This morning as I was waiting for my usual triple venti soy latte at my favorite coffee shop, Starbucks for the record, I perused the headlines at the newsstand.  Sifting through the pages of the Wall Street Journal, one headline in big bold letters caught my attention.  It was teasing the reader to read the story about how merchants entice you to shop and spend your money in their store.  This really got me thinking about how to successfully integrate print with digital.  Even though I have written some related posts before, I truly believe this is the key to the future of print media.  So I decided to explore even further the question of how a local newspaper could integrate with the online version.  Quite frankly, I’ve yet to find any example of where a newspaper is successfully integrating the two and it drives me mad.  Too often a headline will catch my eye and because of my busy schedule I won’t have the time to sit and read it so I’ll remember the headline or the main topic and go online later and try to find the article using the search terms for the newspaper.  It never fails; I am always disappointed and even further frustrated with the industries inability to capitalize on modern technology to meet the consumer’s needs.

One way a newspaper could successfully integrate the two is to actually write the articles for the newspaper with the online version in mind.  The author of each story could link back throughout the article to the online version that would provide expanded content offering further information, sources, statistics, video, interviews and related stories.  Now, the reader not only wants to read the story, but they also have the opportunity to visit the online version to receive additional information that the newspaper didn’t provide.  This is a perfect example of how to marry existing infrastructure to the online version.  This also provides a value added component to the online version that could create another revenue stream for the newspaper.  One of the arguments against online media is that there is no incentive for consumers to pay for it.  This has been an ongoing challenge ever since I started working on this project two years ago.  One concept that I feel is an excellent avenue to achieve this is to provide two versions of the paper.  One would be the standard paper subscription and the other would be the “premium” subscription that would include access to the online version that includes all the integration with expanded stories.  The subscriber would have the option of receiving the standard newspaper, daily or weekly as usual, or paying an up charge for the premium subscription that entitles them to receive the printed newspaper and have access to a fully integrated online version.  This is a natural way to increase the value of the online newspaper.

I think most subscribers would find great value in the ability to access integrated news that provides further information on the stories that most interest them.  This service would be even further enhanced if some of the current limitations were addressed as well.  For example, the search feature of most online versions is virtually nonexistent.  This could easily be addressed by providing some type of article code that the search component could easily link back to eliminating the need for the reader to sift through old archives of unrelated stories looking for something specific.  Another option for the readers that don’t currently have a subscription but instead buy their newspaper from a store or newsstand would be a temporary access code that gives them limited access to the integrated expanded version that expires after a short time.  This not only serves those readers, but also incentivizes them to purchase a premium subscription.  An additional revenue stream could even be the ability for anyone to access the integrated expanded version after paying a nominal onetime fee for a specific article using the article code.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless when you really start to contemplate the potential that exist right now with existing infrastructure and technology.  Successful integration of print and digital is not only possible, but pivotal to the future of the newspaper industry.  Until next time.

Think outside of the newsstand,

Joe

Throughout this series, we have been discussing steps that a local newspaper could implement systemically that will not only save it, but will allow it to embrace the changes resulting in the ability to better compete and achieve greater success.  One thing is for certain, the legacy model used for years in the newspaper industry is becoming more and more obsolete depending on how progressive your readership is.  Making the transition to a new paradigm which incorporates social and online media can be daunting, but nevertheless essential to compete in the global environment.   In the final step, we will summarize the previous six steps and discuss an effective implementation strategy.  As each organization is unique, so too will be the strategy to execute these steps.

