A recent story about changes at The Washington Post (that ran in The New York Times!) takes on the tough topic of legacy media’s struggles to adapt to the new media realities.
There are obvious connection points here for radio, and a lot to be learned from The Post’s struggle to make the transition with less staff and resources. Maintaining credibility in the print world while impacting the online cacophony is all part of the effort to somehow leverage that great brand in a free-for-all dominated by Drudge and TMZ.
According to the article, The Post’s newsroom staff has been downsized from a staff of 1,000 to less than 640 people today. Talk about shrinkage!
The money quote in the article is from the paper’s executive editor, Marcus Brauchli, who recently convened a brainstorm at his home, attended by people like Bob Woodward, David Maraniss, and other journalism icons. Feel free to substitute the word “radio” wherever you see the words “journalism” and “newspaper.” And maybe a radio company when you see “The Washington Post.”
“There are a lot of nostalgia-drenched people in the journalism field who look back at what newspapers were and have a fairly static view of what they should be. Just because The Washington Post used to be a certain way doesn’t mean The Washington Post has to be that way in the future.”
The Post has been actively trying to turn that corner with pop culture blogs, online topic charting, use of Google key words, and large video monitors in the newsroom to better see real-time stories unfolding. Of course, the old statistical standbys – circulation and ad pages – still matter, but now the paper is focusing on web metrics, and using them tactically to better reach their goals.
Public radio maven Dennis Haarsager tweeted this story out to his minions the other day – and there’s a reason why. Public radio and television stations have many of these same challenges – maintaining journalistic integrity and a credible news product in the face of rapid change and diminishing resources.
Shrinkage.
And like the newspaper business, transitioning heritage staffs to a new way of thinking about how to define and cover news in a 24/7 faster paced environment where the competition is intense and social media is part of the equation are topics that weren’t covered in “J school.”
No one said it would be easy, and between a challenging economy and a disruptive media environment, newspapers are the ones leading the charge – whether they like it or not.
As we have noted many times in this blog, radio would be smart to learn from their mistakes – and their successes.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
- Radio + Thanksgiving = Gratitude - November 27, 2024
- Is It Quittin’ Time For SiriusXM? - November 26, 2024
- Radio, It Oughta Be A Crime - November 25, 2024
Leave a Reply