If you are like me, you are carefully monitoring what new Washington Post owner, Jeff Bezos, plans to do with the iconic capital daily. He is moving fast and furiously about changes and some welcome innovation, as the piece below reveals.
It is the start of a new semester at colleges and universities across the land, and what a more opportune time to read this intriguing piece that provokes with its lead about which is the best journalism school in the world? The author will not reveal the answer, but insists that more data is needed from the J schools themselves before the question can be answered more scientifically.
As for a fresh and appealing web redesign, take a look at The Week, which has just unveiled its latest concept. It is airy, easy to navigate and attractive. There may not be anything here that says “this is the trend for web design”, but there is plenty of the good and tested (especially the use of white space and hierarchy in type sizes), to make the new The Week design one for us to incorporate into our Columbia University course this semester when we discuss web design.
Finally, the big Consumers Electronics Show has just concluded in Las Vegas. Our friend and colleague, Earl Wilkinson, who heads INMA (International Newspaper Marketing Association) attended and has put together a series of takeaways that are must read for news executives. Don't miss it.
Enjoy your weekend reads!
A Progress Report on Jeff Bezos Transforming the Washington Post
Highight:
This is more than just money being thrown at development. It’s a flexible plan that has carefully engineered resources for support and success. And it’s not the first time a company has paired distinct functional staffers to get different or better result in sales, marketing, or production. The Washington Post will be staffed by an integrated digital news team, one in which reporting, editorial, sales and tech development functions intersect and work together in a symbiotic relationship. This is possibly a make-or-break goal for the new Post. There’s no turning back if this new alignment doesn’t work — there isn’t anything left to go back to.
The Week redesign
http://theweek.com/articles/531362/welcome-new-theweekcom
Highlight:
In 2013, we had 14.4 million visits from mobile devices. In 2014, that number skyrocketed to 43.3 million. We saw similar growth on tablets, too.
The new site is engineered to package content for any device and browser. The site is responsive — meaning it “sniffs out” what device and browser you're on, and automatically resizes and optimizes everything. The end result is that the site will look better and be much easier to use, no matter how you're viewing it.
Also:
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/theweek-ben-frumin-website-redesign/239863?red=as
The Best Journalism School in America Is…
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/02/the-best-journalism-school-in-america-is/
Highlight:
I think j-schools need to get a move on. And the best schools are changing. The best professors are adapting. The best deans are reimagining. Their students are getting their money’s worth. We should honor the good journalism schools by measuring their reforms. We can help ourselves by tracking the speed with which these changes are sweeping through journalism education as a whole.
Key takeaways from CES for news media companies
http://www.inma.org/blogs/earl/post.cfm/key-takeaways-from-ces-for-news-media-companies
Two takeaways that resonated with me:
User content instead of personalisation:
To hear the brightest minds choke on the idea of personalisation as too complex in brand development startled me. One speaker said that we’ve moved from ages of identity, value, and now experience. And that with all the technology on display at CES, personalisation was just too much. Instead, it was suggested that the rise of people creating content for themselves (and companies packaging that) could be an interesting substitute for personalisation concepts.
De-linking editorial as a targeting mechanism:
Never to be heard at a media conference was a discussion about de-linking editorial as a targeting mechanism for advertisers. Now with programmatic, advertisers can buy demographics without an editorial environment. “Programmatic takes away the complexity of legacy media,” a speaker said. This disconnect of editorial + audience it delivers got a chilly reception.