Memo to Tribune employees from CIO Lee Abrams

May 19, 2008
THINK PIECE: BUSTING DENIALS AND ASSUMPTIONS

We are getting closer to the re-imaging of WGN Superstation. Sooner than later, it will evolve into a leader in their world, something that they haven't quite accomplished. The look and sound of the Network will be like nothing else out there. Some may think it's a little weird. It is. Their problem has been being too average....too "TV". Actually a TV guy said "Hey, what's wrong with being too TV...after all we ARE TV". To me--that's a big problem. You aren't TV. You are part of this complicated media pie and you need to think outside of where you "are"
or else you define yourself by what everyone else is doing. A recipe for mediocrity.

My biggest challenge in helping with the re-imaging has been WORDING.
De-hyping. Things like:

*Asking questions as if a viewer can reply. "Tired of the same old movies"? Very 1955as in "Hey, Mom, Kids wearing you out? Try Geritol".

*Over sell: The Greatest...The Best...the Most...Your favorites... "Great Movies"---I say let viewers decide what's great. It wouldn't be so bad but EVERYBODY is the greatest most and best...so it just doesn't mean anything. Dumbs it down. Slogans often do more to promote mindlessness than just about anything. Oversaturation of marketing hooks...that rarely deliver. Sometimes it's best to just DO it.

Words are powerful. Media throws them away expecting people to buy into them. They wont. Maybe that's why Apple and Nike don't use every many of them in their sales message. Can you imagine if Apple worded I-Pod ads like a TV station (or radio or Newspaper) worded their ads: "Tired of the same old music? Hey,Try the great new I-Pod...the Best sound...the most songs"--aint gonna happen.

As my road trips continue, I ran into an interesting 20-something who unlike a lot of 20-something's, LOVES print...more than the Internet, an excerpt from an email she wrote me:

you're the first person I've heard to offer even a tiny bit of hope to the possibility of the survival of newspapers. And, if their survival is contingent on renovation or even revolution, that makes it that much more exciting.

I think I mentioned that I just moved back the USA after about 10 years in Europe. There, I had the opportunity to work in several very competitive markets and so have seen firsthand the results when the newsroom is also a waroom. I especially enjoy the British market, where I've worked at The Guardian and have just completed work on the Daily Mirror's recent redesign. Not only are they producing excellent
journalism, but they are aware that every day they must engage and surprise their readers to survive. Compare that to the American markets where most places have one sleepy newspaper that's been there forever and has no intention of changing. I believe that American newspapers have to stop copying the mediocrity being produced in the next town over and see what is being done right outside the US and learn from that.

...As part of the exercise to park denial at the door, maybe she's right. Another person showed me some stats that show newspaper circulation GROWING in many overseas markets, in tandem with the Internet. While Beijing may be a long way away, maybe there are some ideas we can look to from the Overseas markets. As patriotic as I am...there's some good stuff coming out over there. It wasn't that long agow when "Made in Japan" meant cheap...now many of us LOOK for products (like cars and electronics) made over there as a stamp of quality.

Continue reading at Poynter Online Forums