Most of last week I spent in Vienna and Dubai, and the topic was all about convergence: how to make print and digital media become part of a seamless strategy where news is protagonist, and the delivery medium secondary—-although not less important.
This is a discussion that, formally or not, is taking place in newsrooms globally. I know as I sit in many of these situations from Asia to Africa to Europe, North and South America.
What was interesting about last week, as I spoke at the European Newspaper Congress in Vienna, and as I conducted convergence workshops for the Gulf News of Dubai, was the seriousness of the tone for these discussions, the realization that this is not a matter of IF convergence is an answer, but HOW to best implement convergence.
Online First but Print Surprises
This phrase continues to resonate in my head.
And I am so happy that editors worldwide consider it their mantra as they transition from a world in which the newspaper is king in terms of content flow, newsroom logistics and tradition, to a world where NEWS is what matters, then comes a consideration of the medium thru which it will be presented.
Anyone doing convergence workshops and metings should remember that phrase, perhaps even create a banner and hang it prominently in the newsroom, so that everyone working with news is constantly reminded of it.
It is, to me, the final realization that we are in the news business, NOT in the newspaper business (by the way, another phrase that I would tape to the walls in every newsroom).
You may ask, so what do you do after you hang a sign that reads Online First, Print Surprises?
You do, exactly that, you create a plan of action where staff knows how to react to news, how to let the path of the story guide the medium use to send it to the audience, THEN, you concentrate on creative ways to surprise the reader with that content in your print editions.
It will require greater creativity to be a print edition editor, no doubt.
More on this in the weeks ahead, as we continue to move thru more advanced workshops on the subject.
The Graffitti on the Wall
I was taking a long stroll through the forest in Luxembourg over the weekend, and as we walked under a bridge, where the homeless are known to huddle and even make a home, there was this huge graffiti sign that read : Poverty, You Suck.
Direct. To the point. Meaningful within the context of its environment. A strong message that made us stop, look around and count our blessings.
In addition, the message directly below says something like ASK before you settle here: this is MY area! Which goes to show that we are territorial, regardless of what out habitat happens to be.
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To read TheRodrigoFino blog, in Spanish, go:
https://garciamedia.com/latinamerica/blog/
TheMarioBlog posting #253