In step one, we discussed changing your mindset and that of your entire news organization.  This is a fundamental change that must take place before you can proceed.  Not only do you need to recognize the changes that are occurring, but you must also recognize the opportunities that exist for your organization to change as well.  The good news is that this is a rapidly changing industry.  I’ve only been in the news media business for about six years now, and it is amazing how much has changed just in that short time span.  Because no one knows your organization and your readers better than you, it is incumbent on you to evaluate the pace and the degree you implement these steps.  This will largely be determined by the readers and advertisers you serve.  If they are still widely accustomed to reading a daily or weekly paper, then you may be able to ease into some of these steps.  However, if your readership is more progressive and your subscriptions are rapidly declining because they get their news from other sources, then you will probably want to execute these steps in a more expedient manner.  Above all else, you have to become comfortable in new media before you even begin to think about an execution strategy.  Once you understand what new media is all about and the impact it has on the news industry, you must make the commitment to expand beyond print.  Having said that, your readers will determine when and how you carry out this commitment.  Regardless of how quickly you integrate these steps into your mode of operation, you will eventually be forced to do so because I can guarantee you that this is no longer a print only business.  In step four, we discussed performing an organizational assessment to determine if you and your staff possess the core competencies to successfully make these changes.  Not only did we discuss providing training for your staff, but it might even be necessary to bring some people on board that are more comfortable using this new media.  If you’re like me, a grey hair, it’s never too late to learn from a purple hair.  That is to say, we could learn something from those who have been submersed in this environment from the beginning where it is second nature to them.  Please note that I am not advocating turning over the reins to them, but using a team concept that will help drive these changes throughout the organization.  Understanding the new technologies and the role they play in this industry is the primary barrier for most news organizations.  In step five, we further discussed that if you are not exactly tech savvy, you can easily enlist those who can provide assistance.  Of course, this step came with a warning to not get taken.  Forewarned is forearmed.  Please understand you can implement these modern technologies into your daily operations fairly easily and inexpensively.  One way to do this is to integrate these technologies in baby steps.  By doing so, you can more easily test what is going to work and not spend a great deal of your resources on something that is less effective.  In step six, we discussed building a new business plan.  You must define a new business model that will yield the results you are seeking.  I cannot emphasize this step enough.  If you do not have a plan, then any strategy will take you there.  Further, if you do not have a plan, how will you know when you arrived at your ultimate destination?  There is no rush to implement these changes.  Take the time to do it right.  Hopefully by now, the economy in your area is starting to pick up a bit and you will begin to see those traditional ad dollars.  I urge you to not be fooled by this or lulled into a false sense of security.

To summarize this series, I urge you to take these steps one at a time and deploy them pragmatically.  Review similar news organizations to learn from their successes and failures.  I also recommend that you suspend the urge to attend the traditional news conferences with the same people you usually do.   This may not be the best place for you to discover the radical changes necessary to compete in this changing environment.  At the end, it ultimately depends on how you define success in your business.  There is a definite opportunity to adapt and integrate these new technologies into your news organization that will not only include print, but audio, video, social, and online media to serve your local community.  Until next time.

Think outside the newsstand,

Joe

If you have been following this series, 7 Steps to Save Your Local Newspaper, then by now your head is probably whirling with information and you might be wondering where to go from here.  This step will assist you in taking what we’ve been discussing, applying it to your organization, and implementing a plan to achieve success in this changing industry.  Whether or not your organization has an existing business plan, it is time to perform an organizational introspection.  Regardless of whether your organization has been in business for years or is just beginning, the mission of the organization must be defined.  If the company has been in business for a long period of time, this provides the perfect opportunity to determine if the current mission, vision, and goals are aligned with the original intent of the company.  Perhaps you noticed that I continue to refer to the company as an organization instead of a “newspaper”.  This is largely due to the fact that it is uncertain whether the future will be a “paper” at all and the new business plan needs to reflect that.   One of my most favorite sayings is a quote from Lewis Carroll, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”  I have modified this a bit in my work, but I like to say “If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know that you got there?”  Organizations mistakenly believe that business plans are for start-up companies.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Big businesses and corporations are subject to extensive planning and reviews constantly.  It is time to dust off the organization’s long term plan, review it, and determine if it is still a viable plan to lead the organization where it wants to go.  If not, build a plan that will achieve the results you’re seeking.  One of my favorite authors on business plans is Tim Berry.  Tim not only wrote my favorite book on business plans, Hurdle the Book on Business Planning, but he also provides many free templates on his website, http://www.bplans.com.  Business plans can be formal or informal, but generally share common elements.  The following components should be defined when building a successful business plan:

• Define the organization’s mission-The most important component of the business plan is to define the mission.  Why is the organization in business?  What is the objective of the business?  Who are the stakeholders and how do they shape the mission?
  • Define the owners
  • Define the investors
  • Define the customers (advertisers)
  • Define the customers (subscribers)

Additionally, provide an executive summary that describes the organization, the location, and significant historical information.

