the idea of paying for news just won’t sit well for many people.

Erica Smith, former advertising copywriter and producer, now full-time mum, is just one of the many people who will object to paying for online news.

“I would never considering paying for a service that I can receive adequately elsewhere for free,” she said.

Mr Somerville says that many consumers will just find other ways to get their news for free.

“It’s more than likely that rather than pay for services they have previously enjoyed for free, online users will find other free alternatives,” said Mr Somerville. “Brand loyalty with websites is not the same [as] with other offline consumer goods, people are much more likely to switch to the next best thing in a heartbeat. The current generation of Internet users have been brought up with the Google mentality, which means that they expect information to be freely available online.”

And Australia, like the UK, will always have alternative news services available, due to our public broadcaster. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation provides free news content, and it is likely that many users will switch to them rather than pay. It is usually high quality, in-depth coverage, and the websites are far more innovative than other Australian news organisations. Paid media will need to differentiate themselves if their plan is to work.

ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott, has already gone on the record to say that Murdoch’s plan would not work because he needs to focus on quality journalism.

“You can almost hear other proprietors urging Murdoch on, assuring him they are right behind him. And they are, pushing him through the pay wall as they then scurry away to make as much as they can for as long as they can outside it,” Mr Scott said in a recent speech on media empires. “But I suspect too much attention is being given to finding a pay model rather than addressing the content questions in terms of quality and distinctiveness that will really drive audience commitment.”

Currently, the Australian media is far behind the rest of the world when it comes to online news websites. Most of the news sites, such as News.com.au or Smh.com.au, are built around text-based articles and have been poorly modified to try and include other multimedia and social media features.

These hacks have made the websites clunky, and unable to fully utilise the complex array of advantages the Internet holds. Many Australian companies appear to be stuck in the dark-ages of print, even when the exciting new world of multimedia journalism is well established.

This lack of progress may be due to a shortage of adequately skilled staff in newsrooms, or publishers, like Rupert Murdoch, who don’t understand how to utilise the Internet. Whatever the actual reason, it is clear that the media need to do something to solve the problem, or face losing market share. The Internet is still in its infancy, and has already proven, time and time again, the ability for innovative companies to gain instant market dominance.

The move could also create room for more independent competition in the Australian market, which is heavily dominated by News Ltd, and Fairfax Media.

However, Mr Grey says there is already room in the market for new entrants.

“I think that door is already open,” he said.

One of the independent sites in Australia that has been somewhat successful is Crikey.com.au. Crikey charges a subscription fee of $3 per week for a daily email service, which focuses on politics, the media, and other satirical opinion pieces. Currently it has around 15,000 people who subscribe to the service, according to Media Watch, and has solidified itself as a reputable media organisation in Australia. It is also well known for stirring aggravated responses from other journalists.

Former Age Editor and Director of the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne, Michael Gawenda, says there is room for independents like Crikey, but they can never replace the larger organisations.

“It [Crikey] will never have the resources to do what I call, and what others are calling, public interest journalism. Which up to this point in time has basically, apart from the publically funded media… been done by newspapers, “ Mr Gawenda said, “it’s got a future, just as I think there’s a future in various internet journalism sites being set up through public donation, and public foundation support… but none of these have the resources, and will never have them in my view.”

One of the sites Mr Gawenda is referring to is ProPublica, a non-profit United States based investigative journalism service funded by donations. The interesting thing about the service is that all articles are licensed under Creative Commons and are free for anyone to re-publish as long as they provide attribution.

The organisation is able to support 32 journalists with this model, and can allow them to work stories for years to find out all the information. But this idea will never be mainstream. Rupert Murdoch is already chasing after news aggregator services, such as Google News, which he believes are ‘stealing’ from him. It is not likely that he would allow others to re-publish the news produced by his companies in the near future.

But whether a pay-wall model for online journalism works or not is not really the big issue here. The issue is that news organisations are trying to instantly find a solution to a problem they should have thought about earlier. The Internet is well over a decade old, and most companies are only now starting to become worried.

Some did think about the idea early on and jumped on the pay-wall bandwagon, The New York Times being one of them. A subscription service worked to some extent, but The Times later returned to a free model, citing that advertising held more profit. That back stepping is what news organisations can’t afford to do. They can’t get it wrong. It needs to be right the first time.

