Tribune's Rock & Roller Lee Abrams Sings

ASSUMPTIONS, CHANGES AND THE GREAT 21st CENTURY MEDIA WAR

There is a media war out there and we need to think on that level. At my previous mission, I was privy to many meetings at Yahoo, Google (everybody wanted bandwidth) and other competing Information companies. Those guys are out to kill us....and a senior guy at Google said "The Old media companies are asleep...living in the past...that's why we'll win". Well...time to fight back...and recapture the ground. I can't stress this enough. It's the spirit of engagement. We need to pull out the stops in terms of waging war. I wish there was a better way to put it, but that's really what it is.

The road trip continues. Visited the Orlando Sentinel. Impressive group. They are very much into Re-thinking the look to better mobilize their content in today's environment. I was especially impressed with a re-working design they did on their Editorial page. They took the EXACT content from the existing page and gave it a good re-think and re-design and it evolved from rather tedious to absolutely compelling...without changing as much as a comma of the actual content. This in my opinion is what it's all about. Modernizing the look and feel so MORE people can dive into the smart and compelling content.

One exercise we're going through is "page by page" evaluation. As I learn more about the production of a newspaper, it is amazing to me how so much is put together on a daily basis. In other media you often have time to sit back and evaluate. I get the impression that there's literally no time for that luxury. SO---there are some things that might be on autopilot, simply because there's no TIME to step back. I'm into helping with the "page by page" exercise. The idea is to discover things that can be better, but because of the breakneck pace of putting out a newspaper, they get overlooked.

I find the idea of re-thinking very exciting...not to mention critical...and I continue to see no reason that print can't GROW. Regardless of demographic target. People won't stop reading. And newspapers are one of the last bastions of smart media in an increasingly dumb era. I still believe in this Big three...incredibly basic and simple--probably SO basic and simple that they are probably subject to assumptions:

LOOK: Sure, there’s a comfort to tradition...but I'd hope we are smart enough to move forward, deliver a compelling modern look that is in sync with the navigation realities of 2008... And remain comfortable. Stimulating the eye on 2008 terms is the first step in stimulating minds.

POV: Not necessarily politics...but "something" that speaks LOUDLY to what you are. "We're the reliable local paper" isn't strong enough.

HITS: Hit stories. Hit headlines. YOUR hits. What touches nerves? That's what people need to see.

Sometimes it's that simple, but simple is avoided as it seems...too simple. Basics...with a tasteful 2x4. A 2x4 is visually arresting, tastefully screams out and is consistent done so it gets NOTICED and absorbed. It is a very bad time to be bland and generic.

Continue reading Lee Abrams at LAObserved

(Editors Msg.) Many users, that do not work for the Los Angeles Times, often question why I post Tribune and Los Angeles Times memos intended for employees from Kevin Roderick, and not post from my Los Angeles Times email account. Well, my Tribune masters are paranoid of the Pressman Blogger, and according to many at Times Mirror Square almost all LA Times employees in general are not trusted.

Three different sources have told me, management fears I will hack into the computer system, if I had an email account at the newspaper. If this didn’t sound so odd, I wouldn’t believe it. Sure seems management at the Los Angeles Times could use a class in Internet 101 with Meredith Artley, explaining I would not use an email that would identify myself so easily if I had the desire to compromise the Times computers.