• Define the organization’s products or services-What does the organization offer to be exchanged for payment?  Describe all of the products and services that you offer in a way that anyone could take the business plan, read it, and understand what your organization sells.
• Define the organization’s market-Perform a market analysis to determine your existing as well as potential customers.  Identify all competitors as they relate to the industry and rank each competitor’s share of the business.
• Define your marketing strategy – How will you sell your products or services?  How will you let your potential customers know you have something of value they might want?  What  is your sales strategy?  What is your sales forecast for the short term, one to three years and how does  it compare to the long term, three to five years?
• Define your human resources strategy – Who is the management team?  What type of personnel do you need to achieve the mission and goals of the organization?  Examine the current personnel to determine if you currently have the human resources strategy in place to achieve your mission.
• Define your financial plan- Effective cash management strategies are paramount at every stage of the business.  Identify your current financial position to determine the overall financial health of the organization.  Review your financial plan to determine if it’s consistent with the organization’s mission and revise if necessary.

If all this appears daunting,  I encourage you to read Tim Berry’s book and visit his website.  If you feel you need more information, you could even take an online class on the subject.  One I can personally recommend is Marlboro College Graduate School’s “Entrepreneurship and the New Venture”.   The news industry has undergone significant changes and most certainly will continue to do so.  Having a sound business plan in place that is communicated to all the stakeholders will provide a vehicle to know where you are, where you are going, how you will get there, and most importantly, how you will know when you get there.  In step 7, we will be winding up the series and discussing implementation strategies to achieve the ultimate goal of saving your local newspaper.  Until then…..

Think outside the newsstand,

Joe

From the printing press to digital media, the newspaper industry is no stranger to technological innovations.  Since the first rudimentary printing press was invented in China in 593 A.D., technological advancements have played a pivotal role in shaping the newspaper industry to facilitate its primary objective of gathering and disseminating  the news.  The newspaper forerunners recognized the citizen’s insatiable appetite for information and began to explore ways to meet this need.  From a historical perspective, the industry has come a long way from chiseling away on stone tablets or writing on wood blocks.  Billions of dollars have been invested in new technologies that have enabled the industry to better meet the demand.   Plato said “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”.   That necessity led to the invention and enhancements  in paper, inks, the printing press, the telegraph, radio, television, and ultimately the internet.  That need will continue and new innovations will continually be introduced to better meet the need.

For the purposes of this step, we’re going to focus on the two primary objectives of the local newspaper, gathering and disseminating or distributing the news and exploring opportunities to leverage technology.  The large city or national newspapers that have huge budgets are already integrating technology effectively and will continue to do so because they are not limited by their resources.  The local newspapers, however, are extremely limited and must embrace technological advancements as a resource that will allow them to do more with less.  It is paramount that the local newspapers recognize the huge potential readily available and in most cases is already happening and take advantage of it.  I rant all the time about a weekly newspaper being nothing more than a history book because by the time it reaches its readers, through the use of modern technology, they have already had the information for a week.  This particular business model is no longer meeting the needs of the consumer.  Hopefully if you’ve been following this series, you recognize that you have the tools at your disposal to transition from a history book to a source your consumers use to meet their need for information.

“The biggest change for news editors and journalists working in the industry today is that breaking news can be reported as it happens.” Says Ruth Belena in an article titled “How technological changes have impacted the newspaper industry”

Let’s first explore some innovative ways the local newspaper can leverage technology to gather the news.  One of the biggest resources newspapers can take advantage of is their citizens or a form of citizen journalism if you will.  Recognizing that your limited staff can’t possibly cover everything happening in a community, engage your community.  You might consider deputizing members of community like the old west.  One sheriff couldn’t round up all the bad guys, so he deputized his local citizens to assist him in making the town safe.  I’ll let you in on a little secret, they’re already there where the “news” is happening.  They’re taking  pictures, recording video and audio, they’re using social media sites to exchange information, they’re blogging and uploading their pictures and video.  Create a platform that they can easily exchange information with you.  They could potentially provide you with tips on stories and even conduct research to assist with the development of the story.  You as the editor can direct and guide them on the dos and don’ts and ultimately you have the final say on how the information is used.   Your staff has now grown exponentially for little or no cost to the newspaper.

