David Hiller on a Greater Web Presence

With all the ado this past weekend over the union election at the Los Angeles Times I fell behind with my regular blogs that I read daily, for news about the newspaper and messages from the publisher. Mr. Hiller comments about a Tim Rutten's column in the Saturday edition of the Times regarding the Wall Street Journal's mixing of old media with new. The memo from Mr. Hiller was sent to all employees, with the exception of the majority of Pressroom employees.

To: All Times Employees Folks,

By now, I hope you have all taken the time to read Tim Rutten's column in Saturday's edition, and also hope you have been able to spend some time with the re-designed Wall Street Journal that was the subject of Tim's column, "Updated Journal Writes its Future."

Tim's piece does a good job of framing the the fundamental changes all news organizations like ours need to make as they "move forward toward a future in which they simultaneously connect with the readers online and in print.

"He says, and I agree, that we need to have a "simultaneous and complementary stance in both venues." This means most critically, being focused on how, where and when people want and get their news and information.

Recognizing each medium has unique strengths, we have to use each differently to best meet those reader/user needs. For us, this means breaking news, freshened all the time, coupled with data-driven personal utility on the web; while we engage a different focus of unique story-telling, analysis, and context in our print editions - with both relentlessly focused on what people can't get anywhere else. It is very clear to me this is the way we need to go, and is the way pointed forward by all of our research and the work coming out our Spring Street project, about which you will be hearing more. Fundamental change like this will take the resources and focus of our entire company.

And I agree with Tim that these changes "suggest how strong a role there is to be played by newspapers willing to accept the challenge of re-calibrating" what they do. In this, we will be a leader. Our success depends on it.

David

Source: LA Biz Observed