Rupert Murdoch is definitely trying to move all news organisations to a similar model to force users to buy the paper again. He has tried to convince the rest of the market that they need to charge money for online journalism. The idea is interesting coming from the man who bought MySpace in 2005 and has no idea how to stop the Facebook onslaught. Facebook overtook MySpace in the comScore ratings in the first half of 2008, and since that time MySpace has not even looked a contender experiencing large declines in global Internet traffic.

The fact is the idea of paid online media in Australia simply won’t work on a large scale. Independents command more niche markets, and so will always have enough audience, but companies like News Ltd or Fairfax are not in that category.

Mr Gawenda says that a pay-wall model simply won’t work in Australia.

“I don’t believe that the move to paid content will succeed in Australia and abroad, and I also don’t think that is the answer to the problems that have come about for, especially newspapers, as a result of the economic model being broken,” he said.

There is only one real solution to the problem in Australia; fix the broken news websites. If the sites were simply more interactive, more innovative, and utilised the Internet better through multimedia, then maybe, just maybe, companies could charge more money for advertising and keep their products free. It’s the only way to really save the industry in Australia.

[Photo credits, Alex Barth, World Economic Forum, shironekoEuro, aresauburn]

Journalists from all over the world know the impact which the current economy is having on local papers. Even without the credit crisis, newspapers have been struggling in an endless battle with online news and social media. Publications which have been institutions in their communities have been shutting down left, right and centre. Major newspapers like the New York Times are even becoming at risk of closure if they don’t start to increase revenue.

When any newspaper shuts down its a sad event, however even more so for the readership of the Rocky Mountain News. The Rocky Mountain News shut its doors on Friday after 149 years and 311 days! Just 44 days shy of it’s 150 year anniversary! This is a great loss for Denver, and for the journalism industry as a whole. Many news sources including online blogs have voiced their sadness at this loss.

However the Rocky Mountain News did not go down without a fight. The staff did everything they could to prevent the closure. Check out this very moving video which details the final days in the lead-up to the closure.

Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

It’s that time of year again! It’s the time when Australians get together and celebrate all that’s good about our fantastic country. Most of us celebrate by throwing some snags on the barbie, and watching a bit of Cricket or catching the Tennis action of the Australian Open. However Australia Day for many people means so much more.

Many people choose Australia Day to become Australian Citizens. They choose to make themselves part of this fantastic country. Celebrations happen all around the country to celebrate. It is a truly special moment for all involved. If you ever have the privilege to attend one of these events it is well worth the effort.

Australia Day is also the time where we celebrate some of the most inspirational people you will ever meet. These people generally have done whatever they can to make a difference in the world. They have done whatever they can to bring about change. They range from educated professors, to scientists, to human rights advocates, to sports personalities, to elderly people who have dedicated their life to their careers, to the young Australians who are just starting out. The Australian Of The Year Awards not only celebrate everything that Australia stands for but they celebrate people who are really changing the world!

Here are a few of those people!

2009 Australian Of The Year - Professor Michael Dodson AM

Professor Dodson is an Aboriginal Leader and proud Australian who has played a significant part in the push for equal rights for indigenous people. He played a key role in pushing for the Australian Government to say sorry to the stolen generation in 2008. Professor Dodson serves as Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia, and has worked in roles for numerous organisations including the UN. Professor Dodson is a brilliant but yet humble Australian and represents all the values which Australians believe in. He is a very worth recipient of the highest award offered on Australia Day.

Find Out More About Michael Dodson HERE!

2009 Senior Australian Of The Year - Pat LaManna OAM

The Italian born Pat LaManna moved to Australia in 1948 and suffered years of racism and financial trouble before he found his calling as an entrepreneur. However Pat LaManna did not ever forget his background and used his skills to benefit many charities and organisations. He founded the highest fundraising Lions club in Australia, The Lions Club of the Melbourne Markets in 1972 and has been elected president of the club seven times. Pat LaManna has also raised significant amounts of money (over $1.5 Million) though the Pat LaManna Cancer and Research Stroke Foundation. Pat LaManna is certainly an extraordinary Australian and worthy receiver of this award.

You can find out more about Pat LaManna HERE!