Secondly, let’s look at how the local newspaper can leverage technology to disseminate or distribute the news. Hot technologies are readily available to assist with this function.  The iPad for example is a recent innovation that is a complete game changer.  Imagine if you’re a journalist out in the field working on a story.  You could write the first block of the story for the newspaper and then for the next seven days  you could continue to gather more information, revise, edit, and enhance the original story by adding interviews, video and audio clips while engaging your community to follow that story live.  Another way current technology could be utilized to continue to engage the readers is to create simple low cost blogs that allow updates to various stories throughout the week and even allows for your readers to posts comments engaging them even further.

According to a survey conducted by the Harrison Group and publishing service company Zinio

“Tablet users spend nearly 75% more time reading newspapers and newspaper articles and 25% more time reading books.”

It is such a game changer that a Danish newspaper showcases the iPad app and currently iPads are not sold in the country…

“How can we add unique value to each subscriber? The answer for us is not always more content. It has to include more services. We have to embrace the technological advances to build compelling user experiences. We have to put that content into context and develop a loyal customer base.”

This is an example of a newspaper in a country where the iPad isn’t even available to them yet, but they are already creating the software to enable them to use the technology to their advantage when they finally get it.  That is such forward thinking and example that our local newspapers should follow.

In summary, technology can be your savior or your demise.  When I visit editors to discuss these very topics, I realize they don’t understand this completely and are very apprehensive about making these changes.  My concern is however, if you don’t find a way to leverage technology in your daily operations, you are doomed to failure because there is no market for what you are offering.  So just start small.  I’ve demonstrated that there are numerous ways out there to adapt your current operations to come more in line with what the consumers need.  I can’t emphasize enough that if you just followed up during the week on your stories with a simple blog, this would be a huge step in leveraging technology.  So to borrow a phrase from Darwin, this is really survival of the fittest.  I am hoping you will rise to the occasion and make this necessary transition to stay fit so that you can compete.  If you recognize the role of technology in your business you can not only survive and weather the storm, but you can come out stronger than before.  Next week we’ll be discussing how to build a new business plan.  Until next time…

Happy New Year!

Think outside the newsstand,

Joe

If you have been following the series; 7 Steps to Save Your Local Newspaper, then you know I’ve been discussing what might be unchartered waters to you.  In step #1, I talked about the necessity to shift your mindset to accept that technological innovations have changed the way news is delivered forever.  In step #2, I discussed becoming comfortable with new media in general and more specifically, Web 2.0 that has revolutionized how information is going to be exchanged in the future.  In step #3, I further discussed the transition from print to digital by integration of multiple media into news delivery.  I purposely selected this next step to address the anxiety that might be starting to set in about now.  Before you go any further, it is important that you stop and take a personal assessment of yourself and maybe even your staff to examine your core competencies and the ability to convert these steps to a successful action plan.  The great thing about technology is that it is constantly changing allowing for you to get up to speed fairly quickly.  Unfortunately, some people might find technology intimidating.  Please don’t worry.    I’m in my 50s and I have been where you are and believe me when I say, if I can learn it, so can you.  This step is about providing you with tools and resources to assist you on your journey and better prepare you for the inevitable transition.

One of the first things I am going to recommend is to reserve some time everyday to research these topics.  For example, set aside about an hour daily and use whatever search engine you’re comfortable with, (i.e. Google, Ask.com, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) and do a search on social media and newspapers in social media.  As with any topic you research on the internet, there will literally be thousands of results.  Select one and dive in.  Read and learn.  Consume the information until you completely understand the concepts and their practical applications.

The next thing I recommend is to start following some experts in this field.  The following people are not affiliated with the newspaper industry, but they are considered experts in the social media and marketing fields.  These people have successfully monetized social media.  By taking the time to understand and get to know what social media is all about, you are making the commitment necessary to take the next step in the marriage of the newspaper industry and social media.  Take the time to visit their websites, subscribe to their blogs, listen to their podcasts, and read their books.

