Comments on: In hindsight, it was poor resource allocation

By: Newsroom reinvention update, invitation « Stories on the run

Newsroom reinvention update, invitation « Stories on the run — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:48:58 +0000

[...] it here. Another team member, Andrew Zahler, has written about it in his blog. Mindy McAdams has referenced our project on her blog, “Teaching Online [...]

By: Mindy

Mindy — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:04:05 +0000

It’s certainly true that having an online mindset has nothing to do with age. Some young’uns haven’t got it, and some who do are old enough to be great-grandparents.

By: Pat Thornton

Pat Thornton — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:51:35 +0000

@Howard,

I agree it’s more about mindset than technical chops.

That’s why I’m so shocked at how many online editors don’t love being on the Web and trying new things. That’s what it’s all about.

If the work is the only time an online editor is really online, that’s a major problem. There is always something new to see and do on the Web.

By: Howard Owens

Howard Owens — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:29:08 +0000

@ Pat. There are more jobs than qualified people. To your point, there are unqualified people being called upon to fill online roles. But the qualifications I’m most concerned about isn’t that these people don’t have the technical chops. No, the qualifications I’m concerned about are more about attitude, mindset. That’s always the first thing I look for in hiring.

I say that, because I should say, in our company we have a couple of GREAT online editors who were totally involved in print for long careers — guys with lots of gray hair, and they didn’t necessarily know the technical stuff, but they’ve been curious about the web for a long time and are ambitious to learn new things and realize they have a lot to learn, so they’re willing to listen.

That’s a great combination — experienced journalist and open mind.

It’s amazing there are not many of those kinds of people in this business.

By: Pat Thornton

Pat Thornton — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:30:34 +0000

@Mindy and Howard,

When did qualifications ever get in the way of someone heading up a newspaper’s online operations?

It doesn’t matter what you know in this business. It matters what you convince other people that you “know.”

Too many online editors are not of the Web. And to be of the Web you have to use the Web all the time, especially when you’re not at work. My former Web boss just got DSL less than a year ago at his house.

I love the Web, not newspapers. It is what it is. How many online editors can say the same thing?

By: igould

igould — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:01:51 +0000

I am a proud iPhone owner – not upgrading to 3G for various reasons – and it kills me that my newspaper does not have a mobile Web site. That could be a money maker and it’s a missed opportunity to connect with readers.

People used to laugh in the early 1990s when someone carried a cell phone. Now everyone has one. PDA’s/iPhones/BlackBerrys are more common now than they were five years ago. Can you imagine where technology will be in 10 years? And not having your foot in the door of that market is a mistake in my opinion.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:26:49 +0000

@igould: I agree that news organizations “need to embrace the idea of reaching various consumers in various ways.” It’s not only the Web. But look at how 99 percent of them are totally ignoring mobile data. Now is the time to be investing in THAT future. But they are so far behind on the Web, they are in a tailspin — yes, because revenues for the print product have plummeted. But if the managers had not been so ridiculously blind (heads deeply buried in sand) for the past 10 years (10 years!!!), they would have created a new business model by now.

Think about it: Isn’t it ridiculous that these gi-normous media enterprises, after years of obscene profit margins, were not able to adapt and invent new, viable business models in a span of 10 years? Obviously the utter lack of R&D (and their hubris) has come back to bite them — maybe fatally.

I don’t believe in newspapers anymore — even though I passionately believe in journalism.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:19:06 +0000

Hi, Howard. That was a good post you wrote. I agree that a lot of the online bosses are absolutely the wrong people to be running these online operations at newspapers. They are not hip to the culture. They don’t understand usability. They don’t do stuff online. They just … read newspapers. That is the worst qualification for the job!

By: igould

igould — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:45:20 +0000

Newspapers are forced to make these cuts because of steep revenue declines. Publishers never considered they would be hit by a double whammy with the housing bubble bursting and the skydiving economy. Remember 2004-06? If that money train was still running the Web would still be a fun new toy rather than a potential life raft.

The Web was never a priority because there was – and is – no newspaper business model that has shown it can make money on the Web. I still believe papers need to embrace the idea of reaching various consumers in various ways. Having a Web site is not the only answer.

By: Howard Owens

Howard Owens — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:30:35 +0000

Thanks for the link …

@Mindy: “… maybe the publishers and executive editors and division heads could reflect, just a little bit, on how they consistently slighted the online staffing and the online work during the past 10 years.”

They never admit it. To them, it’s all “who could have thought it would have gotten this bad?” And now they think they know what to do. In other words, they’re still ignoring the experienced online pros.

I hear it from my colleagues all the time.

Just look at what happened to Chris, Ron and Jim in San Diego. Do you really think Karin Winner knows how to run a news web site? She thinks she does. Many editors do, even though before 18 months ago they used the Internet for nothing more than e-mail.