Scott Flanders, CEO of Freedom Communications, told a meeting of Orange County (California) business execs:
The great challenge for communications companies today will be to monetize both the print and online audience while converting to a digital medium, Flanders said. Newspapers are in a “pole position” in their local communities because of the content they produce. But they must “stave off those guns coming after us,” including search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
The current “malaise of self-loathing” in the industry could be attributed to reporters – caught in a wave of layoffs in U.S. newsrooms – Flanders said.
“Some reporters will not survive the huge cultural change that needs to happen as we move to a 24-7 operation,” he said.
Juan Antonio Giner, who points to the article, has a great addendum:
Well, by the same token, many newspaper CEO´s and publishers will not survive either.
This crisis is a crisis of leadership and vision.
Yes, reporters have been known to moan a bit about the business, even in the best of times. But Juan Antonio nails it.
TAGS: NEWSPAPERS, BUSINESS, LEADERSHIP