• Chris Brogan – I personally know and have the highest respect for Chris.  I consider him the “Godfather” of social media, Social Media 101, http://www.chrisbrogan.com.
• Mitch Joel  – Six Pixels of Separation,  http://www.twistimage.com/blog/ and podcast
• John Wall and Christopher Penn, Again personal friends -  http://www.marketingovercoffee.com blog and podcasts
• Seth Godin – http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com

**WARNING**           **WARNING**            **WARNING**

BUYERS BEWARE!  PLEASE DO NOT GET TAKEN!

Because you may be new to some of the technologies and concepts I have been discussing over the course of this series, I want to make sure you understand that much of what I have recommended is FREE or at a very low cost.  There is no need to spend a lot of money to integrate these technologies.  Leave that to the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal.   Let’s look at our website, Civicedition.com as an example.  It was a free wordpress blog that someone helped me to install.  I purchased a template for $150.00 and had some very low cost graphic design work done.  I have ghostwriters help me take my ideas and convert them to something you like to read because I don’t write particularly well.  Other than that, that’s it.  My costs are minimal.  You as a business will have some more costs to consider, but all in all there is absolutely no need to spend thousands of dollars up front.  I suggest taking it one step at a time.  Once you’re comfortable, move on to the next step.

In summary, take the time to learn it before you try to implement it.  Read the books that I recommended and learn as much as possible by visiting the blogs I referenced.  Once you get comfortable, I recommend you interact by posting comments on blogs you find interesting.  Learning this process will not only give you the opportunity to engage, but it will also provide you with the same experience you will ultimately be providing for your subscribers.  It’s important that you understand how the process works so you are prepared to offer your subscribers a digital outlet that integrates audio, visual, text and pictures while incorporating a medium of information exchange.  Next post in Step 5, I’ll be discussing further the role of technology in your business.  Until next time…..

Think outside the newsstand,

Joe

The younger generations in today’s world no longer think in terms of isolated media such as print, film, and audio. Rather, it is increasingly true that all of these media are now accessed through the meta-channel of the Internet. And while the first wave of Online newspaper editions were simply transcriptions of the text already available in the print edition, the inherent nature of the Internet has made this model obsolete.

When a user logs onto a newspaper website, she expects to see more than just print. If an article is based on an interview, she expects to be able to find the video recording of this interview. Conversely, if an interview is published as audio or video, she expects to find a link to the transcription and to a summary. While there are certainly users who still prefer a primarily print-based experience, this demographic is quickly shrinking.

And it is not only users who are sensing the need for change. A study published by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University found that most journalists see the transition to digital as a necessity. Out of all of the journalists interviewed, only six percent felt that they wanted to move back to a print-based model. You can read the full study by clicking on the link above.

The challenge for local newspapers is to effect this change without having the relatively vast resources that are available to major news outlets. When news first started to go digital, setting up integrated media still required a great deal of technical expertise. However, with web 2.0, the technology required to integrate multiple media into your online presence is no longer prohibitive. So even if you run a very small shop, there are several things that you can do to make the transition without breaking open your piggy-bank. Here are just a few examples of simple (and low- or no-cost) ways that you can do this:

1. Set up a content management system.

A content management system is a software program that allows you to update your website using an online interface. This way you don’t have to know HTML or any other type of coding. You’ll probably need to have someone set this up for you, but the work is relatively low on the difficulty scale for most web designers. Hence, this should not cost very much at all, and once it is set up, it will need little to no maintenance. Joomla, is a popular content management system, but there are countless others. Send me an email or write a comment if you need help choosing one or need to find a freelancer to set this up for you.

2. Set up a digital blog.

A blog is an even simpler way to upload content to the web. WordPress (the model used for this very website) is very simple to use, and you might even be able to do the initial set up yourself. Otherwise, you can hire a freelancer to do the work in a few hours or less. All that you have to do is log in, paste in your content, and click “publish.”

3. Use a microblog.

Twitter is the most popular example of a microblog. If there is breaking news that you want to get out right away, use this tool to give your readers a quick headline.

