Here’s the front page of The News this morning:
This is going to cause a flood of panic and heartbreak for so many people, but I can’t help but be geeking-out excited about it.
Sometimes a radical change is necessary to ruffle a few feathers and more boldly in a new direction. To me, and other media professionals who pay attention, this isn’t really a “new direction,” as much as it is the next step in business.
In most businesses, if you aren’t ahead, you’re already behind. In media, it’s that to a factor of 10.
It’s not about holding a paper in your hand. It’s about being there for your readers, whatever it is they are reading. As the media landscape steams forward in the digital realm, newspapers would be cowardly to stuff their heads in the ground and pretend like it’s not happening. By slimming down the cost of rising costs of printing and pushing quality journalism to mobile products, The News, The Times and The Press-Register are doing right by their readers, whether or not the readers realize it.
Oh, and if the reporting and newsgathering suffers, then it is NOT the fault of the organization. It’s the fault of the reporters. Their job does not change. If anything, they should embrace this as the next step in their careers… and it’s an exciting one.
I’m eager to see how this works out. It’s refreshing to see forward thinking and not just another paywall.
In my opinion, Advance Publications can’t afford not to make this change. I just hope this isn’t too little, too late.
jos.
