Alan Mutter, former Chicago Sun-Times city editor and San Francisco Chronicle number two editor, says the timing is right to bring back a P.M. news product. In his blog, Reflections of A Newsosaur, he supports this idea with findings from research by ComScore, a digital ratings service. In short: “Newspapers unfortunately operate at a disadvantage in the battle for early-morning mindshare.” However, iPad use particularly among the-under 50 audience – rises considerably in the after-dinner hour. Therefore, Mutter says, Newspapers can take advantage of the quiet time consumers apparently set aside for reading by publishing products delivered on the mobile and tablet platforms in the hours between roughly 6 and 8 p.m. In addition to standard newspaper fare. Mutter says the Nightly-ENews product should be: “a tool for getting the most out of life.”
In a summary of its recent Safety Conference in Washington D.C., Edmunds’ Auto Observer proffered the thoughts of the company’s CEO Jeremy Anwyl in a piece titled Can Drivers Be Trusted To Think? In it, Anwyl presents interviews with two experts on the question of improving traffic safety. One stressing, “that people can’t be relied on to think; they can’t be trusted to make decisions.” and the other who believes, “improvements in safety technologies and increases in regulation have made drivers feel safer. In turn, making drivers feel safer causes them to engage in riskier behavior.” Anwyl’s take: “Making vehicles safer is all well and good. But until cars drive themselves, drivers are still a part of any transportation safety system. As in Europe, we should be more open to new ways to engage drivers, not exclude them.” He provides his list of ways.
A group of enthusiasts are forming Car Guy Nation on the premise that large numbers of car enthusiasts buying collectively online can be an economic force to be reckoned with. They describe it as a “more efficient ‘social commerce’ platform to drive down the high cost of performance parts and services and to promote other unique buying benefits for the millions of car guys out there.” They plan a Weekly Deals section with a selection of “GroupOn/Flash-sale” type offers and a Vendor Mall section of merchants and vendors offering parts and services. The plan includes a “rewards” feature for consumers who purchase from the site: gasoline credits based on the number of dollars spent.
I think Alan Mutter’s on to something here. An evening digest of the day’s news delievered on a mobile platform makes tons of sense.