As reported at PaidContent, Marcus Brauchli, Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal, wrote to staff last week announcing changes “completing†the integration of their online and print newsrooms. There is considerable talk in the offices of publishers and at publisher conferences across the globe about the need to integrate print and online newsrooms – they refer to this as the newsroom of the future. The memo from Brauchli makes the reason clear when he talks about
the profound changes sweeping the news business
and says:
… we must adapt constantly to do if we want to stay competitive.
This is further evidence to newsagents that the print media world has changed despite what publisher representatives say to us. I have been to publisher conferences in Paris, Vienna and Sydney over the last six months where publisher representatives have been open about the fading role print has in their business plans – unfortunately publisher representatives will not say this at newsagent conferences as it would not sui them to have newsagents fully informed about their need to urgently migrate revenue from print to online.
As publishers are doing, newsagents must navigate their future model. We can begin this by talking about the newsagency of the future and ensuring that this is the key agenda item at all conferences and meeting of newsagents. A small number of entrepreneurial newsagents are already playing in this future space. Too many are not – they are waiting for publishers and others to provide leadership. This will not happen. Newsagents have to solve this challenge using their own resources.