2009 Young Australian Of The Year - Jonty Bush

29 year old Jonty Bush has already experienced terrible tragedies in her young life. While she was 21 her sister was murdered. Not only did that cause immense sadness and grief but just 5 months later her father was killed in an unprovoked attack. Most people would take a long time to recover, however Jonty decided to volunteer for the Queensland Homicide Victim’s Support Group and help others through their time of need. From her excellent work as a volunteer Jonty was made CEO by the age of 27. Jonty has also been a campaigner to prevent further tragedy by starting the One Punch Can Kill campaign. The campaign has been so successful that the Queensland Government has taken it on in an attempt to prevent further deaths. Jonty is no doubt a worthy recipient of the Young Australian Of The Year award and is certainly an inspiration for all other who have gone through any kind of tragedy.

You can find out more about Jonty Bush HERE!

2009 Australia’s Local Hero – Graeme Drew

Graeme Drew is a professional fisherman living in Bremer Bay, Western Australia. Graeme has played a significant role in making the oceans off Western Australia safer. He is involved with Sea Rescue and founded the Bremer Bay SES. He has been known to always help out in times of need, often at the sacrifice of personal time and money in the search for missing people and vessels out on the water. Graeme started a trust to help with ocean safety in honour of his nephew, who was swept out to sea by a rip and died in 2003. Graeme Drew is a true Local Hero and worth recipient of this award.

You can find out more about Graeme Drew HERE!

Congratulations to all the recipients! You are all truly inspirational and deserving of your awards.

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Remember SmashLAB? They’re the Canadian design guys who are behind the new social media site MakeFive. Well it appears that Discovery has created a TV show with the same name and really annoyed them.

Normally this would just frustrate a business owner and leave them helpless. (I know this for a fact as I had the name of this website stolen from me by a Collagen Company with not many options available to me.) However when you add it to the fact that Discovery’s Smash Lab has received plenty of Negative PR and the fact that SmashLAB has been around since 2000, (well before the Discovery show), you can start to understand the potential issues here.

The great thing is though that smashLAB is not sitting around doing nothing. They are standing up for their name! They have written an open letter to Discovery and posted it on Smash Lab Sucks (http://www.smashlabsucks.com/).

I really admire what these guys are doing. They deserve to have an open apology from Discovery!

If you want to support the guys in their effort against Discovery head to Smash Lab Sucks and Digg It or stumble it. You can also follow along on their twitter account @smashlabsucks.

UPDATE: It now seems that TechCrunch has got into the action. Check out their article here.

If Discovery would like to respond to the comments made of them they can contact me by emailing blog at enspri dot com.

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So you have spent all your Christmas holidays listening to all the talk about Barack Obama taking over as the most powerful man alive. In fact, you have probably been swept up with all the hype. I know I have.

If you are an American this should be a truly proud moment for you. Your country is taking the next step towards equality. Your country has finally chosen to move forward. However it would be wrong to celebrate change without remembering the reason you needed change. George. W. Bush.

Here are my Top 5 videos which will demonstrate the reason change is needed in America.

1. 8 Years Of ‘Bushisms’

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. Speeches

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3. Bushisms from David Letterman

Click here to view the embedded video.

4. Ultimate George Bush Collection

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5. Behind the Bushisms – The Reason Why George. W. Bush Acted Stupid!

Click here to view the embedded video.

After 8 years of Bush, America finally choose to say ‘Yes We Can’, and although I am an Australian I still find it incredibly powerful. Here is a reminder of your next President.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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This is one of the best presentations I have seen in a long time. Lawrence Lessig is a Professor of Law, copyright expert and author. He uses this talk at the recent Web 2.0 Summit to delve deep into several issues that have been affecting the world.

Make the time to watch this video, it will be well worth it!

Sometimes it is just time to have a fantastic story, on people who are doing practical things to change the world.

A team of youth from Australia recently travelled to Botswana to build an Orphanage. They are regular people doing something extraordinary for people who need it. It is fantastic to see people going out and actively changing the world! They are all truly inspirational people!

Check out the video below of their efforts, it might just bring a smile to your day.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you were wondering who might win the US Election it might be worth checking out Facebook Lexicon.

Lexicon evaluates all the terms being used on Facebook and then measures the positive or negative nature of the responses. So far it appears that Obama is well in the lead. More people are talking about him, and talking about him positively.

Check out the Facebook Lexicon page HERE.

[Via John Battelle via AMR]

How great does it feel when someone says a simple thank-you! It is one of the greatest feelings. It makes you feel wanted, needed, and loved. However we often don’t say thank-you to the people that really need it.

Check out this video of Dr. Laura Trice examining the issue, and take the time to say Thank-You to the people that matter.

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