This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, October 15.
“The time will come when this is a digital-only news organization…”
It is this quote that is among the most interesting coming from the Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit on Tuesday. A.G. Sulzberger, the young publisher of The New York Times, mentioned this while also saying that:
“I think the [print] newspaper has a much longer life than any of us suspect.”
I find both quotes interesting, as it was only Tuesday that I myself was conducting a newsroom workshop in Berlin and mentioned that in today’s environment print has a role, but that it is one that must be in conjunction with digital offerings. In other words, print as an accessory platform, not the main event. I do notice that continues to improve its digital storytelling (becoming pioneers of true linear mobile storytelling, along with The Washington Post), but the Times, as well as The Post, don’t fully give up on experimenting with their print editions in the way of special supplements, incomparable coverage of major events, and the use of print specifically for those things that print can do best. (See my other blogs on the subject of Doing Print Happily below).
So, while A.G. Sulzberger’s statement is not at all shocking or surprising, it does make us think of a future without a Times print edition, the gray lady put to rest but not its glorious brand. Will it happen during my lifetime? For sure during my children’s lifetime.
And, a question I would have for Mr. Sulzberger: Will the essential Sunday print edition of the Times still be there when the daily print edition ceases to exist?
I’d like to think that the answer is yes. We must wait and see.
Read more about it:
Read other TheMarioBlog posts about Doing Print Happily
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/doing-print-happily-part-one/
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/doing-print-happily-part-two/
TheMarioBlog post #2928