经济学人247:先生,您的电子报纸 Your digital paper,sir

 　　Personalised news

　　个性化报刊

　　Your digital paper, sir

　　先生，您的电子报纸

　　The struggle to make money out of news on tablets

　　数字媒体平台的生财之道

　　1.A CUSTOMISED, constantly-updating newspaper used to be the stuff of science fiction. Now, thanks to tablet devices like the iPad, there are several. Livestand, a news app launched this week by Yahoo!, joins a field that already includes Zite, bought recently by CNN; Editions, created by AOL; and Flipboard, which Google tried to buy last year. Rebuffed, Google is expected at some point to launch its own news app, code-named Propeller¹.

　　量身定制，随时更新的报纸以前只存在于科幻小说中。而现在由于有了像IPAD这样的平板电脑，（许多）这样的报纸变成了现实。雅虎加入了数字媒体平台研发领域，发布了其新程序LIVESTAND；此前涉足此领域的还有被BBC所收购的ZITE，以及AOL公司开发的Editions，还有谷歌一直想要收购的FLIPBOARD。谷歌也希望在合适的时间发布其新的个性化电子杂志应用程序PROPELLER

　　2.These corporate² giants aim to cash in on the desperation of traditional news publishers. A study last month by the Pew Research Centre with The Economist³ Group (this newspaper’s parent company) found that, less than two years after the iPad went on sale, 11% of American adults now own a tablet and more than half of this group read news on it each day. They are more avid⁴ news consumers than those without tablets (see chart), and for long articles they prefer their tablets both to ordinary computers and (remarkably) to print. Ken⁵ Doctor of Outsell, a media consultancy, says the study is the best evidence yet that tablets are gradually replacing print. 这些商业巨人都希望在身处困境的传统出版商身上大捞一笔。由皮尔研究中心和经济学人集团联合进行的研究发现，在IPAD发售后不到两年时间里，约11%的美国成年人都拥有了平板电脑，其中半数以上每天通过平板电脑阅读新闻。这些人比那些没有平板电脑的人更热衷于看新闻，而且当出现长篇文章的时候，他们更喜欢用平板，而不愿在电脑特别是报刊上阅读。奥特赛尔公司的媒体咨询师说，这项研究有力的证实了传统报刊正在被数字刊物平台所取代。

　　3.For news outlets⁶ facing dwindling⁷ print circulations and meagre online advertising⁸ rates, this is a glimmer⁹ of hope. Yet turning this readership into revenue is tricky¹⁰. Not all publishers can afford to build their own tablet apps. For those that can, readers are somewhat readier to pay for subscriptions¹¹ than on the web; advertising rates are (for now) six to ten times higher than online, according to Mr Doctor. But it is not yet clear how many readers will make the switch. And for publishers without an app, tablet users are just like other web users: worth very little money.

　　新闻报刊的发行量正日益萎缩，网上的广告刊登率也乏善可陈，数字媒体平台也许是个契机。但是要将读者转化为收入来源是需要智慧的。并不是每个出版商都有能力建立自己的数字媒体平台。对于那些有能力的出版商而言，读者显然更愿意付钱订阅电子杂志而非在网上浏览新闻， 道可特先生说，其广告刊登率也是在线广告的6到10倍，但目前还不清楚到底有多少读者愿意放弃浏览网页转而使用数字媒体平台。而对于没有数字刊物平台的出版商而言，平板电脑的使用者跟其他上网浏览新闻的读者没有什么不同：赚不到什么钱。

　　4.Flipboard and its rivals let users create a personalised digital magazine from a mix of sources, which can include magazines, newspapers, blogs and articles posted by their contacts on Facebook or Twitter. On the web, similar “aggregator” sites, personalised or not, have a bad name as freeloaders that create no content of their own. And the app versions have been of dubious¹² benefit thus far to publishers, which must provide their stories free (or at least the first few lines, with a link to their websites) in return for the vague hope of getting more readers. But compared with a website cluttered¹³ with links and ads for penis enlargement, the apps are clean, stylish¹⁴ and nice to use. And some have started carrying glossy¹⁵, high-end ads and sharing the revenue with publishers.

　　FLIPBOARD 和它的竞争对手都向其使用者提供个性化数字杂志服务，允许读者从众多电子刊物中进行选择，这些刊物包括杂志，报纸，FACEBOOK和TWITTER上的博客文章。在网上，有些类似于“大杂烩”式的网站，向读者提供免费下载服务，但他们没有自己的原创内容。迄今为止数字报刊平台并不能给出版商带来多少利润，出版商们必须提供免费新闻（至少是几个连接其主页的新闻链接）以期吸引更多的读者。与充斥着大量网站链接和阴茎增大广告的网站相比，数字媒体平台更纯净，更时尚，也更好用。有的数字平台已开始加入了一些简洁高端的广告，与商家实现共赢。

　　5.Livestand is the most publisher-friendly app so far. It is more like a digital news-stand than a personalised magazine: users can subscribe¹⁶ to various publications, but must read each one separately instead of seeing all their stories together. Publishers must provide the full text of their stories, but can control their visual design, and from next year they will be able to charge for subscriptions too. There will be interactive¹⁷ and video ads, for which Yahoo! will charge advertisers big premiums¹⁸.

　　LIVESTAND 是迄今为止最具出版商亲和力的数字刊物平台。它看起来更像是一个数字杂志摊而并非个性化定制的杂志，读者可以向不同的出版商订阅电子杂志， 但每次只能读到其中一篇文章而不是读照单全读。出版商必须提供其文章的全文内容，但可以控制浏览模式，而且从明年开始，他们便可以向订购人收取费用了。平台上会有一些互动广告或视频广告，从中雅虎可以大赚广告客户一笔。

　　6.Some publishers may benefit from all this; others may lose subscribers from their own apps to the aggregators. Readers will be spoilt for choice. For Yahoo! and the rest it should be a nice little business—as long as there are any publishers left to fuel it.

　　一些出版商可能会从中受益，但还有一些出版商的客户将会被那些提供免费下载的网站抢去。读者的选择余地很大。对于雅虎而言， 接下来就可以打如意小算盘了——只要有出版商向其提供杂志。

1 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

5 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

6 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

10 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

11 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

13 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

15 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

16 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

17 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

18 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》