4. Use free or low-cost image sharing wigets.

Images are not nearly as expensive to post on the Internet as they are to print in a newspaper. If you have a website with a decent amount of image hosting, you can do this for free. You could even simply host your images on one of the many free image hosting websites such as flicker. This may not be “super-professional” but it is definitely efficient, and may be perfectly appropriate for the scale of a local newspaper. This also has the added benefit of making it very easy for your readers to send in their own photos which you can then accept or reject as content.

5. Share videos.

The same goes for videos. You can host videos from your website if you have enough space and bandwidth, but even just hosting videos for free from YouTube can do the trick. An organization like the New York Times would probably prefer to host their own videos, but for a small local newspaper, a YouTube channel might be enough, at least to start. Once again, you can host both your own videos and user submitted videos.

6. Set up an email newsletter.

This is an efficient way to remind your readers of what’s happening in your newsroom and important issues that they should be aware of. A great way to encourage your readers to give you their email addresses for the newsletter is to require an email address for them to be able to leave comments after your online articles and other content (which, by the way, they are going to expect to be able to do).

7. Podcasting.

This is essentially the practice of recording short audio segments that can them be effortlessly posted to the web. When it comes to conducting interviews, this is a great way to include the original source material behind an article.

8. Use texting for mobile content.

Just like your micro-blogging tool, texting can be used to sent breaking news headlines to readers who have opted in for this service. Only in this case, they are granted mobile access.

9. Integrate news into local maps.

Mapping software such as Google Maps can be easily integrated into news stories allowing users to visualize the location of events. This can also be used to set out recreation plans for users such as bike trails, hiking paths, and garage sale itineraries.

10. Integrate news into social media (e.g. Facebook or Myspace).

For almost everyone under thirty, and for a growing number of people above this age, social media have become a central part of life. As such, your local paper should have a presence on these forums. By putting up a fan page for your newsroom, users can “like” or “become a fan of” your organization, providing free publicity. You can then link your microblog into these social media outlets to have them automatically update users about breaking news.

As always, if you need any help with these concepts or want me to hook you up with someone who can help you set some of these features, send me an email or leave a comment.

Think outside the newsstand,
Joe

The next step in saving your local newspaper is to become comfortable with what is called “new media,” and specifically with Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is the newest branch of the Internet, encompassing its community networking and interactive avenues such as blogs, community generated content, and twitter. This is the way that information is going to be exchanged in the future; it is dynamic and immediate. And unfortunately, local newspapers are going to be left behind if they don’t learn how to disseminate information in a form that people will be able to digest. This is a revolution in how people think about information, so it is going to take some effort to make the necessary changes.

Honestly, I could go on about new media for pages, but for now let’s just go into a few pointers:

1. First of all, set up some form of online presence.

This can be simple at first, even a single page or wordpress blog is a good start. You don’t want people who are searching on the Internet for local news in your area to come up with nothing. This represents a huge demographic which is currently being lost to the wind. If you don’t know how to set this up, you can hire a freelance worker to do it for next to nothing.

2. Test the usability of your web presence.

If you already have a website, or if you’ve just set one up, perform a usability test. Get one or more of your readers to log onto your website and ask them to try to find a feature that they read in your print edition a couple of weeks ago. Ideally, the user should be able to locate the feature within a couple of clicks. If they can’t, you need to hire someone to rework your website to make it more user friendly. Again, this should not be very expensive, and I could even give you the names of a few people who could do this for you for a reasonable price. It will pay off in the long run when the change to digital results in readers who don’t even purchase print editions (which is, in fact, already happening to an extent).

3. Build your community by gaining information about your readers.

Give your readers fuller access to your website in exchange for a small parcel of information about themselves, for example their email address. One really easy way to make this happen is to require users to sign up for an account in order to leave comments after the online edition of your articles. This not only adds extra value to your website by turning your articles into a dynamic conversation, but it also gives you access to your readers’ email addresses, an important link that you can take advantage of later on.

4. Use the flexibility of the online medium to update your stories.

One of the major limitations of the local news model is that information is only disseminated once a week. This makes it terribly difficult to keep a story going from one edition to the next. For this reason, stories tend to live and die in a single issue. But with an online presence, you can perform small updates to stories on the website. This allows stories with greater interest to receive follow up attention. You can even install a program on your website that will tell you which stories are being read most frequently so that you can make sure to perform updates on these stories. When you publish an article in your print edition, you can give directions to go to the website to receive updates on the story.

