Some Bold Ideas For The Newspaper Business – Good News and Higher Hopes
Congratulations to the people of the newspaper business,Covid-19 could not stop you, nor kill it. If Covid can't kill the newspaper business nothing will. Good Things for 2021.
Just imagining the challenge in an events driven industry with no events. Ordinary things were just canceled. The life blood of advertising in a tourniquet, with businesses closed or shutdown, along with sports and entertainment. With periods of low ads, low activity or actual complete shutdowns the newspaper business survives. That is something to celebrate, something to be proud of.
This digital age is new and not nearly understood,it lures children and adults towards obsession, and it only just getting started. News media is just beginning to understands the digital age. Be strong, aggressive and agile.
The one thing for sure is the digital online age will present hard fought arguments that mirror the conflict between the economy and public health. Just a the abortion issue created a stalemate, pitting religion against a woman's right to choose, and the next issue environment vs the economy will be just as heated,resulting debate,misinformation and political and social polarization. Let us not forget state sponsored disinformation. The Covid-19 response is the perfect template for the study of public communication.
There are many side arguments and the newspaper business can rededicate itself to the great issues of our time,in a way it hasn't ever done. The time frame is the next twenty five years. It may mean abandoning traditional story lines to include those fore and against in a debate of methods , science, and social impact. The good guy/bad guy, good vs. evil story lines will only engage hard line positions. People need to be convinced to embrace new ideas and rethink old assumptions.
Print gives the readers time to think and consider in ways spoken media cannot replicate. Climate change is a subject that will take time.
What can be learned is blindsiding catastrophes are mounting. They are being dealt from nature to being self inflicted and combinations of both. Social order has been stressed to a point of shredding and governments ability to respond to new stages of disorder are limited by mortgaging this present disorder. The old Soviet Union was driven by the West to bankruptcy,in a sense global bankruptcy is an ominous and real threat.
There is an opportunity for the newspaper business to reset. This quote fell out of a magazine recently. It is Atlantic Magazine's motto, Discover new ideas. Rethink old assumptions. Good advice and there is a real shortage of “rethinking,” going on. It seem people are clinging dogmatically to ideas in a time when they feel threatened. To me I have been “rethinking old assumptions,” for sometime now. Polarization has put normally smart people in their respective corners to do nothing more than absorb the punches. The agile forces are the ones not driven by ideology but are more strategy driven, in boxing it would be counter punching. Take a hit, hit back fast and hard, keep the hands up high, dropping your hands brings a knockout.
The newspaper business can position itself in it's traditional stance of a broker of ideas creating debates, fostering clear exchanges, airing grievances and using the coming years to come to consensus in the public realm rather than have chaos when clear thinking needs to be a priority.
Changing public attitudes will take years, the fast political/election influenced solutions creates short sighted and bad outcomes.
Their is a particularity positive and inspiring commercial running. The commercial for NFL Nex Gen Stats that record location data from players including speed,acceleration and probability.
The visual revolves around an NFL highlight run, the player explains his thinking, initially getting the hand off ,surrounded by 4 players,chance of success 14%. He says, “I can live with that,” then vaults over the defenders to score.
What are the chances every country in the world participates in a positive climate change mitigation. I am guessing 14%. Does every country need to? The three major countries have the greatest chance of success if they can be seen in a clear spotlight.
The chances of a unique way of thinking are very high,just as the Covid-19 vaccine came from completely new technology. The newspaper business working not as separate entities but as an information trust can take the temperature of the entire country if it can learn to think in those terms.
“I can live with that,” It can be a call to action. The failure to thrive in this past four years high news environment should be the motivation to change. Things cannot go back to normal.
Newspaper people are hard to inspire,they live in the dark side of history, forever and always busy and negative. The beat system has reached it's limitations. I lived and thrived in that space for nearly 40 years at great cost.
I cannot bare, this attitude of being exploited by intentional disruptions leaving, senseable, smart and good people reeling and still clinging to ideas that have aged out. New and dominant technology, distracts ,hypnotizing, capturing attention of it's users starting with the youngest at age 3-4 preying on the former quality of being busy, to passing the point of no return obsession. It is a high participation distraction, that is pulling vast herds of people into a off balanced vortex ,spinning just off center, creating just enough of a wobble to change society for the better or the opposite. It is too soon to tell.
Spinning and wobbling with out clear purpose means that it's prize is up for grabs.
I am generally a positive person but always had to adjust my attitude when ever entering a newsroom.
By observing and studying positive sports coaching from high school to the pros on the job, and finding a variety of new ideas on display in both TV and advertising content. These mediums create a simulations worth considering regarding the energies and flows of both mainstream and innovative culture moving initiatives. Those ideas can be considered and blended in various directions.
Peleton cycling might be a good example of seizing competition, exercise and convenience to an obsessive commercial end. It was made for Covid-19 isolation. It beats the idea hell out of riding a stationary bike, the idea of stationary re-branded. Brilliant. It is convergent thinking, blending and rethinking old assumptions.
I learned to survive the negative fog always present in covering news. There is always a chance at victory as long as there is time on the clock. I also learned, what I call the pro player attitude,it is the complete disregard for momentum dismissing immediate past actions. Goalies and quarterbacks are said to have short memories for the last goal or incomplete pass. They move forward not being effected by the last play. A player learns to win every down, take every responsibility in every play,execute without penalty, and when given the chance ,to close the play with success, you just take it. It is an individual to group mentality that starts from the very top of every organization. It moves toward a more perfect union. This may be the chance the newspaper business needs to take.
A more perfect union between the product and the public through ideas and sense of common purpose not traditional conflict.
I have from the first day in my first newsroom felt the business flawed and good people had to adapt themselves to the flaws. The justification, it and I made a lot of money. Now it doesn't. Time for a reset and content is on the table.
If information is power, just what kind of power are we talking about. With so many platforms is that power making people stronger, or is it doing something else?
There is a silver lining. Chances for success,14%, I can live with that, because communicating is something we can always do better. News is one thing, it is not the only thing.
Opinion by Ken Gigliotti Dec.2020
Topic: Happy Holidays and Good Health for Newspapers- You Survived a Year of Covid-19 (Read 1260 times)