Time to change the channel
I work for Tribune. I really see some positive changes happening in the Interactive product development area. For the first time since Tribune acquired Times Mirror, my former employer, I ‘m actually seeing some bright minds and positive movement in the online space. Still a ways to go.
That said, it still amazes me how clueless many mid-level managers in newspaper industry are as far as web strategy.
The main confusion comes from one concept that’s hard to grasp, though it seems simple once you’ve understood it.
We are not in the news business.
What?
Yes.
We never were.
The value of owning a press was the distribution channel it created.
That valuable channel is not available online and the value of bundled original content is not enough to float a long term business, however good that content is.
In fact, even PR firms are no longer beholden to us.
What’s left?
I’m not sure, but that old value is gone. We need a new way to contribute to new distribution channel, the conversation marketplace.