Contentinople - Erin Barker - News Bits: Teenager Sets Off Craze With Media Report

Written by Erin Barker

Monday, July 13. 2009 at 11:45 AM EDT 3 comments

Digg

Del.icio.us

Email This

no ratings

1 saves

A teenage intern at Morgan Stanley has everyone freaking out over an entirely unscientific report he authored for the securities firm that trashes newspapers, Twitter Inc. , and TV.

Matthew Robson, who is 15 years (and seven months!) old, detailed his personal opinions on media -- without any actual research or statistics -- in the note, and it somehow became a sensation.

According to Bloomberg, the report received "five or six times more feedback than an average report by the group and elicited e-mails and phone calls from fund managers and chief executive officers." [Ed. note: Don't any of these people have teenage children they eat dinner with at least once a week?]

Among Robson's shocking revelations: Teenagers don't read newspapers regularly. Also "most teenagers nowadays" aren't interested in radio, preferring streaming music online, and are watching less TV, opting instead for networks' Web video services.

He also said teens don't like using Twitter because it costs money to text updates to the Website and because "they realise that no one is viewing their profile, so their 'tweets' are pointless." [Ed. note: Ev, it's one thing to take this abuse from Barry Diller, but from a teenager?]

So what do teens like, according to Robson? Going to the movies, iPhones, the Nintendo Wii, and "really big tellies."

Robson also added that classmate Amanda Stevenson is "like the hottest girl probably ever," but so far Bloomberg has been unable to confirm.

In other news:

As publishers continue to work out their positions on e-books, many are beginning to delay digital releases for six months after the original book release, in order to prevent cannibalization of hardcover sales. "It's no different than releasing a DVD on the same day that a new movie is released in the movie theaters," literary agent Robert Gottlieb told The Wall Street Journal.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has opened more than 40 Twitter accounts, ranging from @YouTube to @AdSense, to keep in touch with users. "Like lots of you, we've been drawn into Twitter this year. After all, we're all about frequent updates ourselves, and there's lots happening around here that we want to share with you," writes Karen Wickre of the Google Blog and Twitter Team on the Google blog.

Tags: Business, E-books, Google, Newspapers, Technology, Twitter

Digg

Del.icio.us

Email This

Comments

Uncertain....
adamhodge
Rank: Vizier
Monday July 13, 2009 12:35:54 PM

I have now read this 'report' several times and continue to swing back and forth between:

- The most insightful review of modern communications I have read recently

and

- Complete Drivvel by a kid with no clue

Can anyone help me make up my mind?

There are so many MASSIVE sweeping generalisations with seemingly no basis is fact, however I am struggling to fundamentally disagree with any of them.

Have we finally found the oracle of all media knowledge and its some 15 year (and 7 month) old kid?

Why not?

Start your Own Board

Messages List | Post a Message | Reply

Re: Uncertain....
cliffordjay
Rank: Vizier
Monday July 13, 2009 1:16:11 PM

no ratings

I think it just goes to show how careful most analysts are with their opinions. When someone comes along and swings for the fences, people are blown away by the wind.

Start your Own Board

Messages List | Post a Message | Reply

Re: Uncertain....
ErinB
Rank: Caliph
Monday July 13, 2009 2:24:15 PM

no ratings

Couldn't anyone make an observation that teens aren't exactly the target market for newspapers? That traditional radio is suffering? That Twitter users skew older? That touch screens are hot? That teenagers hang out at movie theaters?

These things are all true, of course. But I think people need to spend more time with their kids, if this stuff comes as a surprise.

Young Matthew's report might have been interesting to me if supplemented with any evidence or details about the degree to which these things are true. As it is, it seems sort of irresponsible for a securities firm to publish a report based entirely on hearsay and opinion. Especially troubling are the guesstimated statistics Matthew includes, i.e. "99% of teenagers have a mobile phone."

Start your Own Board

Messages List | Post a Message | Reply