5. Integrate Video.

Part of new media is the merging together of formerly distinct media. Hence, a local newspaper need no longer be just print. It can incorporate video and audio interviews as well. If you have the budget, expanding the role of your journalists to encompass video is a great way to reengage your audience. If you don’t have the budget, you can also explore community generated content. Or as a third option, you may consider hiring young freelancers just out of college to do this sort of supplementary work for you.

6. Get a twitter account.

You’ve heard of twitter, but you may not realize how it could be a part of your news organization. Twitter is a great way to quickly disseminate live information about topics of interest. This adds to the “real-time” quality of your newsroom. It also serves to keep your audience engaged. They are far more likely to appreciate the service that you provide if news is brought to them in real time, rather than just once a week. Even if this means sending out just 140 characters (the Twitter limit) every once in a while between official publications, this increases the volume of your voice.

I could go into a lot more detail on each of these topics, and I think that an entire series of new media posts is probably in order. But until then, do your best to explore each of these aspects of new media and implement them into your business. And if you have trouble with any of the technical elements of this technology, shoot me a message and I’ll try to hook you up with an affordable consultant who can help you.

Next week we’ll be looking more closely at the problem of print versus new media. Until next time…

…think outside the newsstand,
Joe

Last week I introduced my seven step plan to save your local newspaper. This week, we’ll dive right into step number one: shifting your mindset.

And really, this is the most important step of them all. If you can’t redirect your energies towards a business model that works and leave behind all of the “legacy” thinking that has been holding you back, you won’t be able to complete the next six steps. You simply won’t be in the right state of mind.

There’s a good reason why major corporations hire “change management teams” to help them get through this type of transition. Changing your business model is hard! The good news is that once you actually take this first step, once you change the way you think about your local newspaper, the other steps will be much easier.

But as a small local newspaper, you probably don’t have the resources to hire a change management team, and so you’ll have to find an alternative way to make this happen. I definitely recommend that you hire a “change consultant” if you can, but if isn’t financially viable, there are still a lot of great resources out there that you can use to get through this transition.

First, I recommend that you read John Kotter’s classic article from the Harvard Business Review, “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail.” This article is about fourteen years old, but it is still the standard work on organizational change management and it will take you through the entire process of changing the mindset of your organization to fit the current market conditions. I strongly recommend reading this article as it is something like a bible of change management. You can download it from HBR’s website for $6.95.

The following are the eight elements of successful change management that Kotter identifies in his article. I won’t go into detail describing them here, but this should give you a taste for what his argument consists of.

1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency
2. Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition
3. Creating a Vision
4. Communicating the Vision
5. Empowering Others to Act on the Vision
6. Planning for and Creating Short-Term Wins
7. Consolidating Improvements and Producing Still More Change
8. Institutionalizing New Approaches

The first of these books is Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, and in it they break the process down to a smaller three-pronged attack:

1. Directing the Rider
2. Motivating the Elephant
3. Shape the Path

Their approach is slightly different from Kotter’s, but it is also very helpful. In an industry like local news that has operated in much the same way for decades, this is just the type of information that you need to make a meaningful mindset change that will help your news organization adapt to the reality of 21st century economics and information technology. And if you like this book, then you should also check out the Heath Brothers’ other work, Made to Stick, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

Well, that’s it for this week. Next week, we’ll go into our next step to save your local newspaper: Become Comfortable with New Media.

Think outside the newsstand,
Joe

Over the past few months I’ve been offering up my ideas, little by little, of how newspapers need to change in order to adapt to the new technological and economic climate. I’ve been authoring posts for this blog and peppering a few provocative comments throughout the web, hoping that a few local newspapers will understand the urgency of the moment and start making the necessary changes. I’ve even posted examples of specific revenue generating systems that they could employ. All in all, I’ve been pretty critical of the status quo among local newspapers: the urge to hold onto past success and old business models.

