From the times I've read Outing's columns, he doesn't seem to be the type of person who minds poking his finger in the eyes of people he believes to be short-sighted or even blind to the world of new media.I don't agree with everything he writes, but a lot of it makes perfect sense.
To read Outing's full column, click here.
For purposes of this blog entry (and possibly entice you to read the whole column), below is a list of his main pieces of advice to the CEOs (and certainly it can be used by people at the individual newspaper level too):
- Issue an edict: Digital is first!
- Consolidate print and online editing functions
- Print edition: Don't bother chasing young people
- Print edition: Focus on the core demographic
- Guide older print loyalists to a life online
- Reduce the number of print editions
- Online: Broaden definition of news to include micro-personal
- Hire a social VP
- Experiment, fail, experiment more
- Leverage your remaining staffers, and augment them
- Consider retirement
The problem with Outing's list is the absence of ways to make money. Yes, his column does talk some about the money issue, but not enough. Regardless, the column is worth a read.
What do you think about this list? Does any of it make sense to you? Let's get a discussion going on the topic! Add your comments by clicking on the Comments link below this post.
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1 comment:
Hi, Seeker. Thanks for taking note of my E&P advice column. I chuckled at your description of me; first time I think I've been on the end of that particular description. :) I've certainly also had people poke me back in the eye when they thought my ideas were too far out, idealistic, impossible to implement, or naive.
To your point about the column being thin on how-to-make-money advice, I'll cop to that. My background is primarily editorial/content, and my belief is that if we give modern information and news consumers what they want, where they want it (that is, platform), then we can build a viable revenue model around the large audience we've attracted. So let's get the product right first. The current product is wrong for the times.
Most newspaper websites aren't making lots of money for the simple reason that the amount of content available now is nearly infinite, it seems. With so much competition, it's not like the old days and it's much tougher to pluck money out of readers' and advertisers' pockets. So one of my core beliefs is that newspapers (and other news outfits) need to push way outside of their silo mentality ("Come to our website!" "Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter/RSS feed!").
Mobile news and information services I think will be huge in short order, as smartphones become ubiquitous. (13 million iPhones sold so far; that's an excellent start.) Perhaps we can pry some money out of mobile news customers where we haven't been able to on the web.
Anyway, I'll try to respond to your critique in future columns. In fact, the idea floating around my head for my December column addresses one aspect of the money issue. Look for that later in the month.
Steve Outing
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