Category: Business

Description:  Custom audio news reporting

Idea:

To bring customizable news to the audio realm.  Centralized, internet-based audio news.  People can select the type of news they are interested in, including "genre" and area (i.e., local, national, world news), e.g., I want to hear about pollution in Manhattan, NY.

A collection of news is gathered; people tailor-make what they receive.  In other words, a custom selection group (based on the type of news the user is interested in) is taken from a macro collection, and delivered to the user.

In addition to use of real-voice news clips, the use of an automated-voice reader (synthetic reader), allowing "printed" news to be used.

  Vision:  

  Users use this program while online to have their own custom radio-news, or use it via a
  mobile online device.  Another option would be for mobile device to download content per
  day,hour,etc while internet connection is established, then user can listen to compiled news
  wherever they go.  Time stamps on each news clip before the clip and after.

Revenue from advertising.


There will be some challenge in the news harvesting itself.  It may need to be human-based at first until reliability is gained through other means.


  Other means-

  1.  News outlets tag their news, program searches for tags

       Advantage- If news outlets do not abuse the system, this is the most efficient way

       Problem- News outlets abusing tag system to increase revenue

       Solution-  Supervision and Consequences

       Supervision options- Active supervision, by business, of accuracy of tagging.  Removal of
                                       content that is inaccurately tagged.  Removal of news outlet from
                                       business given a certain amount of systematic abuse.

                                       Passive supervision through consumer "skip option"- they skip
                                       programs they don't want to hear and/or "rating option"- they have
                                       the ability to rate each clip they hear.  Content that is skipped enough
                                       or rated "thumbs down" enough gets removed from that particular
                                       news feed.  News outlets whose content is skipped or rated "thumbs
                                       down" enough get put on temporary suspension of news usage
                                       pending human review.  Human review of removed content, and
                                       suspended news outlets.  Deletion of content that is inaccurately
                                       tagged.  Removal of news outlet from business given a certain
                                       amount of systematic abuse.


  2.  Creation of search engine, or use of an established search engine (eg., Google) capable
       of going through the stockpile of news and harvesting correct content

       Advantage- If successful, no human interaction needed

       Problem-  a.  Accuracy of program;

                       b.  Searching true audio content??

       Solution(s)-  a.  Active supervision, by business, of accuracy with continual revision to
                                search engine.
             
                                 Passive supervision through consumer "skip option"- they skip programs
                                 they don't want to hear and/or "rating option"- they have the ability to
                                 rate the accuracy of each clip they hear.  Content that is skipped enough
                                 or rated "thumbs down" enough gets noted, and removed from that
                                 particular news feed.  Continual revision to search engine.

                          b.  Don't use true audio content (dangerous move to make until synthetic
                               readers are indistinguishable from true human voice)
         
                               True audio content to be converted to print to allow       
                               searching by search engine
         
                               The creation of a voice-recognition search engine so one can search audio
                               as well as print


  3.  A combination of 1 and 2


 Example(s):

     Ed is solely interested in U.S. national and international market news.  The service continually harvests audio and printed news on nat./int. markets.  Printed news is converted to audio via a synthetic reader.  Program provides an available automatic download to his mobile device, or provides streaming audio.  Ed plugs his mobile device into his car radio while he's commuting, and listens to his "customized radio news" while he's exercising.


Future Addition(s):

In addition to selecting type-of-content, the user can also select source(s) of news.  For example, Jill just wants to get news about pollution issues from 2 pro-environment news groups.


Confidence:  7

Relatively low overhead due to being internet-based.  Initial investment costs for programming.  Contractual agreements need to be gained from news outlets.  Harvesting problem needs solution(s).

Additional Comment(s):

     This is an additional piece of the puzzle to make news more user-oriented.  It puts the "buyer" more in control of the marketplace, ultimately helping make a healthier market.  It can also have social consequences- showing not only the news business, but general business and governments what citizens/other are truly interested in.; this will affect change.