To my own chagrin, local newspapers seem dead set on continuing this trend. I don’t say this to be hypercritical; after all, I greatly respect the work that local journalists do and I understand the immeasurable value that this type of business provides to the community. But at the same time, it saddens me to see local news slowly succumbing to economic inevitability.

Last week, I visited a local newspaper, and I finally realized just why it is so difficult for them to change. With each hard-working person I talked to, I realized that they had been in this industry for years and years, and they had done things the same way since practically the beginning. And until now, these old fashioned methods had worked just fine. This has fostered an inherent bias against change so that they now find it difficult to see the big picture that is becoming quite evident to outsiders: an industry on the verge of collapse.

The lesson that I took away from this experience is that local newspapers will inevitably see any need for change as insurmountable. Even the slightest change is going to  be difficult for them. Hence, perhaps the only way to effect change in local news is piece by piece, one step at a time. This gave me the idea for this next series of posts: “7 Steps to Save Your Local Newspaper.” Over the next seven weeks, I am going to give you seven things that local newspapers can do to make the transition into a viable 21st Century model. I’ll be elaborating on the following steps:

1. Shift Your Mindset.
2. Become Comfortable with New Media.
3. Expand Beyond Print.
4. Make a Personal Assessment.
5. Recognize the Role of Technology in Your Business.
6. Build a New Business Plan.
7. Execute These Steps One at a Time.

The importance of this system is not completing it within a pre-established time frame or making sure that you do them in order. The most important thing is that you start. You need to pick one of these steps and make it a priority to carry it through, because believe me, the market isn’t going to work this problem out for you. It is going to continue trudging on to the tune of consumer demand, and if you don’t learn to march to this tune, that could be the end of local news.

Sorry to put things so bluntly, but I wouldn’t be saying these things if I didn’t think they were true. Just remember, the only way to learn to march is by taking one step at a time.

Think outside the newsstand,
Joe

Photo by ppphotographs

A few months ago, the town where I live was hit by a major storm. Luckily, no one was hurt; but we had experienced what is called a “macro burst,” and everyone was understandably shaken up by all of the fallen trees and downed power lines. The storm only lasted a total of twenty minutes, but the damage was extensive. As soon as things started to quiet down, my natural curiosity urged me to get outside for a closer look at the damage. I started talking casually to my neighbors, and then I decided to take a few pictures of the downed lines and fallen trees on my iPhone.

When I got back inside I showed the pictures to my wife and she suggested that I send them over to the local news. Of course, living in a small town, the closest actual TV station was thirty miles away in Boston. So I logged onto the website for WCVB TV Boston and created an account for myself where I could upload the photos. And sure enough, my photos ended up on the Boston local news. All in all, it took about one hour from the time that I sent them in for the photos to be broadcast.

When my son–who is a professional photographer–got home from work, he decided to take some pictures of his own. Needless to say, these were superior to mine and they made the news as well. You can see my photos here and the ones that my son took here. But more to the point, this whole experience brought me back to a conversation I had had a week earlier with my good friend David Holroyd, founder of eCast Videos. David had told me that he felt that in the near future, he didn’t think that newspapers would be “papers” at all. Instead, they would consist of several types of content at once: text to be sure, but also images, audio, and video, all in a robust and interconnected portal.

But it wasn’t until my town’s scuffle with a “macro burst” that I fully understood the importance of this idea. A multimedia portal on a local level would be able to combine the best from both the local capabilities of my town paper, and the slightly wider and less specific capabilities of the urban TV station. After all, it would have made far more sense for me to send the pictures of the storm to a news organization in my neighborhood rather than to a TV station thirty miles away in Boston. This way the information would be specifically targeted to those who are the most likely to consume it, the people who where actually directly effected by the storm.

And even more importantly, this portal could be a hybrid between professionally created content and user created content. Users such as myself could deliver the type of content that it is impractical for hyper-local newspapers to create such as large amounts of images of sudden occurrences or brief tweet-like constant updates, while the paid journalists could stay busy adding value to this content by digging deeper into the more complex stories. But one thing is for sure: the local newspaper of tomorrow won’t be a newspaper at all; it will be a robust and dynamic community portal.

Think outside the newsstand,
Joe